Testing 1.. 2.. 3..

As long as there are tests, there will be prayer in schools. ~Author Unknown

The Day Before

30 October 2006

Angel still couldn’t go to school as her fever had not fully subsided. I decided to play the considerate parent and kept her at home to prevent passing the virus to other kids especially during this crucial period.

On the other hand, I wasn’t a merciful mother. I took this opportunity to make her complete all her English assessments which she had left aside since the day she fell ill. That was enough to make her grouchy for the rest of the day.

Rachel came home in the afternoon and slumped herself into every corner with a storybook and her Mp3 player (which was really her handphone).

“Have you finished your revision?”

She grunted a reply through her nose.

“All?”

Another grunt of affirmation emitted from her nose.

That was all I dared to ask. That girl has a temper like a tempest recently and her mood swings like the monkeys in the trees. I could understand the dilemmas of the transition phase she’s going through right now and her need of personal space. Hence, I tried not to poke, I mean probe, her too much.

Mervin had to do his own revision in my room at night. I ordered him to finish whatever English practices he had conveniently left to the last minute. That poor boy didn’t dare to protest and seriously buried his head in his work till the wee hours. This young chap really surprises me with his ultimate perseverance and attitude sometimes. He managed to stay glued to his chair for a whole four hours without flinching. Impressive!

Day 1: English Papers

31 October 2006

The test had begun for the kids and their mother. I had to take my hat off Rachel for not having any problem with waking up early every morning. It drained me of all my willpower to drag myself out of bed at six in the morning. I would have gladly stayed in the comfortable warmth of my quilt if not for the “Examination Ritual” I had to perform on her. That meant having to wake up at six for four consecutive mornings to burn talismans and smear “holy water” on her. Oh well, I should be thankful that it was ONLY for four mornings.

Mervin and Angel went through the same ritual in the late morning. They seemed to be thrilled about the unusual affair but their mother wasn’t excited at all to have her fingers burnt for the third time in a day.

“Remember your tenses.”

“Make sure you check your work.”

“…”

I was about to recite a whole list of reminders when the strained looks on their faces stopped me.

“Don’t worry. Just try your best.”

When I fetched them from school in the evening, I couldn’t help but asked how they found the paper.

“Very difficult,” commented Rachel.

“It’s okay,” replied Mervin.

“So easy!” exclaimed Angel.

I was too smart to believe any of their words.

Well, we’ll just have to wait till they get back their papers to know how trustworthy they are.

Day 2: Chinese Papers

1 November 2006

I wasn’t worried about their Chinese since they had not much problem with this subject. Thus, they were forced to revise for their Mathematics the previous night instead.

Sure enough, when I asked the kids how they fared, two out of three claimed that it was easy. Rachel, as usual, alleged that the paper was difficult. She thinks it’s a taboo to say that a paper is easy lest she’ll score badly for it.

It was another night of Mathematics revision before the real battle the next day. For the second night in a row, Angel broke into tears while I flew into a rage. I guessed both of us were just desperate. She was desperately running out of energy; I was desperately running out of patience; and we were desperately running out of time.

Day 3: Mathematics Paper

2 November 2006

This was the last paper for Angel and for me too.

The next paper would be Science and I was in no way a Science person. Give me a rain tree and a balsam plant and I can tell you which is which. But give me two different trees and I can only tell you they are living things. Not to mention that the Science they are learning now are so much like my secondary school’s Science context. I was just glad to leave the revision to themselves and celebrate the end of my torment.

How was the Mathematics paper? As usual, two out of three found it simple while Rachel complained it was tough.

Day 4: Science Paper

3 November 2006

Hurray! It was finally all over!

I didn’t even bother to ask about the Science paper.

We just needed a clean break and a good rest.

Zzz…