With two exams a day, in order to cover the six main subjects she had studied for the HSC, Stacey spent the next three days, eating or sleeping when she wasn't in a room doing her written exams. When it was done, she had the weekend to recover, before she had another week of exams. This time one exam per day, relating to each stream.
There was little time to do much more study or practice but Stacey crammed as much as she could in.
The acting exam was like an audition, where she was given a scenario to act out an hour prior to her exam. The stunts exam tested her on a variety of basic stunts and how to set up safety equipment for basic scenarios. For the individual artist exam, Stacey performed a solo item where she sang a song while playing the piano. The dance exam required her to learn a new choreography with a group of other students within an hour. The group artist exam had her lumped in with a random group of trainees to prepare and perform a presentation to professional standards within three hours.
After each exam, Stacey and her roommates, like many of the other trainees, lay around looking as if they had lost all their energy. When all the exams were finally over, they all slumped onto their bed or chairs in their bedroom, feeling like they were unable to move anymore.
"Chastity, pass me a drink," Vera moaned, reaching out a hand. "I can't get up."
"Zanity, pass me a drink for Vera," Chastity copied Vera. "I'm too tired to move."
"Stacey, pass me a drink to pass to Chastity for Vera," Zanity groaned, also reaching out a hand and not moving. "My body is glued to this chair."
"Ugh," Stacey tried to get up off her chair and then collapsed back on it. "Drink, come to me so that I can pass it to Zanity to pass to Chastity to give to Vera. We're too tired to move. Grow legs and come here yourself."
Someone knocked. A cameraman entered the room first, warning the girls that someone important was coming. The cameraman signalled the girls to stay as they were and then a head poked into the dorm room. Telea entered the room followed by another cameraman. She looked at all four girls slumped in their chairs with their hands outreached toward the stack of sponsored drinks in a corner of the dorm by the open with amusement.
All the girls remained frozen and staring, wondering what to do next. Stacey recovered first.
"Telea," Stacey besought in a mix of Tadpole and English, using the memorised advertisement lines from one of the program sponsors, "please help us. We're too tired to move. We need a bottle of that refreshing, revitalising and most invigorating Miluoluo fruity yoghurt drink. If you could just pass one to me to pass to Zanity to pass to Chastity for Vera to quench her thirst, we would be most grateful."
"What flavour would Vera like, Stacey?" Telea played along, leaning against the doorframe with a growing smile.
"Zanity, what flavour would Vera like?" Stacey turned her head.
Zanity passed the same question to Chastity who then asked Vera.
"I'd like a purple grape flavour," Vera told Chastity.
"She'd like a pink strawmelon flavour," Chastity turned her head to Zanity.
"She'd like a blue humberry flavour," Zanity turned her head to Stacey.
"She'd like the blastaway blend flavour," Stacey told Telea who coughed in order to hold back her laughter.
"The spicy ruby mix flavour it is," Telea passed a bottle to Stacey.
"To refresh," Stacey passed the bottle back up the line.
"To revitalise," said Zanity, passing the bottle along.
"To invigorate," declared Chastity, giving the bottle to Vera.
"Miluoluo fruity yoghurt drink," Vera announced, opening the bottle and taking a deep sniff. "The best drink post exams. Cheers." She took a sip and leapt up with a red face, fanning herself and sticking out a tongue. "Ah!" she yelled. "Why's it so spicy?"
Stacey whistled the advertisement jingle introduction, and the three girls sang the song in harmony with each other. In the background, Vera danced around, drinking, sweating and fanning herself. Upon finishing the end of the jingle, the other three girls flopped back in their chairs, whereupon Chastity turned to Zanity and reached out a hand.
"Zanity, pass me Miluoluo fruity yoghurt drink. Look how alive Vera is now. I think I need one too."
Zanity froze for a moment, contemplating what to do and how long they could pull this joke for before.
"Vera!" she called.
"One Miluoluo fruity yoghurt drink ambassador at your service," Vera zipped to stand in front of Zanity, hissing through her teeth at how spicy the spicy ruby mix flavour was. "Seriously, this is really spicy. Why is it so spicy?" Vera said in an aside.
"Three random flavours for me and my friends please, ambassador," Chastity clicked her fingers.
"Coming right up," Vera announced and bowed to Telea with an open hand.
"Random dispensary coming right up," Telea called, tossing three bottles to Vera, one at a time, until Vera had distributed a bottle to each of the other girls.
All three girls opened the bottles, took a deep, exaggerated sniff and then took a few gulps. Stacey blew into her bottle, causing the natural frequency to create a fluting note. Zanity and Vera lifted up their heads with bright eyes. They seemed to have the same idea and blew the notes in their bottles, drinking and blowing until they had the right notes to start off the advertisement jingle. Chastity chugged her drink straight down while the other three played the introduction and the four girls sang and danced to the jingle before downing the rest of their drinks. Then they slumped back in their chairs in exhaustion.
"Telea?" Stacey raised a hand and spoke into the silence. "I think we're going to need another drink."
Telea laughed, setting the girls off laughing as well. Vera rushed to her water bottle, complaining how spicy her drink was.
"I'm never getting the ruby spicy mix again," Vera declared. "Remind me."
The cameramen gave a thumbs up to say that they had gotten the impromptu advertisement.
"Please do have a seat, Telea," Stacey stood up to offer her seat to Telea, moving away to sit on a bed instead. "How may we be of service?"
Telea laughed at Stacey's exaggerated politeness and careful, formal Tadpole enunciation.
"Thank you," Telea took the seat. "I came to find you, Stacey. Would you like to know your High School Certificate raw score?"
"Please tell me I got above eighty-five," Stacey put her hands together in a prayerful gesture looking up. If she got less than eighty-five, she would be subject to a public spanking.