The Test | Teen Ink

The Test

August 5, 2009
By kookoodood PLATINUM, McGregor, Texas
kookoodood PLATINUM, McGregor, Texas
20 articles 0 photos 43 comments

“All right, everyone, the test is about to begin.”

I was sitting in a nondescript desk that was swimming in an ichthyologic school of nondescript desks. The administrator was moving through us, pausing occasionally to hand out a paper or rap a student sharply on the head for moving ahead without listening to instructions; other than this she was silent and stalwart. A stone face on Easter Island emoted more than she did.

In truth, I wasn’t really listening myself. I was too busy thinking of problems that wouldn’t appear on the test. My girlfriend, Stacy, kept springing to mind. She was a cheerleader; that I had no problem with. The problem was her late-night practices, and how she would return sweaty and disheveled with each long night. I told myself that I was crazy, that she would never do what I was suspecting.

“…test will consist of…”

It wasn’t rational of me to think this way. Or was it? I wasn’t sure. Most likely, this was pre-test jitters and a couple of multiple-choice questions would set me straight; get me thinking on the logical plane again. The admin passed out the test, mouthing something about stopping when she said to. Or maybe she spoke it. Once again, I wasn’t sure.

I wasn’t sure about a lot of things lately.

I snapped out of my reverie/pensive thinking as the spidery lady in the purple-and-red muumuu snapped, “You may begin,” succinctly. I brushed the sweat from my brows, blinked three times, ran a hand through my hair, tapped my eraser twice on the desk, once on each side of the test booklet, tapped my right foot twice and my left foot once, and slowly opened up my test booklet. It was my good-luck ritual. I don’t know why, but for some reason I had developed an irrevocable belief that it would help me in some small way.

I looked at the questions.



Question 1


Stacy, I love you : What? :: You said we needed to talk? : ____

a)
It’s going good, sweetie.
b)
Yeah. Greg, there’s someone else.
c)
Good, now that you’re here.
d)
Hey, Greg. It’s going okay. Want to go get ice cream?


I choked on my own saliva. It said Stacy? What—what kind of sick joke is this? I immediately dismissed it as pre-test jitters (again), and circled letter B. Then I moved on quickly, almost frenziedly, to the next question.

This was only what I had expected. I mean, what did I want to think? Stacy’s doubtful fidelity had always been an issue with me. I had never questioned that she was a cheerleader; it was her life and she could do with it what she wanted. It just seemed that, time in and time out, cheerleading seemed to take precedence over me. This I was not cool with. I figured that, as her boyfriend, I would move up her hypothetical “To-Do List”. That sounds bad. What kind of test was this? I promised myself that I would endure one more question before asking the admin if I was on Punk’d or Candid Camera or something of the sort. I hastily circled B and quickly ran through my pre-test ritual again before I turned the page to the third question.



Question 3


Define marvelous.

a)
superb
b)
the word Stacy says when Mark Donaghy kisses her neck
c)
expected
d)
paltry


I saved myself the trouble of choking on my spit again and coughed out of surprise before any liquid could ooze its way down the wrong windpipe. I coughed partially because every answer had been B, but more importantly because this test was highlighting my girlfriend’s infidelity and it was my ticket into college. And I was failing.

I raised my hand indignantly, stabbing the air with my open palm. The muumuu-wearing-a-lady-underneath came stomping over, sighing like it was the end of the world. Which, technically, it was: The world of me and Stacy was going to implode, should this line of questioning continue as such.

“Yes, what is it?” she snapped. I gesticulated wildly to the questions in front of me detailing my girlfriend’s actions. She looked at them, and then looked back. “Well? Is there a problem?” I looked down at the test questions.

The word Stacy appeared in none of them, nor did the word neck, nor did the words unlimited or supply or of or Diet or Coke, which, when strung together, form a phrase that is always lovely to hear; however, now was not the time to think about luscious beverages that Stacy and I drank two-liter bottles of at parties on dares.

I sighed and muttered that no, nothing was wrong. The female skeleton dressed in drapery muttered something about “bubble head” and swept back pompously to her desk.

Wipe. Blink. Blink. Blink. Slide. Whap. Tap. Thump. Thump. Whomp.

The usual.

Stare at the next question.

Also the usual.

