Here is a sample form the short story ‘The Exam’.

 

The Exam

Jamie had been awake for almost 18 hours doing the final cramming for his exam. He had done some of the study in the library but most in his bedsit. His walls were covered in A4 paper with theories, diagrams, equations, molecular formula and scientific concepts. These were taken from the prescribed textbooks and lecture notes. All the content of the subject that he had been learning for the past year. On his study desk were notes with the condensed form of his subject. Those notes which he was willing himself to memorise. On his tidy desk was a glass and a three litre bottle of diet coke. He had been using the caffeine within the drink to keep himself awake and stimulated. Also on the desk were a ruler, a scientific calculator, pens and pencils and a clear pencil case. These would be needed for the exam later on that morning. Beside the desk was his bed. Jamie looked at his alarm, it was 2.00am. He fumbled for the alarm setting and programmed the buzzer to go off at 3.00am. Fully clothed he switched off the room light, lay on the top of his bed and closed his eyes.

The rude buzzing of the alarm clock aroused him from his sleep. He switched the alarm off and turned the light on. He grasped the large 3 litre bottle and poured the drink which was now fizz-less into his glass, hoping for its rapid enervation. In a few hours’ time the studying would have to stop and he would be making his way to the exam hall. For now, this was the last push. For almost the last day he had one hours sleep. His sleep had been sacrificed in order to cram a little more information into his head. The exam was very important and to ensure that he would pass well he needed to soak up as much and as many details as possible. The sleep deprivation was starting to tell as at times he felt his eyes close. The solution was to pour more diet cola into the glass and drink it down. After the exams he knew he would hit the wall and fall asleep quickly. Right now he had to be fully awake and accessing the material he had studied for use in his exam.  There was another side effect to drinking so much cola, the constant need to urinate. Every hour or so he would be up and making a visit to the toilet. He hoped this would cease and not be such a problem in the exam.

The minutes and hours quickly passed and soon it would be time to get ready. Taking a last look at his notes he closed his folder. He undressed, had a shower and mentally went over what he had memorised, thankfully most of it had sunk in. He brushed his teeth but did not shave, a rudimentary beard had started to form on his face and it had been a couple of weeks since he had used a razor. There was time for a quick bowl of cornflakes which he shovelled down. The last thing to do was ensure he had all he needed for the exam. With all done that he possibly could he took a deep breath and reluctantly left the house.

 

Kenny would always get stressed out during exam time, his fellow students sometimes called him ‘Panicking Ken’. To minimise and combat the stress he would plan the study and exams out and draw up a timetable. This would be blue tacked to the wall and all he would have to do is follow it. So far this week had gone well and anxiety had been kept to a minimum. Just enough to allow him to perform well in the exam hall………………………

 

‘The Exam’ is one of the stories in ‘Mixed Bag:10 Short Stories’ by Alan Barr which is available in eBook and paperback formats from Amazon.

Kind Regards

Alan

Email: alanrove@hotmail.com

Twitter: @AlanAlanrove