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The Test
by Adam Reyher - 10/03/03
Copyright (c) 2003 Adam Reyher. All Rights Reserved.
"Stephen!" shouted a voice from behind. Once again it could be heard, "Stephen! Wait!"
As Stephen turned around, he saw Rob, one of his friends, running after him.
"Hey, what's up?" Stephen asked.
"You forgot your Biology book back there. I thought you might need it for the test Monday."
"Oh, yes." answered Stephen with a sigh of relief. "I do. Thanks a lot. That wouldn't have been good; I'm far enough behind on Biology as it is."
"Sure thing," acknowledged Rob as he turned to walk back to the school to find his bus.
Stephen was a good student. Although he disliked biology, he enjoyed every other subject. Math was his favorite; he had always liked numbers.
He continued walking down Murry Way toward his apartment to submerge himself in study for the 'big test' coming up that he dreaded very much. His apartment was not far from the college, so he had a relatively short walk--about 20 minutes. The apartment buildings were a few stories high, and each residence had its own open balcony. From some of the third story apartments--where Stephen resided--you could see the lake on the other sided of the treetops just a few hundred yards away.
Walking up several flights of stairs to the front door, he pulled out his key, and opened the door slowly. Sammy, his golden retriever, was naturally there to greet him as he entered and closed the door behind him, inserting and turning the gold key once again to lock it. Sammy instantly leaped up into his face to show his happiness at Stephen's return. "Okay boy, down. Down! That's it."
Coming into the kitchen, he lay down his backpack on the glittering white tile and approached the refrigerator to open it. Inside he found exactly what he wanted: a cool glass of orange juice. A refreshing sigh followed his drink and Sammy looked at him curiously as he produced the sound. "This isn't for you, Sammy. You have your own water."
Stephen finished the juice quickly, and placed the glass into the sink carefully. "On to studying, I guess. Come on Sammy, let's go." He continued walking toward his bedroom, picking up his backpack along the way. As he entered his room, he placed it on the bed and removed the Biology book along with some of the notes that were written down in class. A chair was pulled up to Stephen's desk, and he sat down, opening the book in front of him, turning to the pages to be studied.
After a short time, Sammy entered the room, laid down next to the desk, and placed his head on the carpet, letting out a bellow of air. His eyes peered up slowly in confusion as Stephen asked if he knew what 'hyperglycemia' was. Another bellow followed.
"Thought so. Neither do I," stated Stephen slowly.
The hands of the clock counted upward fast--one hour, two hours, three hours--until Stephen's eyes and brain were in pain. His hands were saturated from holding a pencil in his hand for that extended period, taking down more notes from his textbook. Stephen peered up to the clock on the wall. "Hmm. Six thirty. I wonder if Rob has done any studying yet." he said to himself with a quick smile.
He thrust his chair out from the desk, startling Sammy's sleep in the process. Out in the kitchen was the phone. He lifted it, dialed a few numbers and placed the receiver to his ear. Two rings later, he…
"Hello?" interrupted a voice over the phone; it was Rob.
"Hey, Rob. How's it going?"
"Pretty good. Say, how's the studying going?"
"It's been going well; tiring, but well."
"I bet. It's the same way here for me. This is so much more material than in high school, I don't know how people do it." Rob said with a small chuckle.
"No kidding. I guess you've just got to work hard and get through it anyway. No way around it."
"Probably so. Just think, we've got two more of these tests this semester, not to mention next semester. I wonder what that'll be like." Rob speculated sarcastically.
"Yeah, really. Well, I'm going to grab something to eat here and then I'll have to get back to the books. So I guess I'll see you Monday."
"Sure. Me too. See you later."
Upon opening the refrigerator door, he could hear the sound of rushing footsteps in the other room. Sammy sure did have excellent hearing, and a large appetite, not to mention. Scanning the shelves, Stephen was looking for something enjoyable, yet quick: eggs. Yes, Stephen liked eggs very much; so did Sammy. He pulled several out--a few for Sammy, too--and laid them on the counter by the stove. A small, wooded drawer was opened below and a frying pan was placed on the surface of the stove to be heated.
* * * * *
It was Monday morning, 6:23 A.M., and Stephen's alarm clock was proclaiming its usual buzz. A had appeared from under the sheets; it slapped the top of the clock to stop the racketing sound. The big day was here, and it made Stephen nervous--very nervous. Stephen shortly rose out of the bed and limped slowly into the bathroom for his morning shower. Breakfast was next and eggs were again on the menu for the morning.
He ate quickly. The test started promptly at 8:00 A.M., and the time was already quarter past seven. A quick check showed him that he had everything he needed with him. As he made his way to the front door, Sammy followed right behind, and Stephen made sure he had given the dog a sufficient goodbye before he left. The key turned and the door swung open. The door swung closed, and the key turned once again. Stephen was on his way to the big test.
* * * * *
It was Tuesday morning, 9:23 A.M., and Stephen had the day off from school. He and Sammy had just finished up their breakfast and were on their way to go outside for a walk around the lake when his phone rang. Stephen quickly answered and heard a familiar voice from the receiver. "Hello, this is Professor Wilkins. Your work paid off, you aced the Biology test."
Stephen smiled.
------
"We must not allow the clock and the calendar
to blind us to the fact that each moment of life
is a miracle and mystery."
- H.G. Wells
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enjoyable