Read the question.

That was when it stopped being normal. Or resumed its normalcy, if this test was the gold standard of normal. Who was I to judge?



Question 4


Revise the bracketed section of the following sentence: The cheerleader whispered that Greg [never needed to know] about her and Mark.


a)
was completely oblivious
b)
knew completely and was furious
c)
didn’t have a clue
d)
No revision needed.


Finally, an answer other than B. I circled D.

This pattern continued on through the English section.

Wipe.
b)
the spot where we first got ice cream

Blink.
a)
on the lips
Blink.
c)
possibly because she’s bored
Blink.
d)
the captain of the football team
Slide.
e)
is cheating with your girlfriend
Whap.
b)
and you can’t do anything
Tap.
a)
to stop it from happening
Thump.
b)
under the bleachers after practice
Thump.
d) after school in the locker room
Whomp.
c)
every day you’re not there.
Wipeblinkblinkblinkslidewhaptapthumpthumpwhomp.

I had finally survived the English gauntlet. The wave of relief that washed over me was quickly replaced by terror at the math portion and what it would bring.

Math. It was never my strong suit. English, obviously, was more my subject of choice, though at that moment I could think of no worse subject. Math was the curse of my GPA; it was the reason that I wrote. In my opinion, math was the ultimate blasphemy against the sacred temple of Writing. Math. The word filled me with contempt. Now, however, there was no escaping it. I closed my eyes and broke the seal on the right-hand side of the page. The first question greeted me almost cheerily.


Question 1


If a cone has a circular base with radius r and the height h is 4/3 the length of the radius, how much will the cone hold in volume?

a)
4/3πr²
b)
Not enough to save your relationship with Stacy
c)
3/4πr²
d)
4/3 ∙ 2πr


The answer, like it was most of the time, was B.



Question 2


If x = 3/4 y² + 14z, what does x/3 equal in terms of v, if v = 3/8 y² + 7z?

a)
3v/2
b)
x = v(ery likely your relationship is over)
c)
v/6
d)
Answer not given



Once again, it was B.

I sighed once and tried to concentrate, knowing that my relationship was through, it was done, whether this stupid test was right or not. Whether or not my fears were founded, it was worth it to escape this torture of the mind that occurred every day Stacy was gone.

It was worth it to pass this test and get to college.

Leave all this behind.

Leave her behind.

Almost imperceptibly, I heard a bird whistling from beyond the window.

Whap. Tap. Whomp.


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JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 75 comments.


Crulz BRONZE said...
on Jul. 25 2012 at 7:24 pm
Crulz BRONZE, Atlanta, Georgia
2 articles 0 photos 8 comments

Favorite Quote:
When I was young I had a quick sand box in my back yard to play with. I had 5 brothers and sisters. I never liked the sandbox. But I ended up loving it because, I was the only child... eventually.

You really captured the anxity of the moment. I was well written and great vocabulary. I loved every bit of it. :-)

ShelbyBouck said...
on Apr. 6 2012 at 11:47 pm
Ahhh! This is awesome. By far some of the best work I've seen on this website. You like adverbs a lot, and some of them are unnecessary (i.e. "she said succinctly"--in that context it just sounds wordy). It could use a little perfunctory pruning, but it made me laugh and also managed to make me a little sad. It felt very real, and I like that. Good job.

Ayerhs said...
on Feb. 26 2012 at 11:13 am
It's funny, touching, cute, hilariously strange, and definitely unique. I like how you fitted the Stacy isses in question form. Five stars for the first test I've seen that made me smile and be a little sad for Greg too. :) :(

on Jan. 31 2012 at 6:58 pm
awesomealways, L.A, California
0 articles 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
"Does grilling burgers fry ur brain, or do u grill burgers all day cuz u have no brain?!?"

very... different. But in a good way! Nice job. It's defined as... (a) superb (b) hope u do another one (c) horrid (d) other

Wergugy said...
on Jan. 9 2012 at 4:20 pm
Wergugy, Vancouver, District Of Columbia
0 articles 0 photos 2 comments
Great job, the story is very unique and interesting.

on Dec. 18 2011 at 9:08 pm
Barrel_racer_luvr_4ever, Mexia, Texas
0 articles 8 photos 28 comments

Favorite Quote:
If you are thrown, face your fears and get back in the saddle no matter what!- My personal experiences.

