Turning Of the Tide by Diana Sander

For Nona, who had always consistently held the top position in class, Harper's results shocked her. For scoring 250 points on the exam, Harper performed really poorly. No wonder her uncle grounded Harper. Such scores might as well prevent her from reaching the doors of a university.

Although her aunt had four sons, she didn't want to see Harper score so low. After all, he was an elder sibling and should have set an example. Nona thought to herself, munching on a strawberry tart filled with ice cream, savoring its delightful taste.

In the next moment, all the girls looked towards Cyril. They were ready for sgossip. Even Ruby was interested. Their eyes were fixed on Cyril, and smiles lingered at the corners of their mouths.

When people shared embarrassing stories about others, they often spoke animatedly, making it quite engaging.

And that was exactly how Cyril appeared at this moment. He felt like he was delivering an award-winning speech on a stage.

Cyril smiled and said, "At that time, Harper's teacher was completely flustered. She looked angry. Then, she banged on the table and asked Harper, 'Tellabout your feelings after the exam. Do you have any thoughts about being at the bottom now? Do you feel your grades are especially stable, always at the bottom? Do you take pride that you have such a consistent performance?" Upon hearing this, all of them laughed. Olivia praised, "This teacher turns even her anger into humor. | love it." Cyril continued to share. "Then Harper started reflecting on himself. After that, he said, 'Miss, | feel my grades are quite stable. You said we shouldn't deteriorate. In my case, | have no room for a decline. It's just that the total score in this exam doesn't look appealing and might mislead people's perceptions of me. I'll pay more attention to managing my scores next time." As Cyril finished recounting Harper's reflection, the few of them laughed so hard that their shoulders trembled non-stop. Ruby pinched the space between her eyebrows. She was genuinely concerned about Harper. He was so rebellious, but she couldn't stop laughing at his funny moments.

After all of them had their laugh, Cyril continued, "Then the teacher got exasperated and slammed the paper on the table, pointing at it, "You got 25 points in Arillion, and you're talking about managing scores? Are you planning to keep it within 20 points next time? Also, you didn't write a single word in the essay. How do you plan to manage your scores there?" When Harper responded to the teacher about leaving the essay blank, Cyril was holding back laughter so hard it felt like an internal injury. He kept his head down, fearing his teacher would notice.

Cyril added, "Do you know how Harper responded to the teacher about leaving the essay blank? The essay topic was about the space of teenagers. Harper said his perspective was too vast, his inner space immeasurable, so he didn't know where the boundaries were for what to write. He was afraid that if he started writing, he wouldn't be able to stop, and if he didn't finish it on time, he would waste inspiration." Cyril held back his laughter and continued, "At that moment, the teacher flew into a rage, and her face contorted in anger. | was worried that the teacher would lose her composure because of Harper. Thankfully, that teacher kept her composure and let Harper go. After Harper left, his teacher called my uncle. That's when Harper got grounded, and Ruby bechis tutor." Cyril shook his head. "Harper not only caused trouble for himself but also got Jayden and Fynn grounded. Aunt Leia arranged tutors for Jayden and Fynn to prevent situations like Harper's. Aunt Stella watched over them every day. It's a pity. The adult world is too exhausting. I'm glad my parents have never demanded that | be the best in my studies." Cyril sighed. Nona didn't expose her brother because their parents were already planning something. Soon enough, his brother might also be grounded.

Jasper always picked up on different points. He turned around and asked, "Why were you called to the office and listened to the whole conversation? Were you there to be praised by your teacher?" Everyone continued to be intrigued, eager to know why Cyril was called to the office.

Finally, Cyril lied, claiming he was scolded for daydreaming in class when, in reality, he was called to the office because he ranked second to last in the class during the midterm exams.

Jasper wasn't easily fooled. After hearing Cyril's words, he directly asked, "What was your total score for the midterms?" Cyril avoided eye contact and silently signaled to his sister. He took a sip of his drink and replied, "It's not too bad, around 400." Olivia nodded. "There's a difference of over 300 points between you and your sister. Keep working hard." Cyril nodded obediently, fearing further interrogation from the others. "Yeah, okay." Nona thought that his elder brother's midterm score was just 301. It was significantly more challenging for him to score 400 points. He barely reached 300 points, falling short by 99 points from 400 points.

