Not long after I arrived at the classroom, the time for the entrance exam had begun.
''If you are caught copying off of other's work, your entrance exam will automatically be marked as failed.'' The supervisor began explaining some important rules while passing out some sheets.
''Do not make any types of noises, no tapping, no counting, etc. If you do, you will be asked to take the entrance exam later.''
'Have you guys gone insane? Children this age count with their fingers out loud.'
''You only have 45 minutes to complete exam. Make sure to use your time wisely as we will not grant extra time.''
''Finally, there are no retakes after the results come out in a week.'' She handed the last student the exam. ''I wish everyone luck. You may begin your exams now.''
After she finished, everyone immediately began to read their exams. I could already see some children struggling quite a bit.
'Huh, this may be tricky for kindergartners.'
At first glance, the questions were easy and simple.
'Duh, I have the literal mind of an 18 year old.'
But, they had some tricks placed for the kindergartners. I began to wonder if some children would catch these tricks.
'I should begin. I can't just be sitting here and looking down on literal 5 and 6 year old children when I'm thrice their age.'
Before I started answering the first question, I began to look through the other pages to see how I should manage my time. If I went too fast, I would seem suspicious and maybe even considered a cheater. That would get me kicked out of the school. If I took too long, I would risk not getting enough points to be able to enter Rendell.
'That's it, I have to calculate how many questions there are.'
When I tried moving the pages, I accidentally made a small rustling sound. I freaked out a little and turned my head towards the teacher.
She was somewhat glaring at me but knew she couldn't do anything about it.
I bowed my head as a respectful way to silently apologize and continued with my work.
'That was frightening for a second.'
Being a 5 year old was really intimidating, especially with the memories of angry teachers in my past life.
'Anyways, there were 30 questions on the exam. None of them had any extra parts and some had multiple choice answers.'
That meant I should take around a minute on each question. That should leave me with extra time to revise my answers.
My plans for the exam were decided and I decided to start on the first question.
''Spell each number from one to fifteen.''
Oh boy, this exam was going to go like a breeze.
----------------
''Five minutes remaining! Please be sure to be finishing your exam and add extra details with caution.''
The teacher announced that the time was almost up. I could see some children begin to look stressed, unhappy, and worried.
I, on the other hand was as calm as ever. I had already finished my exam and I was also done with revising. The only thing left for me to do was to waste my time by reading the same question over a hundred times. It got to the point I began to make new words out of the letters.
The reason I did not look suspicious was thanks to my amazing acting. I made a confused and stressed face to make look as if i was stuck on a question.
'Surely I deserve an Oscar for this amazing performance.'
During the exam, I considered getting some questions wrong, but it seemed extremely risky.
'What if most of the children get a full score thanks to their tutoring? I would not be granted an entrance at Rendell.'
I decided against getting something wrong and did everything right.
As I already had experienced school once, I knew all of the small details and tricks teachers used as excuses to mark off a point from anything.
One example was the way on how you answered a math question.
'If you have 74 pencils and your friends take 29, how many are you left with?'
45.
45 what? Horses? Vacuum Cleaners?
Teachers would often point that out every time you did not specify. They would go as far as taking off points from you.
I, having experienced that many times before, could not risk having points taken off for a petty reason.
I sighed at the thought of my past.
'Too many points sacrificed...'
''Time is up! Make sure your first name and last name are both in your paper. Hand them over.'' The teacher interrupted the mourning of my past test scores.
Everybody stood from their seats and began handing their tests to the teacher with their full names.
''I hope everyone used their time correctly. You may leave the room to go back to you parents.''
As soon as she said that, most of the kids ran out of the door. I swear I saw some in tears.
''Your results will be delivered in a week!'' The teacher said after them.
I waited for most of the students to leave properly and excused myself from the classroom.
Outside, was where chaos had begun.
Children were crying, throwing tantrums, fidgeting, etc. I could also hear some conversations.
''I- I didn't *hic* know I was *hic* taking so long in que- *hic* stion 13.''
''I couldn't remember what followed after 10~waaaah.''
''I think I failed.''
'I feel bad for them. They were most likely pressured by their relatives to study and enter at such a young age.'
Seeing annoying children cry for what they deserved, made me happy. This was not the case for these children. Too much pressure was put onto them at such an early age.
''AAAH! Felicia! I couldn't find you.'' A girl I saw earlier interrupted me from my thoughts and came over.
'Oh no. I'm screwed.'
''How did you think you do on the test?'' The cheerful girl began asking me.
''Um, I don't really know about it, how about you?'' I decided that when I entered Rendell, I needed to make some friends. There were differences between friends and followers.
''For Felicia to be asking!'' The girl said like it was an honor. ''I understood everything! I think I did pretty well!''
'This girls seems to be really nice. I will try to befriend her.'
''Congratulations! Anyways, I don't think I have heard you name before. May I know what your name is?'' I asked politely. The girl seemed red from excitement.
''Really? My name is Rose! Rose Weller. But you can call me Rose. I'm so excited!'' Her face was truly cute when she responded.
I was about to have a nice conversation when I saw my father looking through the crowd with a worried face.
''My father is looking for me right now. I'm sorry we couldn't have a nicer meeting.''
''You don't have to apologize for anything!'' Rose said with panic.
''Don't worry about it. I hope we see each other at Rendell, Rose. It was a pleasure meeting you!''
''Me too! I will be with you at Rendell. It was so much fun being with you.''
After the encounter, both Rose and I left to look for our fathers.
'I really liked speaking to you, Rose. I hope we become friends in the future.'