“Old Grant, Mr. Bolton just had a cerebral hemorrhage in our classroom, and it was all thanks to William Clark's quick response that Mr. Bolton was saved.” A boy immediately began excitedly recounting what had happened.

“So impressive, I never would have guessed! You really have a hidden talent.” Brian Cooper chuckled. He was closest with William Clark, so praising William Clark made him feel proud as well.

“All right, everyone, go read your books. The midterm exam is tomorrow.” At this moment, Helen Carter stood up.

Everyone reluctantly dispersed, but Brian Cooper didn’t leave. At the same time, William Clark’s deskmate, George Harris, happened to walk into the classroom.

George Harris was just about 1.7 meters tall, thin and wiry, nicknamed “Monkey.” His grades were above average, and he got into a second-tier university in the college entrance exam. But in college, he really thrived, joined the student council, and after graduation found a pretty good job. When William Clark was struggling to find work, George Harris gave him a lot of help.

Back in high school, William Clark was closest with George Harris and Brian Cooper.

At this moment, Brian Cooper squeezed his chubby body into the front seat, winked at George Harris, and said, “Guanghong, we’re in the same exam room. Tomorrow, I’m counting on you and William. If I don’t make it into the top forty in the class this time, my allowance will be cut. That would be a disaster.”

George Harris blinked and said, “So shouldn’t you guys show some appreciation?”

“Of course, in a bit, William will treat you to ice cream.”

“What! Why me!” William Clark glared at Brian Cooper. This guy might look simple-minded, but he was always trying to take advantage of William Clark.

“What! What does that mean?” George Harris and Brian Cooper both looked at William Clark in confusion.

William Clark immediately remembered that this slang only became popular after the internet became widespread, and back then even pagers were considered high-end. “It’s an insult for you two bastards, always trying to take advantage of me.”

“What!” Brian Cooper muttered, then grinned and said, “This word is awesome. Just one word and you can curse someone, and it really has some punch to it. What! What!” The more Brian Cooper said it, the more excited he got, and he actually started shouting it loudly, sounding like he was ready to shake the heavens. All the students in the classroom turned to look at Brian Cooper.

Brian Cooper’s thick skin definitely matched the fat on his face. He ignored everyone’s stares, slapped the desk, and said, “From now on, this word is my signature. What!”

William Clark couldn’t help but feel exasperated. He couldn’t remember where this slang originally came from, but it clearly wouldn’t become popular for a few more years. Now Brian Cooper wanted to claim it as his own—wasn’t that already a copyright issue...

Chapter 014: Quite Different

At this point, George Harris lowered his voice and said, “But I heard they’re going to be stricter with this exam. If we get caught, it’ll be a major demerit. We should really think about what to do so we don’t get caught.”

“What’s there to be afraid of? The school says that every time, but when have they ever really cracked down? Besides, our skills as brothers are solid. As long as that black-faced Judge Bao doesn’t catch us, we’ll be fine. What! Haha, almost forgot to say it.”

Looking at Brian Cooper’s smug expression, William Clark was speechless. This guy really acted like he’d found a treasure, never missing a chance to use that word.

Now William Clark also remembered what Brian Cooper and George Harris were talking about: they wanted George Harris to find a chance to pass notes to the two of them. High schoolers at this time didn’t necessarily have any ambitions or goals; sometimes they didn’t even study for themselves, but just to avoid being scolded by parents and teachers. So during exams, it was common to copy from others, just to have a presentable score. Whether the score was real or not, they didn’t care.

“Black-faced Judge Bao” was the students’ nickname for the school’s dean of discipline, Samuel Wright. Samuel Wright was known for being strict and impartial. If you got caught by him, you’d at least get a demerit, if not have your parents called in. So all the students were very afraid of him.

“Yi Fei, don’t try to fool me. Guanghong has to give me the note first before he gives it to you. How about it, bribe me with five game tokens later? What!” This guy really learned fast—he used the word right away.

William Clark didn’t really care about his grades now, but thinking about relying solely on his own ability, he probably wouldn’t be able to answer a few subjects at all. If he brought home such grades, his parents would be heartbroken. So he chuckled and said, “All right, I’ll count on you guys. But I don’t need help with Chinese or English.”

“No problem!” Brian Cooper slapped his chest boldly, as if he were the one with good grades.

“Hehe, or you could teach me a few more of your secret moves. You don’t know how awesome I felt just now—I beat everyone who challenged me. What!” Brian Cooper grinned slyly.

“Damn! Can you stop adding that word to everything?” William Clark glared at Brian Cooper, feeling a bit helpless.

“Damn? What does that mean?” Brian Cooper stared at William Clark as if he’d discovered a new continent.