Page 12 of Break Points and Face Offs

She’s giving him praise. That’s my praise. He’s stealing my praise.

I can’t let this happen. The surest sign of a great man is how he deals with adversity. Well, here’s my adversity. Time to show Professor Moreno how I battle through it like a champ.

She’s writing something on the board. I focus hard to understand what it is.

A scenario. Okay, excellent, I’m good at these.

The scenario is giving us a client in a sticky financial situation and asking us what options we would suggest for the client to get out of it.

She looks right at Will when she turns back to the class for an answer.

He gives one. It isn’t a bad answer, but I can do better.

I raise my hand.

“You don’t have to raise your hand, Mr. Rosenthal, this isn’t preschool.”

Someone snorts.

I keep a smile on my face as I nod. “Yes, Professor. I just didn’t want to interrupt William. You were done speaking, weren’t you, William?”

He rolls his eyes. “Go ahead.”

I clear my throat before launching into a detailed description of all the ways in which he’s wrong, hoping I enunciate his idiocy subtly enough to deny it if I’m called out. When I’m done, I glance over to check his reaction.

He’s not looking at me. He’s too busy frowning at the board. “That’s all good and well, but what about the potential long-term fallout?”

Professor Moreno has her arms crossed, a curious smile on her face as she watches us spar.

I lean back in my chair, confident. “You have to take big risks in order to gain big capital.”

He makes a very ungentlemanly noise in the back of his throat. “Oh, that’s typical. Our client isn’t a billionaire. They might not be able to take big risks.”

“So, why are they coming to us?” I shrug. “I’m assuming we’re the best in this scenario. Weren’t you?”

Will shoots back with something about client-advisor ethics. I’m about to offer him a response when Professor Moreno interrupts us.

“You both make excellent points, gentlemen. Now, shall we move onto the next scenario?”

I crack my knuckles, readying myself for the fight. But Professor Moreno speaks to the class with her back still turned. “I’d like to hear from someone else this time. Thank you.”

Okay, fine. Maybe I’ve done enough to redeem myself. Set the groundwork to show Professor Moreno that I’m better than Will O’Reilly in every way.

When she’s finished grilling us with scenarios, Professor Moreno wipes the part of board clean that isn’t the leaderboard. She starts wiping names from the bottom and middle of the board and switching things around based on our peer review grades. To my chagrin, the top four spots remain static. Will at number one, me at number two, Alice Liang at number three and Tomasz Petroski at number four.

“For your next assignment, I’m splitting you into groups.” Professor Moreno announces.

I groan internally. I loathe group projects. It usually just means more work for me and having to deal with morons. Let’s just say delegation isn’t my strong suit. But when you have the capabilities and time to do something yourself, why would you need delegation skills?

“Working as part of a team is integral to your success in the real world,” Professor Moreno says, leaning against her desk. “One skill you’ll especially have to learn is how to deal with difficult personalities.”

Did she look at me when she said that?

“I’m going to call out the groups now, so make a note of who you’re with. It’s up to you to decide how you’ll handle the project.”

I prepare myself for what’s coming. She’s going to put me and Will in opposing groups and watch us tear each other limb from limb, like gladiators. Good. May the best man win—me.

“Group A: Will O’Reilly, Peter Chow, Emily Harper, Scott Gerittson and Priestley Rosenthal.”