The Treacherous Test
By: Ryan Gehm

The second test of the year – I knew I would ace it. “Why try as hard as I can to study? It’s supposed to be easy.”

I came in the classroom smiling, I knew I would do great… Ms. Woods says start, and I take off the test cover. “Do 3 of the four problems.” The directions read. The first one I finished essily, the next problem, not so much, the next, I barely knew how to do, then the next, I didn’t know how to at all — I had gone braindead. The rest of the problems seemed really hard even though I knew that they should have been easy.

I knew I had done bad–I just didn’t know how bad. The first time I checked Skyward for my grade, my average was a 94. Then again a 94. The third time still a 94. I couldn’t believe that the grade couldn’t have been in yet. I then clicked on that 94 with a full heart that I maybe actually have done well on the test.

Test grade blank.

I then started to shake. Why hasn’t the grade gone in yet!? Did I do too bad that she wanted to talk to me before she put it in? Why is it still blank?

At 7:53 I checked again and saw the grade. That days dinner started to come up into my mouth,my head started spinning, and I my mouth dried up. My mom would be furious–I got a 64!!!

I decided my mom would be less mad if I told her instead of Skyward. So I did it, I told her. I couldn’t see her face because it was dark but I imagined her brain exploding with anger. Then, I prepared for the yelling, but instead, I got a nice calm voice, “It’s ok, just make sure that on the rest of the tests you do really well and try a lot harder to make your average better.

I then knew that I had to try harder in school; if there was a test the next day I have to be ready 100%. Like in Beowulf, there is a little good in everything bad. I think that the little bit of good in that bad was that I now try harder in school so I will never fail a test again.