The fan buzzed in the room rustling the papers that were posted on the board.  A fly darted across the room looking for the quickest exit.  

She looked down at her papers and started to scribble in the corner.  The gash she left with her pencil grew wider and wider on the paper.  Her teacher was saying something in that moment but she had stopped listening.  She was probably reminding her to use one of the million strategies listed on the board.  That or trying to convince her in that moment that the exam didn’t show all that she was capable of.   Her head hung down. Blood rushed to her face and tears sprung to her eyes.  She felt shame and frustration.  Her teacher said things with her words but the panic stricken look on her face told a different story.  She had learned to compensate by reading people’s body language really well.  Her teacher was a pro at saying things with her words and making jokes to ease tension but her eyes always revealed the truth.  Not like it was a secret anyway.  She saw the teachers whispering and saying that the exam was not fair, that it was given later this year and that it was hard.  Hard?  She didn’t even begin to understand the first paragraph or know where to look.  Her teacher gave her some computer with a robotic voice that just read her the same paragraph again and again.  Something about finding the cost of an obstacle course.  She was actually quite athletic and was excited to see it at first.  That spark quickly got stolen away the minute she opened the booklet to see words sprayed everywhere.  It was like a giant regurgitation of works spilling from every angle of the page.  None of it made sense to her and she really couldn’t care less why she needed to know this stuff.  I mean she sat there and watched her own teacher use the calculator daily to figure out her lame mark on her quizzes so why was it so important to them to figure out this stuff.  Was she really going to need it in life?  Her teacher talked to her about that sometimes and tried really hard.  Every time she taught something new she would start off with some grand idea about the use of knowing that math in real life.  But she wasn’t there yet in her life and didn’t care.  Can’t she worry about that later?  

Her thoughts were interrupted by the bead of sweat that was about to leak down her teacher’s neck as her teacher stared at her with disappoint in her eyes  She must have tuned out way too long.  Her teacher had that look on her face again.  Ya so I’m going to fail she thought.  So what? I’ve failed all my life and still can’t get it right even a week before graduation.  The fan buzzed in the room rustling the papers that were on the board.  Even the papers on the board wanted to desperately be released from this moment.  This moment where you realize your efforts may just not be good enough.  She locked eyes with her teachers for a few seconds..enough to know that her teacher felt the exact same way….