The Surprise Test

"Class, you will have a test tomorrow! Recite the poem given today, and good luck!"

Dumbfounded by the sudden announcement of a test scheduled tomorrow, the whole class was devastated and defeated.

"Hey! That's mean, Mr. Tanaka! You can't just throw a test at us like that!" yelled the rebellious Mayu, as she stood up from her seat.

"BRO I SWEAR LIAM CODED IT!" Darpan said, as per usual.

People freak out too much.

A test, also known as a measure to establish the quality, performance and reliability of something, was upon the entirety of our grade. As my class is filled with mostly lenient and carefree students, many were shocked by the sudden announcement of a test on all subjects. It's not uncommon to see students panic, since I'm pretty sure that most of us are lazy bozos anyway... Not that it matters to me.

Studying, the bane of all students. No one likes to study, unless it's either something very fulfilling to them, or a requisite for the elites of the school. Everyone else would pick having fun over studying, I'm sure of it. Heck, I'd rather lie down on the floor and stare at the roof for 30 minutes than study for 20 minutes.

The students of our school are considered elite compared to your average local high school; yet even amongst the top, you'll always find people who are slackers and imprudent. It's like the worker ant theory all over again— lazy people are necessary in order to keep the workforce going, because they'll be made an example to the normal workers, preventing them from being lazy. I honestly find this occurrence to be quite fascinating, as I'd wonder: how was this cycle established in the first place? Was it by natural human instinct, or was it through conjecture and practice? Either way, this concept also applies to our school— there's nothing that's perfect in this world, after all.

As school ends, everyone leaves the school, disheartened by the sudden announcement of a test, and unwillingly heads home to study. While some brush it off and don't care much, many carried serious expressions home, seeming like they're about to enter a warzone of words and context.

"Still in your seat, Yoshimitsu?"

As Yuta walked towards me, I faced him with a bored expression.

"You know I have nothing better to do."

"From what I heard, your place is dead silent isn't it? Must be boring, being all alone for so long."

You'd never understand; the pain of being alone.

"I'm used to it by now; people come and people leave, after all. Isn't it better just to be alone sometimes? You'd not need to grief over others, nor would you need to care about anyone else. I really don't understand it. Yuta, as someone more known amongst our class, how does it feel to be barraged by questions and gossip?"

"For starters, it's quite annoying. You have a point about people coming and going, but it's not to be taken as lightly as that; you form connections with the people you interact with, and it's always nice, being able to talk to someone, you know?"

"I really don't understand..."

"Don't think too hard on it. Anyway, I'll head home to study now, so I'll see you tomorrow, Yoshimitsu!"

And so, I was all alone again.

"It's boring being here. Guess I'll work on reciting the poem for the test tomorrow."

Shortly after Yuta left, I studied in the empty classroom for 30 minutes, gazed at the roof for 5 minutes and tidied my locker. Leaving school felt like a relief, as I had managed to memorize half of the poem we were given. As I was walking down the street, I noticed Darpan, who seemed to be struggling with maintaining his mentality.

Guess I'll go interact with him.

"Liam, I swear, you need to code it!"

As per usual, he was going on about 'the moderator'; I'm not going to question him too much about it, as I felt like the topic would drag on for a long time, and I'm not in the mood to deal with it right now.

"I'm not Liam, but what are you struggling with now?"

"The test bro, you need to code it and give me good results!" Darpan said, while expressing distress.

"You'll be fine as long as you recite the poem. Now then, go walk home peacefully and don't make yourself look like a clown on the streets."

"NOOOOOOOOOOO"

After attempting to console him, I quickly fled the area he was in. This kid is more trouble than having to pull out an ingrown toenail, and I mean it literally.

Upon returning home, I took a light shower, changed into my home clothes, and got to work.

The poem we were working with was quite indulging; written by Carol Ann Duffy, Medusa was a poem that was based off of the ancient Greek myth of medusa, woman cursed by Athena. As Duffy's poems are monologues, it's not uncommon to see a question at the end. Was it to get the reader thinking? Or was it merely a form of expression?

"No longer beautiful, fragrant and young huh, Medusa?"

These types of texts always get me interested. Duffy's poems are usually monologues, conveyed with a hidden meaning, and a story would be told from another perspective, all while containing the same suggestions and context behind the story. It's impressive, and certainly something I wouldn't dare try. My remarks regarding poems and my way of telling them would be too conspicuous, and hence the fear from the potential the harsh judgement gets to me. Compared to Duffy, I'm nothing but a coward.

I can't convey my thoughts clearly, and I can't enjoy things properly. When people laugh, I don't. When people get angry, I become eccentric, and when people are in grief, I display apathy. I fear the difference between the world around me and me myself. Maybe that's why I didn't have friends in the first place. 

Trying to change myself is such a hard thing. Only I know myself best, right?

