GAME of FATE

Chapter Twenty-Two

The first day of our midterm has arrived so fast.

“Good luck partner!” Terence pats my shoulder and smile before he enters his assigned room.

“You too, good luck in there.” I say, trying not to picture him with mutated beast in his arms. I have been picturing him this way since I left the underground laboratory months ago. What’s worse is that it’s hunting me in my dreams too. I see myself running, screaming and getting eaten by hideous monsters and all I can hear is Terence saying I’m sorry.

Each room in the examination building consist of ten students, we are parted from each other to avoid cheating. But there’s a big change in the test papers. There are ten flat screen monitor sitting on the table. The test will be done electronically. Everything is in the computer, questions and answers to choose from, all we have to do is click on the box that corresponds to our best choice. Most scholars already gave us the hint that midterm examination is harder than the entrance examination. Some of the questions are familiar to me. I’ve seen them in some reviewers the scholars lend to us in preparation for this test. I don’t have to waste my time in reading it again; first and last sentences are basically the same, and even the choices are the same so I click on the right answer and focus on the unfamiliar ones. The other questions are as hard as hell. I don’t even understand the question itself it look like ancient writings for me. What’s happening to me? Why doesn’t my mind work properly today? I’m doomed!

I’m fifteen questions away before I can finish the test when suddenly the computer shuts down by itself. I panic. “Excuse me sir, my computer just switched off.” I raise my right hand to the administrator which happens to be my P.E instructor, Professor Robert Collins from Ventus.

“Not just yours, Ms Valtimore, everybody else’s too.” He says, and then I realized that the other nine students are as hysterical as I am. “The test is set for limited time only, when that time is over, the computer will automatically shut down.” He explains.

“Why didn’t you tell us earlier!” shouts Amber.

“You are in higher education now, and in here we don’t spoon feed students. If you have problems with that Ms Sparks, complain to Professor Great.”

I missed fifteen points in the first exam, but that will not hold me, I need to do better on the next ten subjects – four more today and six tomorrow. I have a lot of subjects to take, and it’s causing my brain to explode. I don’t know why I’m feeling lazy or distracted lately. I only scan my books and pretend to be studying when we were in the library well in fact all I am thinking is to go to the underground lab and help Professor Wood do the experiments.

I feel like I’m floating in the wilderness as I answer the questions for the next set of exams. The answers are all in the tip of my tongue, I just can’t process it to my brain, and it sucks, a lot.

Computerized exam is much faster and reliable than the manual one, after the midterm week, exam results are finally in. All we have to do is go to the IT rooms and type our student number in the touch-screen computer for us to see the much awaited results.

I didn’t expect what I saw. I failed three subjects: Nature Attitude and Health, Music and Arts Appreciation and Ethics. Four average grades, neither failed nor high: Debate and Speech, Technical Livelihood Education, I.T 1 and Team Sports. Basic Defence Combat, Laws on Ezmer and History with Politics and Governance are the only subjects I got with high grades.

This is a shame.

My eyes are starting to produce tears, I can’t control it. I swallow hard to prevent the tears from falling. I am so disappointed with myself. My plans to top all my subjects are all gone. And there’s a big probability that this will affect my scholarship.