How To Be 15

6

In light of recent events, Jackie had been staying in the spare room.

She still didn't have any contact with her parents, and she seemed to be getting better in terms of exhaustion and stress.

But today was the day of the chemistry exam, and I was shitting it.

I'd been revising my behind off for these past couple of days, but trying not to overdo it. It was difficult, fitting so many modules in and not overworking myself.

"Bonding of alkenes and alkanes?"

"Alkenes have a double bond, alkanes have a single bonding."

"What are the layers called that make up the Earth?"

"Crust, mantle, outer core, inner core."

"Why did Pangea separate?"

"Because of convection currents in the Earth."

"Name 3 uses for crude oil."

"Plastics, vehicle fuel, paint."

"What's are substances called when they won't mix together?"

"Immiscible."

"Jo, you're going to nail this exam, you got all 50."

**********

I found my place among the huge amounts of exam desks, and took a seat on the shabby blue chair.

"Please fill in your full name, School name, centre number, candidate number, and signature in on the front of the paper." An invigilator with whiskers and an alarmingly bright shirt barked out.

I did so, and suddenly felt very intimidated by the other people with me in the room.

Since I was sitting at the back of the hall, I had an invigilator breathing down my neck. The boffins who were born to get A*s were sitting all around me, and I wondered what I was doing there.

"The time is 8:34, you have one hour. Start."

I took a deep breath, and opened the paper.

Describe how fractional distillation is different from regular distillation.

I smiled, remembering revising it last night. 

I reached inside my blazer for a pen, and got going.

The gym was the only space big enough to fit all the desks in for the exams, so the whole place stunk of sweat from all the PE lessons that had been held in it. My desk was in front of the fire exit, and I could feel a slight draught coming through from outside, where it was mizzling and windy.

My fingers felt a bit cold, which wasn't exactly helping with my concentration either. 

Describe how gases in the air have changed from early earth, to now, and how they have changed.

Jackie had been a great help too. Every night I had been going through revision cards, and as the date for the exam got closer, I found myself getting more and more of them right. I was helping Jackie with her revision too, but she wasn't doing nearly as much as she would have been doing, had she been at her house. She had her physics exam right after my Chemistry finished, and she was sure to nail it.

What is an alloy?

I hadn't heard much from Jay either, lately. I didn't really know him, so I couldn't blame him, but I couldn't help feeling a bit disappointed. I found myself checking my inbox first thing in the morning, and last thing at might for messages from him. It was borderline obsessive.