From the excited gleam in Telea's eye, Stacey felt she definitely had gotten above eighty-five.
"Why don't you tell us what you thought of your various subjects?" Telea asked.
"Argh. Do you have to keep me in suspense?" Stacey asked. "Is it fun?"
"Yes," Telea winked. "Remember this is a survival entertainment program that you're involved in. Half the entertainment is the suspense. Didn't you know that?"
"Doesn't mean I have to like it," Stacey groaned.
"So, tell us how well you think you scored on your various exams," Telea crossed her legs and leaned forward, resting her chin on her hand and propping her elbow up on her knee.
Stacey sighed and used her fingers to help her keep track of her various subjects.
"English - I'm expecting to have at least gotten 95 percent or more. Standard Mathematics - I'm not entirely sure, but it should be in the 70 to 90 percent range. Tadpole - anything better than a passing mark is good enough for me. I was aiming for at least a 70 percent grade. Chemistry, Biology and Physics - should be within the 80 to 90 percent range. Music - I hope, should at least be between 85 to 95 percent. It was hard though because of all the Tadpole."
Telea nodded with pursed lips.
"It doesn't sound too far off," Telea said slowly, pulling out a piece of paper. "I think you did a little better than your estimates. Your grades will be posted on your channel but here are your individual scores. English - 98, Standard Mathematics - 89, Tadpole - 87, Chemistry - 93, Biology - 99, Physics - 84, Music - 97. Tsk, tsk, Stacey. You're such a high achiever."
Stacey's eyes grew wide and her roommates hugged and thumped her on her back.
"Whoa, Stacey's so smart," Chastity hugged Stacey and wailed into her shoulder. "I studied so hard for so many years and I can't compare to a genius who studied most subjects for less than a month. Physics and chemistry are so hard but she still got such good marks. And a near full mark for English. That's meant to be impossible. I feel that my self-worth has been reduced in the light of her genius."
"Stacey, rub some of your smarts off on me. Give me some of your brain cells," Vera pouted, putting Stacey's hand on her head.
"I can't believe it," Zanity shook her head, punching Stacey's shoulder and slapping her back in turns. "You got a higher Tadpole score than I did and you only just started learning the language. The week before last, you couldn't speak any. It's not fair!"
"We have to keep in mind that Stacey has completely thrown herself into her studies and would have worked even harder if she had been completely well and healthy," Telea pointed out to the camera. "If anyone doubts her marks, all her exams were filmed. She definitely didn't cheat and nobody helped her. Her grades were obtained through her own hard work."
"Yeah, and she even studied under her blankets or snuck out most nights when she thought nobody was watching her," Vera wrinkled her nose up.
"She's barely had any sleep except for when she passed out," Zanity added, "because she was too much of a perfectionist to leave things until she was satisfied."
"Stacey, do you have to make us all look so bad?" Chastity shook Stacey's arm, still wailing. "You've worked too hard."
"As for the total raw score," Telea said, looking at the piece of paper in her hands and dragged out the silence while Stacey waited with her heart in her mouth. This was it. This was what would tell her whether she'd receive a punishment for the written exam results or not. "The total raw score is 92.43. When standardised according to this year's high school graduate exam results, her score becomes 96.04. Congratulations, Stacey!"
There was whistling and cheering, while they all applauded and hugged her. Zanity pulled Stacey up onto her feet to dance.
"In order to congratulate her on passing such a huge hurdle and milestone despite her situation, health and time limitations, tonight, we're going to have a party. Lord Huo will come to join us to present her High School Certificate and transcript to her. Her grade will be made official so that if she wishes to do further study in the future and go to a tertiary education institute, she can."
Stacey felt like she was dreaming for the rest of the day. It was such a huge relief and a weight off her shoulders. Only five more results to go. She would find out at the weekly filming of the main episodes of the program tomorrow whether she passed all five streaming exams or not. Her roommates would be separated into their various streams and they'd all be forced to move dorms again.
At the party in the evening, Lord Huo, Stacey's tutors and the mentors all gave her small congratulatory speeches, both in public and in private. She received her certificate with ceremony after everyone finished eating. She was being dragged along like a leaf in the wind with so many things happening and so many people talking to her or pulling her from group to group. What she wanted most was to just collapse on her bed and sleep but she couldn't until they let her go.
The lights were too bright and voices too loud. The thumps on her back were too hard and the multiple congratulations too many. She found it hard to figure out who was talking to her and what they were saying.
"Stacey, why don't you come up here to the front to give a speech?" someone teased.
People pulled her up off her chair, dragging her away from her position of safety at the table. Stacey was only able to take a few steps before a wave of exhaustion hit her. A dizzying sensation whirled though her like a strange wind, blowing out a candle. Stacey blacked out.