Chapter 11 - Exam and Competitions

It’s the school’s midterm examination day. The students are all stressed out, including Lukas. He told me earlier that it was the first time he was nervous about exams.

“I don’t know what to do,” Lukas shares. “This time, I really feel nervous about it.”

“Nervous because you might be hated by Alinn forever?” I jest.

We are in my classroom. Instead of the bathrooms, where students love to escape during their exams, he is lounging here, probably hoping to take a peek at Alinn.

“Shouldn’t you return to the examination room?” I add.

“You are right. I should.”

Lukas stands up. However, the instant he does, the door bursts open, and Jason appears with a wide grin.

“Guess what, Teacher Cassie?!”

I look up at him. “What is it, Jason?”

“Five of us in the school paper will go to the regionals!”

“Oh,” I exclaim.

Lukas leans towards me and asks, “What does that mean?”

“That means they will write a feature about me in the school paper, and I will also treat them to nice food.”

“Ha!” he snorts. “You are getting poorer each day.”

“Life of a teacher,” I say. I shift my attention to Jason and say, “You still need to win in the regionals before you can go to the nationals. Why are you so happy?”

“Because the five of us? We all got first place in our category.”

Okay, I will admit. That’s a pretty good result.

“In that case, we will ask for extra coaching from you,” Jason adds.

“As you can see, I am busy with Alinn for the science quiz tomorrow. And I have this little mo—“ I cough, and Lukas glares at me. “I mean, I have Lukas to tutor.”

“We will really behave. Besides, this place is quieter than our assigned school paper room.”

“You have your school paper adviser, right?”

“We do. But, Teacher Cassie, she’s not like you. She can’t come up with new ideas.”

“Now, you are just patronizing.”

“No promised treats on restaurants, too.”

I laugh. “Okay, then. I’ll try to find time, but I can’t promise anything.”

“Thanks, Teacher Cassie! You’re the best!” Jason shouts before he dashes off.

“Well, I think I will be off too. My exams will start soon,” Lukas says and leaves the room.

****************

The science quiz competition comes with a performance during the awarding ceremony. As expected, Alinn got first place, which means she will move on to the regionals.

My phone vibrates. I glance at it and see that it’s Lukas, asking if he can show himself today. I groan, and it doesn’t escape Alinn’s notice.

“Are you okay, Teacher Cassie?” she asks.

“It’s just Lukas who is pestering me to come here.”

“Uh-uh,” she says and keeps silent. She still hates Lukas. However, I need to do this because Lukas passed all his exams yesterday.

“You don’t think you can forgive him?” I ask.

“You’ve seen what he’d done to me,” she answers.

Well, I did, and it’s very wrong. “I think that it’s not just about the kiss, though. Lukas has done a couple of things that made you angry?”

We shift our attention to the stage. It is a wooden platform that is elevated by only a meter. When the performers are done, the enormous hall becomes silent again, and with the audience chattering, the hall echoes like a vast empty church. I can also hear the excited murmurs of the students. There are almost a hundred of us coming from different schools.

“I hate him because he spits on you.”

I frown. Alinn heard about it? “Ah, that. He went unconscious after that. I kind of lost myself and punched him,” I say, grinning. “Not something a teacher should do, mind you.”

“I still hate him for having the gall to do that!” She turns toward me, her eyes flashing in anger. “He even keeps on pestering me at school!”

“In what way?” I say.

“He’s always annoyingly following me around, and the other girls are starting to notice me! They also thought they could bully me! You have no idea how much I try to bottle it all in just so I won’t burst into fury!”

I smile. This girl. We really are alike. “You are being bullied? You know that you can talk to me about it.”

“Don’t worry, I am okay. Bullying is something that I can handle. When I can’t, I will come and ask for your help… in secret.”

“Does Lukas pester you as well?”

“Not that way! One time I told him that I want to drown him in honey, and then I will leave him alone on the school grounds so ants will crawl all over his skin!”

“Ah, you are so angry that you want to torture him?”

“And do you know what he said?!” she huffs angrily. “He says it’s a great idea! I can be the ant, he says. Better yet, we reverse it. I am the honey, and he will be the ant. Because, according to him, ants eat honey!”

Oh, that perverted little monster. “I understand,” I say. I pat Alinn’s head, and she starts to calm down. Maybe Lukas is correct. She really looks like an adorable little puppy.

Once she calms down, I say, “The young man is insufferable, huh?”

“He is,” Alinn responds this time. Her tone is soft and gentle again.

I watch as the principal of the host school climbs the stage. Her shoes make a clacking sound against the wooden floor. She expresses a long congratulatory message before she starts with the actual awarding.

“First place, Alinn Avery!” she announces.

Alinn stands up, and applause erupts again. She strides towards the stage, and I follow her. When she receives the certificate, pictures are taken.

“Alinn Avery will compete in the regionals held a month from now. Further details will be released soon.”

Alinn takes my arm and whispers, “I think I want some meat today, followed by some delicious, sweet drinks. The ones with chocolate syrup and whipped cream.”

“That’s pretty specific,” I say. “And I think I know just the place.”