Tension remains in the air as the exam concludes, but silence descends upon the classroom. Sluggishness in the pupils' eyes betrayed extreme exhaustion and nervousness on their features. Standing tall and serious in front of the students, Mr. Pope grinned broadly as he observed their progress.
"U guys ready?" A little tremor rippled through the otherwise quiet classroom as he spoke the question. The pupils' responses were a string of feeble "hmm..." as if they had completely lost steam after passing the test.
"Alright, let's start with the first one... Alvin!" exclaimed Mr. Pope, pointing with certainty towards Alvin. Alvin's face was pale, his eyes tightly closed by his nervous lids. He felt his heart pounding in his chest as Mr. Pope delivered his next words, "We'll see what your score is."
With a choked breath, Alvin opened his eyes slowly, dreading what he was about to encounter. The smile on Mr. Pope's face implied something unexpected, and Alvin felt his adrenaline rise. After a moment that felt like an eternity, Mr. Pope patted his hand anxiously while Alvin closed his eyes again, hardly able to bear the wait.
Out of nowhere, the entire classroom was filled with the sound of contagious laughing. "Hahaha, you got an 80. Congratulations!" Mr. Pope said with enthusiasm, his voice echoing among the relieved children. Alvin cautiously opened his eyes, taken aback by the sight before him. A hologram of a gleaming '80' appeared on his desk, and Alvin felt a surge of relief that made his chest heave.
He felt an immediate surge of comfort. It was as if someone had cut the string around Alvin's neck, and he could finally breathe. Deep down, he wished that every one of his buddies would do better and surpassing the standard set by the education office (is 75).
At the same time, every other student was waiting impatiently to hear about their test scores. The shadows cast by the surrounding darkness bore testament to the palpable tension that pervaded the air of the classroom. They were all waiting for the bright figures to appear on their tables, a sign that their labor had been worthwhile.
As Mr. Pope started the procedure for announcing the grades, tensions rose in the classroom. As Mr. Pope stood at the head of the classroom, clutching a list of grades, the pupils' expressions betrayed a blend of anxiety and anticipation.
Erika, Ryo, and Irvan, the top three students in terms of academics, were rewarded with the highest grades. Erika, with her brilliant intelligence, managed a perfect score of 100. Ryo followed with a very high score of 98, followed by Irvan with 95. The rest of the class watched with mixed emotions, although a few raised voices cheered the news.
However, when Juan's turn came, the atmosphere in the classroom changed abruptly. Not only was Juan anxiously awaiting the results of his test scores, but the entire class held their breath, tensely awaiting the results. Juan, one of the 'bottom three' along with Alvin and Zane, was always in the spotlight because they grades were always in the bottom three. The tension was heightened when Mr. Pope approached Juan with a comforting smile, trying to encourage the nervous student.
"Alright Juan, let's check your score," Mr. Pope stated in a soothing and empathetic tone.
Juan looked up at Mr. Pope with a mix of anxious expectation and heavy swallow. As he stood at the crossroads of his life, his pulse raced.
"Okay, I'll have a look....wow congratulations!" came out of Mr. Pope's mouth as he grinned widely. "You got a 76, very close!"
Hearing those words, Juan felt relieved like a ray of light illuminating his dark path. He was no longer one of the bottom, and joy filled his heart. With a smile filling his face, Juan jumped for joy at having successfully fulfilled his task.
But the focus quickly shifted to the two surviving kids, Zirly and Zane. Zirly, even though everyone anticipated her success. Zane, nevertheless, was the center of attention as he was the last of the "bottom three" whose test results were unknown. Their hearts were racing as they awaited the findings, praying that they would offer them all relief.