There were only 15 minutes until lunch. But everyone in Mrs. Stretch's math class was waiting excitedly for the start of Around the World.
Around the World was Eddie's favorite classroom game. He loved racing against a classmate to solve a math problem. Eddie won and lost. But his friend Michael never lost. He was the champion （冠军） of Around the World. Every week he would go around the classroom winning against everyone.
"Are we all ready?" Mrs. Stretch asked. Everyone nodded.
"Then let's begin," said Mrs. Stretch. "Talia, you start. "
Talia was new to the class. This would be her first time playing. She jumped up and went over to Eddie's desk. Eddie stood up, too.
"Twelve times two," said Mrs. Stretch.
"Twenty-four!" Talia called out, a second before Eddie could.
Eddie sat down, disappointed but sill happy to know the right answer.
Talia moved on to challenge the next classmate. She seemed unstoppable. Finally, Talia got to Michael.
"Eight times twelve. " Mrs. Stretch said.
"Ninety-six!" shouted Talia first.
The class sat shocked, then everyone cheered for Talia, today's champion.
"Nice job, Talia," said Mrs. Stretch, "It's time for lunch, everyone, Now line up, please. "
Eddie stood to go to lunch. He noticed Michael had his head down on his desk, his face buried in his arms. Eddie walked to Michael and put his hand on his shoulder.
"It's OK to. Jose," Eddie said. "I lose Around the World all the time. You're still great at multiplication. "
"That's not why I'm upset," Michael said into his arms. "No one likes me. They cheered when I lost. "
"You think they cheered against you?" Eddie asked.
"▲"Michael said.
"I think they cheered because they were too surprised," Eddie said, "You're the champ. Talia had to do her best to beat you. So, people were excited about it. "
"She is really good at math," Michael agreed.
"And so are you," said Eddie. "You help us all work harder. Because of you, we probably have the best math class in the whole school. "
"Thanks," Michael said. He smiled at Eddie, "Do you want to sit together at lunch?"
"Sure," said Eddie. "You can quiz me on math problems and help me get better. "
Michael stood up, "Challenge accepted!"
