What We Take Away

Chapter 5 | Cassie

"Those are big dreams!" I marvel, in awe and somewhat jealous. "I don't even know who I want to be yet..." my voice trails off awkwardly.

Chase gives me a curious look and wipes his mouth with a napkin. Reaching into his bag, he finds a notebook and tears a piece of scrap paper from it and hands me a pencil.

"Here, write down your info," he says. "I might need a keys player in the near future, and I like your sound."

"S-sure!" I reply, taking the pencil and jotting down my email and cell number. Chase takes the paper and shoves it into his bag along with his big Bible.

"Sweet, thanks," Chase smiles. "I'll see you around, Cassie Yang!"

Scooting backwards from the table, he hauls the longboard under one arm and grabs his backpack and tray with the other. He gives me a cheerful wave before dashing off, returning me to my quiet thoughts once more.

---

My sense of peace is disrupted moments later when the Hahn from Hell gives an unwelcome announcement at the start of class.

"Your first exam will take place in two weeks," she tells us. "Before you leave today, you will each receive a problem set of sample test questions I have used in previous years. The questions are designed to challenge your problem-solving skills and cunning. To help you prepare, you will work in small groups today and solve at least two of three problems I will give you shortly."

There's a murmur around the room as we sort ourselves into groups of four or five. Ranjit and I team up with Abbie Kerrigan and a boy named Hunter Zhou, who looks as though he is still asleep. The Hahn from Hell places a few handouts on Abbie's desk, which she promptly passes to each of us, and we begin to read.

The words swim before my eyes as I try to make sense of the problems. The problems are intricate and difficult, and some have several steps... how do I even begin to solve these? Anxiously, I glance up at Ranjit, whose brow is furrowed with concentration.

"This isn't bad," he mumbles.

"No, this isn't bad at all," Abbie nods in agreement.

"For the first problem, the rate of appearance of the product is related to the rate of disappearance of the reactants," he says slowly. "Guys, I know how to solve it!"

"And the second problem looks tricky, but the steps are easy," Abbie smiles. "I've already calculated the average rate of change in concentration."

"O-oh," I stammer, wanting to help. "Should I calculate the next part? The average rate of disappearance of hydrogen sulfite ion—"

"It's 2.7 mols per second," Hunter grunts without looking up. "I can plot the concentration of disulfate ion versus time."

"Great!" Abbie chirps. "I'll start the next graph, then."

"How can I help?" I ask, glancing around at my group nervously. But Ranjit is busy scribbling away, and both Hunter and Abbie have already begun to plot their graphs.

"You can attempt the next problem?" Abbie shrugs.

My group mates charge on ahead as though I'm not there. In every group project, there's always a straggler – and in freshman honors chemistry, it's me. I try my best to follow along, but it becomes clear that my peers' grasp of chemistry is far superior to my own. I'll need to redouble my efforts for this exam if I want to have a chance for a decent grade this semester.

"Cassie, did you figure out the third problem yet?" Abbie asks.

"Um... I—not quite," I admit reluctantly. "I think I'm a little stuck."