As the morning sun peeked through the curtains, Ash and Angie sat side by side at their desks (they had all been sorted into alphabetical order), ready to tackle the upcoming math test. The classroom buzzed with anticipation as their classmates shuffled in, exchanging nervous glances, wishing each other good luck and offering last-minute support.
Ash straightened his pencil and glanced over at Angie, a determined look on his face. He knew that math was not his strongest subject, but he was determined to give it his all. Angie, on the other hand, had always excelled in numbers and equations, her confidence radiating from her focused gaze.
Their teacher, Mrs. Johnson, entered the room, carrying a stack of test papers. She placed them evenly across each desk, her eyes gleaming with encouragement. “Alright, class,” she said, her voice filled with both challenge and support, “Today’s test will put your math skills to the test. Remember, it’s not just about the answers, but also about the process and logic behind them. Make sure you show the working along with your answers.”
A chorus of “Yes, ma’am” and “Okay, ma’am” filled the classroom. The teacher smiled, and announced, “All the best, students. You may now begin.”
Ash took a deep breath, and put his pen to the answer sheet. He wrote down his name, and the subject ‘Mathematics’ on the top of the sheet in the allotted space, and looked into his question paper.
The first question was fairly simple, asking him to add two unlike fractions. Ash remembered the steps he had learned in class, and quickly found the lowest common multiple of the two denominators. He then multiplied both the numerator and denominator of each fraction by the same factor, and added the resulting fractions. He wrote down his answer, along with the working, in a neat and clear manner.
He glanced over at Angie, who looked calm and focused, her pen moving swiftly across the paper. Ash felt a surge of admiration for her, (though he would never admit it) and also a bit of envy. He wished he could be as good as her in math. It was the only she was better at than him, as far as he knew.
Each question posed a challenge of its own. One was to find out how many rows 6000 students could be arranged in, if the number of rows and columns were the same. Another was to calculate the selling price of 500 pickup trucks. While others, were more straightforward, directly asking for square roots, or to simplify exponents.
Looking up at the clock, he noticed he still had ten minutes left. He decided to check his answers again, and make sure he hadn’t made any mistakes. He examined each question, looking for any blunders. Two to the power of ten was a riddle to him. Was it 1024 or 1000?
Similarly, eight times seven was a mystery to him.
Fifty-six or fifty-four?
He had no idea, ever since that dreadful day in second grade. And Angie would always rub salt in the wound.
The dreadful day in second grade, when he had tried to cheat off Angie’s paper, and she had given him a wrong answer on purpose. He remembered how the teacher had caught them, and scolded them in front of the whole class. He remembered how Angie had looked at him with contempt and scorn, and how he had looked at her with resentment and hurt.
He shook his head again, trying to forget that day. He ignored the thought of it, and got back to checking his own answers.
He dropped his pen as the teacher announced, “Time’s up!”
He felt a surge of pride and relief. He had made it. He glanced over at Angie, who had also finished her test. She met his gaze, and smirked. She formed an L with her thumb and index finger, and placed it on her forehead.
He was amused. She was teasing him with the L, as if he was the loser. But he knew better. He handed in his paper, and followed her out of the classroom.
Who would win, who would lose? Who would pass, who would fail?
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