My Arithmetic Summer

I walked to the college today and went on a math testing marathon. I was informed that I would have to take six tests, and then a final exam. I asked how many tuesdays and thursdays I have left to take these tests, and ... guess what? I have only one tuesday left, and after that it's too late! All this month that I wasn't able to get hold of the teacher who could have told me I needed to get in there and take the tests, my available days were counting down. And to top it off, the teacher told me he had actually gotten my phone messages, but he'd accidentally erased the message, and, although he did copy down my phone number, he failed to call, just because. I have to wonder, what's his excuse about the other half dozen calls I made to him? Did he accidentally delete them as well? And still fail to call me even though he had my number and I was obviously anxiously trying to get hold of him? How stupid. So now I will have to take tuesday off from work to finish my tests. I was scheduled to work a full eight hours that day. That means I will lose out on $64. So I'm paying $64 for the teacher's unprofessionalism.

Anyway, there's no point in crying about that now.

I sat down in the class and got to work. I finished one test, handed it in, and as he was marking it, I got going on the next. And so on, until I'd completed and passed four tests.

I passed all four of the tests I took today!

So all the traumatic math studying I've been suffering through all summer long has paid off. I actually learned what I was studying. It actually stuck. I feel very proud of myself!

In the middle of all this testing, I took a short break. I let myself out onto an elevated walkway with a door at either end. As I sat there smoking, a security guard came through one of the doors and locked it behind him. He approached me, and I asked him to please not lock the other door, since it was my only way back into the building. He assured me he would not. "I would never do that." he said. He walked past me, let himself into the building, and locked the door.

He locked me out! With no way off the stupid elevated walkway except by jumping 25 feet to the ground!

I ran to the door and tapped furiously on the window, but he just moseyed on down the hall and out of sight. I pressed my face against the window, I could see the door to my math class. I thought of the stupidity of being locked out, within sight of my class, unable to take my tests while precious time was passing. Luckily, a teacher happened by, and I caught her attention. She didn't seem surprised to see me out there. "Was it the security guard?" she asked. "He's locked me out on that walkway before too." What a jerk.

Anyway. I just kept taking the tests until, hours later I looked up and realised the other few students had all left! I was alone at my table, and the teacher was looking anxiously at his watch. I didn't care. I wanted to finish the fourth test. I just ignored him as he zipped up his jacket, clicked and unclicked his briefcase, etc., obviously trying to give me the hint. I ignored him. I finished the fourth test, and stood there while he marked it. I had passed it with flying colours. This tuesday I will go there again, and take the final three tests. Then I will be done. I will have graduated. I will be ready to take the business course that will allow me to apply for secretarial jobs, and after that I will never again have to make a living as a dishwasher.

I walked out of the college with a big grin on my face. The sun was beginning to set. My arithmetic summer is drawing to a close. As I left the college grounds, I could hear someone practicing bagpipes in the woods bordering the school.