By Grace Jiao

“FOCUS, FOCUS,” I thought in my head. “I have a final math exam tomorrow. I have to learn all the topics ASAP!” “SUPPER’S READY” hollered my Dad. “ARGH JUST SHUT UP I’M STUDYING FOR A FINAL MATH EXAM FOR TOMORROW! Sorry if I sound rude!!” I yelled back. “Then what were you doing earlier?” my dad asked. “Finishing up stuff, homework to be exact,” I grumbled. I looked down at my desk: every inch of it was covered with notes, textbooks, and reminders. I picked up one that I wrote and read, Volume notes, Solving for the volume of a sphere; V=4/3π³, Solving for the volume of a cylinder; V=πr²h, Solving for the volume of a cone; V= ⅓πr²h. “Next set of notes I guess,” I murmured. AH, I thought, The Pythagorean Theorem, it’s simple, c =Va²+b². Alright next! I reviewed all the math topics I had learned that semester: triangles, transversals, the Pythagorean theorem, surface area, lateral surface area, volume, the coordinate plane, transformations, etc. It was a long list and I thought I would never finish reviewing the notes and practicing some questions about them. “Hey, wake up!” someone said. “Huh- What the heck– stop slapping me-” I stammered. I squinted in the light, it was my twin sister, Emma. “Hey, don’t just barge into my room like that!” I exclaimed. “I had to wake you up, Mom wants you downstairs and to eat breakfast, also it’s 8:28 am,” she said. “HUH- NO- I HAVE A TEST IN LIKE 25 MINUTES-” I yelled. I quickly dialed into my Zoom meeting and started to study while doing my morning routine. “Those who need to turn on their cameras need to turn on their cameras!” stated my math teacher. “hurry up!!” I said to myself. I was trembling, paralyzed, and fidgeting with my shirt when I started taking the test. “Oh- 40 questions” I murmured. In the middle of the exam, I had a sudden feeling I might get a good grade. I felt confident and determined. I continued with my exam. Near the end of the exam, I had a weird thought appear in my head. I started twitching at the thought of it: failing. Failing was the worst thought of all. My dad would kill me if I failed. It would be my fault because I didn’t meet his standards. “It’s time to submit!” said my math teacher from the Zoom window. “Oh no I didn’t have time to check for the 3rd time!!” I said sadly. Later on in the day, I went to check my grades on the website that our math teachers had posted our final math exam grades on. I tapped on the link and logged in. I immediately closed my eyes because I didn’t want to see my grade at that time. Then with the feeling, I had from my gut and praying that I got a grade higher than a 90%, I opened my eyes and let out a gasp. I got 98%! I thanked the heavens and thanked God. Thank God I drank holy water before the test. I smiled weakly and rushed to tell my dad. “Great job!” said Emma. “I’m proud!” smiled, my dad. I did it, I finally made him proud, I thought. Trying to smile, a thought kept interrupting my thoughts.. It kept getting a thought or a lesson. I kept repeating it in my head, always be prepared for the unknown, always be prepared for the unknown, always be prepared for the unknown.