Perhaps it was the same for Medusa. Would we come to accept each other flaws if that were the case? She was betrayed by her lover and cast away into the shadows, cursed to turn everything she gazes at into stone. Who wouldn't hate love after that? It's so tragic, seeing how she clings onto her memories of her lover. Yet, it feels like it can't compare to my deluded interpretation of this world.

Fatigued from all the thoughts and knowledge I've absorbed from the poem, I went to bed early, no longer having the appetite for dinner and snacks. All I wanted to do at that moment, was laze around and do nothing.

But of course, the world around me didn't let me do so.

"Ah, my cellphone is ringing."

"Hi, Yoshimitsu here."

Calling from the other end was Mayu, who apparently had doubts about the poem we were given.

"Hello Yoshimitsu! I'm kinda stuck with these few stanzas right now, so can you help me explain what's going on in these few lines?"

Sent to me were the following two stanzas:

"I glanced at a buzzing bee,
a dull grey pebble fell
to the ground.
I glanced at a singing bird,
a handful of dusty gravel
spattered down.

I looked at a ginger cat,
a housebrick
shattered a bowl of milk.
I looked at a snuffling pig,
a boulder rolled
in a heap of shit."

"Basically Mayu, what Duffy did here was to express the objects and things listed there turning into stone, in an indirect manner."

"What do you mean by indirect?"

"Think of it this way. These objects are all rock hard, signifying to how medusa turns things into stone. At the same time, they're all conveyed without the orignal subject being described as turning into stone. Instead, other things were described in the scene to make it seem like the rock hard figure had turned into stone."

"Ohh! I get it now. Thanks, Yoshimitsu!" Mayu said cheerily, and she hung up the phone.

I wonder how the test will go tomorrow.

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"Alright class! You have 30 minutes to complete the essay question given to you! You may now begin!"

In a hurry to complete and finish the test, the whole class began to write, continuously on the answer sheet. The atmosphere was tense, and every student was rushing to complete the paper. Faced with the test's literate questions about the poem, Unease was shown throughout everyone's different faces, telling me who studied and who didn't.

I'm actually quite glad that this test was about an English poem. I've always been more interested in English literature compared to other English contexts. Oedipus, Whale Rider, Myth of Sisyphus... I've read all sorts of texts, and I've always enjoyed the deep meanings hidden within them.

There are really a lot of things to question in this world. The environment around us keeps generating questions and more questions, getting us humans to solve and solve more questions. It's a vicious cycle, where we never get satisfied with what we have, because there are still more questions to answer.

"I should get back to writing before my mind goes off-track again."

Soon enough, the test was over and we were given a break. Everyone in the class began discussing it. Voices were all over the classroom, and I could hear all sorts of things.

"Oh, I'm gonna fail...."

"... I know right! Question 2 was..."

"Man I wonder what the answer to that last question was..."

There were all sorts of responses that I could pick up from time to time.

To be frank though, the test paper wasn't long. It would be more accurate to say that it had very intricate questions, requiring more time to complete, overall making each question worth more in points and contain more details. Picture a sandwich; it could contain a salad, a tomato and a slice of chicken. A test with many questions would be like an overfilled sandwich, with many slices of different meat and different veggies. This test would be more like a sandwich with a huge slice of meat that was served— big, fortified but lacking in variety.

"Hey Yoshimitsu! What do you think about the test?" asked Yuta, who approached my seat.

"It wasn't hard, but it required precision and careful analysis, I guess."

"I certainly didn't pay too much attention to the details... I'm sure I put in accurate answers though."

"Did you run out of time or something?"

"No it's just that I was never really good at understanding poems..."

Ah, so he didn't understand the meaning within the poem. I guess not everyone can think deeply and come up with their own answer, but they may end up with a more logical and different one. Guess all I can do is console him a bit at this point.

"It's alright, you'll do fine."

"I hope you do well too, Yoshimitsu!"

I guess it's nice to have genuine, encouraging words every once in a while.

"Hey Yoshimitsu! Thanks for the help the other day." Mayu said from across the classroom.

"My pleasure."

God, don't shout across the room.

As the class settled down after the break, the teacher continued his lecture, and everything was back to normal again.

"Your test results will be given back tomorrow. Failing the test will result in a remedial lesson after school on Friday."

"I wonder how Mayu and Yuta did..."

Well, they probably did better than me.

I can't match up to them, after all. They're much more talented than I am. I believe that they will be the ones to lead our generation into its bright future, given how much more skilled they am than me. They're the hopes and dreams of our grade and considered top elites in our school; then again, our school's all about being elite and proper, and is always innovating and open to change, so who knows what'll happen.

As I said farewell to the school day once more, I hoped that nothing else would get in the way of my tranquil and dull life, but according to life, that's apparently one thing I just can't have.

"What the hell..."