Second Chance His Unending Love (Calista Hartwell) novel Chapter 15

Chapter 15 Top Student?

Once the nerves hit, all his confidence drained away.

Austin acted fearless at home, but when it came to real

high-pressure situations like this, he turned timid.

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He looked nervously at the crowd and instinctively searched

for Calista.

If Calista were here, she would’ve signed him up for coaching beforehand so he wouldn’t be standing here looking like an

idiot.

Down in the audience, Nicole put her finger to her lips and whistled at Austin playfully.

The totally inappropriate gesture made all the parents turn

and stare at her.

Killian frowned. “Keep it down.”

“You’re so uptight!” Nicole pouted. “This is how young people interact! We like keeping things casual!”

Killijan, the middle-aged man, couldn’t argue with her and6:37

just sighed

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< Chapter 15 Top Student?

Olivia rolled her eyes. “What an attention seeker. Always has

to show off how different she is.”

Austin caught Nicole’s encouragement, took a deep breath, and started improvising his speech.

He talked about his daily routine from three different angles:

academics, lifestyle, and mindset.

But since he was completely winging it and pretty nervous,

he stumbled through the whole thing and barely made any

sense.

The audience kept frowning as they listened.

Students and parents who’d been excited for the speech started shaking their heads.

This was what the top student in the city could do?

No substance, no logic. Nobody could even understand what he was trying to say.

Did he cheat on his test scores or something?

Austin wasn’t even finished yet when people in the audience Started booing.

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< Chapter 15 Top Student?

“What kind of speech was that? Get off the stage!”

The audience was full of competitive young students. Austin had earned first place in the entire city, but he was treating everyone like they didn’t matter. Nobody was buying into his

attitude.

Someone called out, “You talked all that time without sharing a single study tip. Did you just coast by on natural talent to get first place?”

Austin’s expression turned serious. “I never said it was all talent, but my IQ is 135.”

“God, he’s so full of himself!” someone sneered.

The host stood there looking uncomfortable. “Austin, just say

a few thank yous, and you can come down now.”

Austin seemed to remember something.

“There’s one person I really need to thank. Ninth grade was incredibly stressful, and when I was feeling anxious and overwhelmed, she helped me relax and gave me encouragement. She told me there’s more to life than just

academics.

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< Chapter 15 Top Student?

The whole auditorium went dead silent. The quiet lasted a full 30 seconds. Then chaos broke out.

“Who’s Nicole? Is that his sister or something?”

“Is he being honest or just clueless? He could’ve at least thanked his teachers and parents.”

“‘There’s more to life than studying.’ What a pretentious thing to say!”

Of course, Austin had plenty of options in life. His family was

loaded, and his grades were perfect.

But most of the people in that auditorium were from regular

families who’d come here to get their own kids fired up about

studying. Hearing him say something like that in this setting

just felt insulting.

Even the education department officials sitting in the front

row were whispering to each other and shaking their heads, clearly displeased.

Austin headed backstage.

Jennifer looked at the student she’d taught for three years,

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the one who’d placed first in the city. She couldn’t quite pu

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