Among all the children, the ones with the best grades were Jasper, Ruby, George, Olivia, and Nona. They had consistently achieved excellence from elementary school to the present, securing the top spot in their grades every year.

The next in line were Sophia, Liam, Jayden, Fynn, Kade, Vincent, and Dalton. Lastly, at the bottom were Cyril and Harper.

As for Rose's other three children, their grades were neither poor nor excellent, which largely correlated with Rose's usual hands-off parenting style.

When it was almost nine o'clock, Nona's phone rang. It was a message from her father. The message read, [Nona, it's nine o'clock. You still have to go to school tomorrow. Can you hang out with your friends next time? Remember to bring your brother home. Don't let him wander around outside.] Nona replied obediently, [Got it, Dad. We're getting ready to cback now.] Frank responded, [Stay safe on the way. Don't rush. Mom and | will be waiting at the door for you.] Nona replied, [Okay, Dad.] The Blackwell family and the Wilson family weren't as strict with their children. One reason was that Ruby was already of legal age, and there were bodyguards in the background. Additionally, Ruby's security guard doubled as a driver and was waiting for her at the door.

During the day, Ruby drove herself, but in the evenings, Hackett arranged a driver for her.

As for Jasper and Olivia, they were both quite adept physically and also had people watching out for them in the background, providing a lot of reassurance.

At the door, all of them were bidding farewell to each other.

Jasper stood upright, his tone brooking no argument as he said, "Everyone needs to report yourself in the group chat once you're home. If you don't, don't bother showing up next time." Cyril teased, "Jasper, why are you acting like Sophia heading to military school? Okay, okay, I'll report in, alright?" Nona bid a soft farewell to everyone. "Goodbye, guys. See you all next time." Olivia waved to them and said, "Until next time. Study hard, okay?" Then, she looked at Liam and said, "If you keep shaking your leg, I'll seriously do something about it next time." Liam retorted, "Do you have a problem? It's a rare gathering, and you're fixated on my leg. I'm leaving. Ruby, let's go." Meanwhile, Ruby nodded at Jasper and said softly, "Goodbye, Jasper." Upon hearing Ruby's gentle tone, Jasper was stunned for a moment.

Jasper didn't respond but simply nodded. After everyone's cars had left, he helped his sister put on a helmet and did the sfor himself. Starting up their mom's motorcycle, Olivia sat behind and held onto her brother's waist.

The black motorcycle weaved through the bustling traffic. As they passed the endless stream of cars, they could hear ear-splitting DJ music from sof the luxury cars, the sound subtly creeping into their ears.

At traffic lights, numerous drivers inevitably rolled down their windows to take in the scenery. If Olivia had been driving solo today, she might have attracted sattention. It happened quite often.

Jasper's long legs rested on the ground, his body leaning forward. Olivia held onto her brother tightly, asking from behind, "Jasper, why do you think Ruby suddenly gave up on her dream? | remember she wanted to be a pianist and a dance teacher. How did she end up as a designer, especially for men's fashion? | thought she was kidding, but she ended up studying fashion design in college. She even started her sturight after her graduation." Jasper's voice clow from the front. "Well, she had her own thoughts." Olivia kept asking, "Did Ruby not tell you the reason? | find the sudden change a bit surprising too. After all, Ruby really loved playing the piano and dancing. When we used to practice together as kids, she was so dedicated. It's a shshe didn't stick with it." Olivia's words from the back went unanswered, the wind carrying away her words and whispering them into Jasper's ears up front. He didn't respond, and the vehicle continued to navigate through the traffic.

Half an hour later, the motorcycle parked steadily in the yard. Jasper kept one leg on the ground and leaned slightly while Olivia got off the bike. Then, Jasper shut off the engine. He took his sister's helmet. He held two helmets in each hand as they walked to the house. As soon as they entered, he placed the helmets at their designated spot.

Those helmets were customized couple helmets gifted by their dad to their mom. They now belonged to Olivia.

Similarly, Sophia had a set too. Trevon had splurged on a similar motorcycle matching the set. However, Sophia was rarely hand left the bike collecting dust in the garage.

Trevon and Natalie sat in the living room. When their children returned, Natalie stood up and walked toward the door. She helped straighten her daughter's windblown bangs and said, "Next twhen you go out for a gathering in the evening, let your brother drive a car." "It's fine. Jasper doesn't ride fast, and | quite enjoy it when he takesfor a ride, right, Jasper?" Olivia remarked.