This is really cool! Great job! I wish people would post more stuff like this, it is very original.

Art_Trash said...
on Dec. 18 2011 at 6:41 pm
Art_Trash, Frankfort, New York
0 articles 2 photos 21 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Say what you think and think what you want. Because the ones who mind don't matter, and the ones who matter, don't mind." ~Dr.Suess
"Every artist was once an amateur."

This is so beastly!!!!

I love it! :)


on Dec. 18 2011 at 10:12 am
fictitious-quandary GOLD, Orlando, Florida
18 articles 5 photos 83 comments

Favorite Quote:
Knowing is not enough; we must apply.
Willing is not enough; we must do.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

"Whether you think you can or you think you can't, you're right"
- Henry Ford

wow good job and congrats this is the second most liked fiction story so good job! :)

on Nov. 26 2011 at 6:25 pm
Alex_Durham GOLD, Vineland, New Jersey
14 articles 1 photo 234 comments

Favorite Quote:
Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

all I have to say is that this better get put into the magazine!!!! great work! the concept was so original!

Ella1 GOLD said...
on Nov. 26 2011 at 10:36 am
Ella1 GOLD,
14 articles 7 photos 137 comments
I love how you wrote the story following a test, very creative! You also have a great voice that comes through! Would you mind reading some of my work if you get a chance? I would love to hear what you think!

on Oct. 13 2011 at 10:22 pm
NintaiKyouboku BRONZE, Portland, Oregon
4 articles 0 photos 14 comments

Favorite Quote:
"To win you've got to enter first."

this is good :D

on Oct. 13 2011 at 6:24 pm
QueenNobo SILVER, Port Harcourt, Other
5 articles 0 photos 13 comments

Favorite Quote:
If at first you don't succeed, try, try, and try again.

Great writing there!

on Oct. 13 2011 at 6:23 pm
QueenNobo SILVER, Port Harcourt, Other
5 articles 0 photos 13 comments

Favorite Quote:
If at first you don't succeed, try, try, and try again.

Wow...this is soooo good!!! I wish you continued...

P.s pls  can you heck out my story and criticise it? thanx. ;-)


on Sep. 21 2011 at 3:29 pm
singinginthegardn GOLD, Cowell, Massachusetts
16 articles 2 photos 158 comments

Favorite Quote:
"The role of a writer is not to say what we all can say, but what we are unable to say." ~Anaïs Nin

This was extremely interesting!! <3 bravooooo!!

on Aug. 8 2011 at 1:38 pm
NKsunshine BRONZE, Palatine, Illinois
1 article 0 photos 75 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I don't need easy, I just need possible!" ~Bethany Hamilton

Loved it:) Nuff said....

on Aug. 8 2011 at 11:13 am
Tongue_Blep PLATINUM, ????, Ohio
40 articles 1 photo 769 comments
Very creative! wow that was sooo kewl! I very nice piece of work! great job! I just posted a new story i wrote called: Alien invasion series book one: the caller. If any of u had time please go check it out and post feedback and comments. It would be much appreciated! Thanks! and keep writing everyone! :)(:

on Jun. 25 2011 at 7:33 pm
AlyssaFama SILVER, Kunkletown, Pennsylvania
5 articles 0 photos 60 comments

Favorite Quote:
Most people want to be the sun that brightens your day. I'd rather be the moon that shines down on you in your darkest hour.

I really liked the way the story was played it! I never would have thought to write a story within a test. Brilliant!

Queena SILVER said...
on Jun. 25 2011 at 12:33 am
Queena SILVER, East Hanover, New Jersey
5 articles 0 photos 7 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon."

love the way you wrote this!!!! 5 stars! way to go!

on May. 12 2011 at 6:43 pm
RoundRobinGirl GOLD, Craigmont, Idaho
16 articles 0 photos 13 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Cowboy up, puss."

This was really cool! Keep writing!

on May. 12 2011 at 4:29 pm
steroids BRONZE, Deerfield Beach, Florida
3 articles 0 photos 9 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Don't judge a book by its cover."

 this is amazing how you said this....i know im late reading this but thats not what matters. really talented is what i see(: