thought you were ready for this."
"He might think so, but I—"
"Don't belittle yourself. You can do it. Remember everything you've learned in class and everything Matt re-taught you in tutoring."
That was a lot to remember.
I signed, knowing I had to face this test before I could get on with my day. Might as well get it over with. "Hope you have a lot of bonuses."
"One or two." Ms. Bennett grinned. She got up from her stool, and I went to my seat. I had to pass Rodney's seat.
He made a point to stare at me when I walked by. He puckered his lips in a kiss and threw it my direction with a sneer on his lips. I did not want to meet him in a dark area of the school alone. Rodney was kind of scary.
I settled in my seat and pulled out a pencil. No need for my book on test day. Everything had to come out of my brain, scary as it was. It had felt kind of funny since I'd stopped eating so much, like I couldn't concentrate as well. For this test, I would have to get over it. I needed at least a B, hopefully an A. If I dared to dream, a high A.
For the next fifty minutes, I worked harder on geometry than I ever had in my life. Some of the questions seemed easy (I could do the Pythagorean Theorem in my sleep) and some were really hard (had we covered triangles that looked all lopsided and crooked?).
After I'd answered every question and checked them at least three times — and a lot of second guessing myself — I walked up to Ms. Bennett and handed her my paper.
"How do you think you did?" she asked, looking over the front page.
"I think if you gave grades for completeness and brain cells used, I'd get an A."
"Hmm…" She lifted her glasses to her nose and looked more closely at the problems toward the bottom. "And on actual answers correct?"
I sighed as an answer.
She seemed to understand. "If you have a second to stop by after third period, I'll have this graded. Or I can give it to you at tutoring—"
"No!" I cut her off. "I want to know as soon as possible. I don't think my stomach will last not knowing too long."
She laughed and put my paper on the top of the stack. "See you before lunch."
Chapter Ten
Third period dragged by. I'd never wanted to get to Geometry so much in my life. When the bell rang, I was the first one out of the room, bulldozing past some band guys at the door. I was out of breath when I made it to the classroom. If people stared, I didn't care. I needed my grade!
Ms. Bennett jumped when I barreled in but laughed when she saw it was me. "Excited?"
"Nervous." I leaned on her desk and tapped my foot. My heart beat in my throat. Why wouldn't the woman hurry up and tell me my grade? Was it a teacher's job to make students suffer?
"One hundred."
"Excuse me?" One hundred what?
"One hundred. You made a one hundred." Ms. Bennett repeated slower. The happiness in her voice was evident.
"One hundred." It sounded so foreign. "I made a one hundred?"
"You, my dear, made a one hundred." She handed me the paper with the huge 1-0-0 on the top. I couldn't believe it. There was no way!
"I did this?"
She giggled. Her face was as bright as mine felt. "I'm proud of you."
I couldn't say anything to that. My eyes stayed focused on the 100. I'd done it. I'd done it! I finally found the ability to flip through the papers. I'd missed one problem and gotten two bonuses correct. It all equaled one hundred. Whoa!
"You gonna be okay?" she asked. I thought she was getting worried about my mental health.
I nodded. "I'm better than okay. Thank you. Thank you so much."
She shrugged, still smiling ear to ear. "You did it. I just helped. Matt mostly. I don't know what he did to motivate you, but I think he needs some thanks."
Thanks. Yes, he needed a lot of thanks. I threw the paper on her desk and gave her a huge hug. "Thank you!"
I didn't wait for an answer. I jogged out of the room and up the hallway toward the cafeteria. Most people wouldn't get so excited about one math grade, but I wasn't most people.
"He might think so, but I—"
"Don't belittle yourself. You can do it. Remember everything you've learned in class and everything Matt re-taught you in tutoring."
That was a lot to remember.
I signed, knowing I had to face this test before I could get on with my day. Might as well get it over with. "Hope you have a lot of bonuses."
"One or two." Ms. Bennett grinned. She got up from her stool, and I went to my seat. I had to pass Rodney's seat.
He made a point to stare at me when I walked by. He puckered his lips in a kiss and threw it my direction with a sneer on his lips. I did not want to meet him in a dark area of the school alone. Rodney was kind of scary.
I settled in my seat and pulled out a pencil. No need for my book on test day. Everything had to come out of my brain, scary as it was. It had felt kind of funny since I'd stopped eating so much, like I couldn't concentrate as well. For this test, I would have to get over it. I needed at least a B, hopefully an A. If I dared to dream, a high A.
For the next fifty minutes, I worked harder on geometry than I ever had in my life. Some of the questions seemed easy (I could do the Pythagorean Theorem in my sleep) and some were really hard (had we covered triangles that looked all lopsided and crooked?).
After I'd answered every question and checked them at least three times — and a lot of second guessing myself — I walked up to Ms. Bennett and handed her my paper.
"How do you think you did?" she asked, looking over the front page.
"I think if you gave grades for completeness and brain cells used, I'd get an A."
"Hmm…" She lifted her glasses to her nose and looked more closely at the problems toward the bottom. "And on actual answers correct?"
I sighed as an answer.
She seemed to understand. "If you have a second to stop by after third period, I'll have this graded. Or I can give it to you at tutoring—"
"No!" I cut her off. "I want to know as soon as possible. I don't think my stomach will last not knowing too long."
She laughed and put my paper on the top of the stack. "See you before lunch."
Chapter Ten
Third period dragged by. I'd never wanted to get to Geometry so much in my life. When the bell rang, I was the first one out of the room, bulldozing past some band guys at the door. I was out of breath when I made it to the classroom. If people stared, I didn't care. I needed my grade!
Ms. Bennett jumped when I barreled in but laughed when she saw it was me. "Excited?"
"Nervous." I leaned on her desk and tapped my foot. My heart beat in my throat. Why wouldn't the woman hurry up and tell me my grade? Was it a teacher's job to make students suffer?
"One hundred."
"Excuse me?" One hundred what?
"One hundred. You made a one hundred." Ms. Bennett repeated slower. The happiness in her voice was evident.
"One hundred." It sounded so foreign. "I made a one hundred?"
"You, my dear, made a one hundred." She handed me the paper with the huge 1-0-0 on the top. I couldn't believe it. There was no way!
"I did this?"
She giggled. Her face was as bright as mine felt. "I'm proud of you."
I couldn't say anything to that. My eyes stayed focused on the 100. I'd done it. I'd done it! I finally found the ability to flip through the papers. I'd missed one problem and gotten two bonuses correct. It all equaled one hundred. Whoa!
"You gonna be okay?" she asked. I thought she was getting worried about my mental health.
I nodded. "I'm better than okay. Thank you. Thank you so much."
She shrugged, still smiling ear to ear. "You did it. I just helped. Matt mostly. I don't know what he did to motivate you, but I think he needs some thanks."
Thanks. Yes, he needed a lot of thanks. I threw the paper on her desk and gave her a huge hug. "Thank you!"
I didn't wait for an answer. I jogged out of the room and up the hallway toward the cafeteria. Most people wouldn't get so excited about one math grade, but I wasn't most people.
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