Jasper replied calmly, "Yes." Olivia held her mom's wrist and walked toward Trevon. She said, "See, Jasper said the same. Right now, | cherish the tJasper can spend with me. Once he finds a girlfriend in the future, he'll surely take his girlfriend instead.

| probably won't have a chance to ride with him in the back anymore." Jasper didn't respond and headed straight upstairs. "I'll go up first," he said.

Trevon watched his son's departing figure and nodded. "Okay, what tare we going to the Blackwell family cemetery tomorrow?" Jasper paused his steps for a few seconds before slowly replying, "I'll ask Liam." "You spent the whole evening together, and both Liam and Ruby were there. Why choose to ask him by text message?" Trevon asked while frowning.

Jasper resumed walking. "Yeah, | only heard about the 250, and I forgot to ask more." Before Trevon could ask anything further, his son had already gone upstairs. Natalie said, "Why do you keep criticizing our son? Olivia, what does your brother mean by 250?" Natalie diverted the conversation. She thought that Trevon was strict with their son and too lenient with their daughter. Luckily, Jasper was a sensible child.

Olivia tugged at her father's clothes and shared about her evening with the others. After she finished, Trevon couldn't help but smirk, his smile growing wider and more mischievous. "Edward seems busy. He visits the school as often as if he were visiting relatives. We go there to see our children receive awards. He goes there to see his son to get educated." Seeing his smug expression, Natalie glared at Trevon. "You're enjoying this too much. Harper isn't lacking in intelligence. He just doesn't want to study. He thinks he has three younger brothers to rely on." Trevon replied, "Edward has set family rules requiring all his four sons to inherit the family business. None of them can escape that." Trevon thought it was fortunate that he didn't have four sons, or it would've been a disaster. If they were all like Harper, Trevon feared he wouldn't live long. He thought of something and said, "Cyril will probably have another parent-teacher meeting next month, and he'll clooking for you again." Whenever Cyril got really bad grades, he either begged Natalie or urged Rose to attend the parent-teacher meetings. Now, given Harper's poor performance, both Rose and Edward had becregular attendees at the school. Cyril couldn't ask them again. So, he could only place his hopes on Natalie.

Cyril did not ask Ava because he didn't want his mom to feel embarrassed. He didn't ask Frank because he feared Frank might beat him.

Frank always disciplined his son where Ava couldn't see, and after punishing him, he wouldn't allow his son to return hto complain.

That was the scariest part, having no place to cry.

Olivia said, "Mom. If Cyril comes looking for you this time, you really shouldn't go. His grades should have improved by now. Otherwise, by the the reaches senior year, he'll be just like Harper. Uncle Edward is counting on him to inherit the family business. We can't let Nona inherit it. Dad, am | right?" Trevon nodded. "Olivia is right. You wouldn't want Jasper to inherit the Roberts family business either." Natalie also understood it wasn't appropriate for her to attend. She said, "I helped this kid three times back in elementary school. When he mentioned his dad hitting him, | felt bad. This time, I'll stand firm and refuse him.

Ask Nona when the parent-teacher meeting is scheduled. I'll be ‘gone’ for those days." "It's just a kid. You act like you're going into hiding for your life." Trevon chuckled, pinching his wife's cheek.

Olivia knew that her mother did not want to see Cyril's disappointed expression. "Alright, I'll ask Nona another day." Natalie glared at Trevon. "I feel bad for that child. Cyril is actually pretty smart. He just doesn't focus on studying.

If Frank and Ava's genes could produce a dimwit..." She sighed and continued, "If Cyril weren't smart, he couldn't have managed to transfer money from Frank's bank card to his phone. What he did was wrong. | just think the kid has potential." In the end, Frank discovered Cyril's doing and harshly punished him. If it hadn't been for Ava's plea, Frank might have broken his son's legs.

After being punished, Cyril never tampered with his dad's bank cards again. Frank set a family rule that prohibited any illegal activities on the computer, including unauthorized card access.

Natalie defended Cyril by pointing out the mysterious nature of certain genetics. She highlighted how both Cyril and Nona had an extraordinary affinity for computers and were more proficient than usual. Even at a young age, Cyril could hack into his dad's computer.

Once everyone got home, they all promptly posted numbers in the group chat, indicating who arrived first.

It was evident that everyone was adhering to the rules, demonstrating their eagerness not to miss the next gathering.