chapter 22: reno is proud of his boyfriend
~reno~
I wait outside of the exam room for Weisz to finish his social studies exam. He has studied very hard the past couple days, so I have faith that he'll pass. But that didn't stop him from feeling worried that he's not going to pass. He was stressing basically all night over the exam, and I did try my best to assure him that he'll pass.
I already finished the only exam I have this semester, so I decide to wait for Weisz. I did finish mine early, so only a few people in Weisz's exam room have finished and left. I want to look into the room to see if I can spot Weisz, but there's a sign on the door saying Exam in progress. Don't disturb.
I settle with sitting on a nearby bench, going on my phone to pass time. More and more people leave the exam room, but Weisz is still in there.
Eventually, Jane walks out of the room and spots me, so she heads over. "How was the exam?" I ask.
"It wasn't the easiest, but it also wasn't too difficult," she says. "I just hope Weisz is doing okay. I kept looking over to him, but he always looked like he was stressing."
"Yeah, he was stressed all night," I say. "He barely got any sleep over it."
"I guess telling him that he'll pass the class even if he fails the exam didn't help," Jane says.
"He's also worried that his parents won't let him surf competitively this summer if he does bad in school," I say.
"That makes sense," Jane says. "I think they will still let him surf because he's at least trying and not just blowing off school. But Weisz is also the type of person to worry about something until whatever he's worrying about is confirmed to happen or not happen."
Weisz must have really been worrying about the exam because he takes the full three hours to finish it, and when he walks out of the exam room, he looks upset. "Hey, I'm sure you did okay," I assure.
Weisz sighs. "But there were a few questions I didn't answer at all."
"That's okay," I say. "Exams basically test your memory anyway and not your actual intelligence. Like why would I need to know when something happened when I could just look up the answer on the internet?"
"I know you're trying to make me feel better, but that doesn't change the fact that I probably did poorly on the exam," Weisz says.
I gently stroke Weisz's arm. "It's okay, Weisz. Really. You're not going to fall at all, so you don't have to worry about going to summer school. All you have to do is ask your parents if you can surf competitively this summer, and I'm sure they'll let you."
"Not if I almost failed one of my classes."
"You still tried. That should be all that matters. Your parents were already so happy that you decided to get back into surfing. They'll be even more happy that you want to surf competitively."
"I don't know..."
"Why don't we go talk to them right now instead of just waiting for you to get your final grade? That way, you can get your answer now."
Weisz hesitates before he nods and agrees to it. He especially wants me to come talk to his parents with him since he knows how persuasive I can be. After all, I was able to talk his parents into letting him go on the school trip to Paris after they became reluctant when he got sick.
We leave the school and drive back to town, heading to his house so we can try talking to his parents. If I'm being honest, I do think his parents will let him surf competitively in the summer despite whatever grades he gets. Weisz seems to think they'll be babying him because of his cancer, but I know it will because he still tried his best in school.
Weisz's mom is the only one home when we get there since his dad is at work. As soon as we walk in, she asks, "So how did your exam go?"
"Uh..." Weisz hesitates before he sighs. "I don't think I did too well. I missed a few questions."
"That's okay," Sheila says. "The important thing is that you tried, and I know how hard you studied."
"Really?" Weisz asks.
Sheila nods. "Besides, social studies was never my best subject either. I know how hard it can be for some people."
Weisz seems to be relieved to hear that his mom isn't mad at all that Weisz didn't do well, so it gives him the confidence to ask, "So... Even if I don't get a good grade overall, would I be able to surf competitively this summer? Tryouts are soon..."
Sheila smiles, happy to hear that her son is getting back into one of his passions that he had to give up the first time he got leukaemia. "As long as you pass your classes so summer school won't interfere with it, I'd be more than happy to let you surf competitively again. You tried your best in school and you went through a lot this year with your diagnosis and the homophobia you had to face at the school here. If surfing competitively will make you happy, I want to see you do it again, and I know your father will agree."
Weisz hugs his mom. "Thank you so much."
Sheila hugs Weisz back. "Of course, sweetie. Send me any information you have about the tryouts so I can stay in the loop, too."
"I will," Weisz says.
Now that Weisz no longer has to worry about his parents not letting him surf competitively, he seems to relax a lot. And despite just getting to Weisz's house, we decide to go to mine to relax after exams. Totally not because my dad is at work so we would be home alone. That would be crazy.
As soon as we get to my house, I lead Weisz to my room. The moment we're in my room, I press my lips onto his, leading him to my bed. We definitely deserve the fun, I guess you can say, after we worked hard on our exams.
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yay weisz is for sure going to surf competitively! that's if he makes it on the team...