Abigail running, just arrived in the school grounds as the bell sounded, and the staff started to shut the gate. While she would be late for class at least, today she made it. The First High School was strict with students. Unless permission was granted in advance, if you were not on the school grounds when the bell rang, you would be prevented from entering the school grounds and receive an attendance demerit. While being late for class also received a demerit, it was not as bad as an attendance demerit, because at least you could attend the lessons, it only affected class allocations and the ability to participate in extra-curricular activities.
Abigail paused and smiled at the groundskeeper who was shutting the gate, before commending running to the third-year classroom block, ignoring the stares that she was getting from other students. While she did not give a care about the extra-curricular activities, every time she received an attendance demerit, her so-called parents used it as an excuse to belittle her as she was nothing like Sara, the daughter that they considered to be perfect.
As she reached the door for Class 3-F and opened it, she noticed that the teacher was not in the classroom, and quickly climbed the stairs making her way to her desk in the rear right corner, dodging the feet and legs her classmates, likely instigated by Sara stuck out attempting to trip her.
Just as she sat down, the door was thrown open by the teacher the second bell rang. As she placed her books on the teacher's desk Miss Yu, who looked around, and angrily said "Miss Meng, come here."
Abigail stood up, calmly said "Yes Miss Yu," before walking down to where Miss Yu was standing.
When Abigail was standing in front of her, she snapped "Explain to me why I should not give you an attendance demerit?"
Calmly Abigail responded "Miss Yu, I arrived in the classroom before the second bell rang, but if you think I deserve and attendance demerit, then that is your choice."
A gasp came from her classmates, as Miss Yu, turned, slightly smiled and said "Correct, it is my choice." Looking up at the whole class, she said "But at least unlike a few of you in the last few weeks, you have acknowledged that and not argued. So, as long as you do not run late to any class, you have just saved yourself."
"Thank you, Miss Yu."
With a slight smirk, Miss Yu added "Do not think that gets you away without consequences." With that she pulled out two stacks, and said "Hand out everyone's homework, and then the spot test, before you can sit down and do your test."
Abigail, sighed and without argument, she went to pick up two piles, before Miss Yu said "No, hand out the spot tests first before coming back to hand out the homework."
Nodding, Abigail, quickly picked up the spot test pile and headed out to hand out each copy to her classmates, before returning to the teacher's desk. As she reached the teacher's desk, Miss Yu said "You can start the test. You have ten minutes to complete the first part, before I will give you the listening part test."
Abigail, knowing that she had less than ten minutes to hand out everyone's homework, quickly moved with the homework, and started flickering through to find the relevant person's homework.
As she reached her desk and handed her desk mate, Rebecca Mo her homework and sat down, Miss Yu said "Ten minutes is up. Please go to the fourth page in your answer book."
Abigail picked up her pen, and quickly flicked to the fourth page.
At the front of the room, Miss Yu, calmly said "There are two parts to this. I will give you ten words, to spell, before I give you two short sentences that you are to write out."
Miss Yu paused for a couple of seconds before calmly stating the ten words, with a fifteen second pause between each one "Serendipity. Divisive. Technician. Worldly. Kindness. Carelessly. Independent. Happiness. Increasingly. Anonymous."
Thirty Seconds after the last word, Miss Yu continued "The knowledge that she gained allowed her to become increasingly confident." After a minute, the second sentence came "The knot was difficult to untangle."
Waiting for another minute, Miss Yu. Said "You have twenty minutes to complete the spot test."
Abigail, feeling confident in what she had written, quickly flipped through the question book, and realised having lost ten minutes that she had no hope in completing everything, made the decision, to skip the multiple choice questions at the present, and complete the short essay, the small translation, and make a sentence components, as they were worth three times the marks, and if she had the chance she would go back and complete as many multiple choice questions that she could.