First Exam

Jessica brought out a flexible ruler from her pillow after the girls all sat down. She began to wring the ruler.

"Jessica, why did you wake us up and what are you doing with that ruler?" Evelyn yawned as she tried hard to stay awake.

"This is what I'll be using to wake you up from now on, especially you and Stacy who like to sleep like koala bears."

Stacy chuckled and Evelyn gaped at her. We all concluded that Jessica was goofing around and went back to continue our nap although it was time for games.

I jolted out of my sleep when  I felt a sharp pain in my back and when I opened my eyes, I saw Jessica smiling at me. I didn't bother arguing with her as it was clear she meant business. I quietly got down from my bed and began to prepare for the next activity. I didn't bother to wake Stacy and Evelyn up as I wanted them to feel the pain I felt.

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Time went by fast and soon the weekend arrived. The whole school was unusually quiet as everyone was busy preparing for the upcoming tests and exams.

I hadn't been paying enough attention to my classmates to get to know their personas and characters apart from knowing their names which was just basic. The people who really stood out in my class that I couldn't help but notice were Serena and Henry. Serena was a playful, cheerful and optimistic girl. She was always singing and dancing out loud to a song or humming one in her head. Henry was a stoic-looking person who rarely laughed or made a noise in class and didn't pay much attention during class.

We finished the tests in one week and we all were very expectant to see our scores which brought anxiety to us the new students especially those on scholarship.

"How was the test?" Miss Christine asked us.

"It was okay."

"It was difficult."

"It was a cakewalk."

"I couldn't answer all the questions."

"Time wasn't enough for the test."

"It's okay, it's okay. Please keep quiet." Miss Christine gestured for us to stop talking.

"No matter how the test was for each of you, you still have the chance to make it up during the exams. The exams will come up in four weeks from today."

"Alright, serious matters aside." Miss Christine clapped her hands. "Tell me how the school has been treating you and also suggest what we should do for the Founder's Day celebration next year" Miss Christine chuckled, "it's just three months from now."

We all shared our experiences so far one after the other. The stories were so hilarious that we laughed throughout forgetting the growing tension. One thing I found out from everyone's story was that Elite Academy has really dealt with us. I found out that everyone had served punishment in one way or the other which made Miss Christine jokingly ask us if her class was a class of recalcitrant students and we told her that we were good students who were unfortunate. She bid us farewell and promised to see us at the next class meeting.

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The days passed by as usual and a new week came along with a bundle of surprises.

Every subject teacher gave us back our scripts to see our scores. I was pleased with mine and had to remind myself about the scholarship so that I don't rest on my oars.

Henry had the highest scores for almost all the subjects in our class. I felt a tinge of jealousy, not that I was jealous of him but it was akin to the feelings I would have if Ben performed better than me in a test.

"I have finally met another Ben." I chuckled.

"I hope Ben is doing well in his new school." I thought to myself.

The girls and I congratulated each other for beating sleep and performing well and began planning for the exams, we needed to be among the top twenty students for the term.

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The long-awaited exams have come and gone and we were finally free. One of the enjoyable moments in Elite Academy is the week after our exams when we wait for our results. Our results are released both online and physically most time.

We spent the week doing whatever we wanted as the only activities with fixed time were; meal time, games time,  and assembly times.

The annoying thing about the week is that time flies so fast and soon enough it was time to vacate for the holidays with anxiety because of the results.

"I'm going to miss you guys," Evelyn whined.

We were all packing our stuff to go back home the next day.

"I'll miss you too," Stacy replied.

"Elsie, won't you miss me?" Evelyn asked turning to face me.

"No, I won't miss you," I  said with a smirk on my face.

"Hmph! Evelyn sighed. "You are heartless."

The girls burst into laughter immediately and I just chuckled.

"Elsie, I'll miss eating your snacks," Stacy commented when we stopped laughing.

I sighed and scrunched my face. "How dare she remind me of the numerous times I had lost to her in a bet?" I thought to myself.

Everybody burst into laughter again upon seeing my reaction.

We stayed awake talking about random things and by the time we went to bed, it was already 5 am and less than an hour to the rising time.

I went for the Saturday morning function with sleepy eyes and struggled to stay awake during the principal's address to us.