How To Stay Afloat (BxB)

Chapter 173: Finals

Finals week came around faster than expected. Well, not really, but the moment I sit down for the first written exam, it feels so sudden.

Monday I start my finals with my Spanish exam. It wasn't anything surprising. It was exactly what I expected. The essay was the biggest part of the exam and it was almost exactly the same as we had to write in a homework.

Carla was the only one who also did her finals in Spanish and she surely aced it because the smile she wore when she handed in the sheets was definitely one that promised an A.

On tuesday english followed. Obviously that's one of the two exams everyone has to participate in. The other one is math.

I was mostly concerned about Harry. While he's good at it, he takes ages to write essays. He usually takes forever to plan out the whole thing in his head in detail before he can even start writing. I was scared he'd have troubles with the time limit, but as it turns out, he got it finished on time.

I, on the other hand, always just start writing right away. I was finished when half the exam time was over and then second guessed everything and started writing the second option, but in the end decided for the first one. So yeah, I wrote two essays instead of going over the first one a second time.

As we stand in the hallway in front of the exam room I look at everyone's faces and it's safe to say no one struggled with anything.

Austin looks pretty relieved. I was really scared he'd struggle, but he did well. Adam, Carla, Harry and I all decided for the same option, writing about some kind of climate disaster news article. Austin on the other hand opted for the third option, which was analyzing a freaking poem. I would never pick the poem. No one does.

"I didn't even understand what it was about." Carla says amused.

"How?" Austin asks her surprised. "That was the only easy topic. The other two were so confusing."

"Analyzing poems just sucks because it's super subjective." Carla says.

"Isn't that the fun thing about it?" Austin asks confused as we make our way to the exit of our school building.

"Yeah, if you like gambling with your grades, then yes." Harry says.

"Yup. I never know what grade to expect when it comes to fucking poems." Carla says annoyed.

Austin looks so confused. It's so cute. I think he actually likes poems. I saw poem books in his old home and he brought them with him into his flat. I'm not sure if he actually read them or not, though.

"Okay, but you do realize that it's not completely a shot in the dark? There're a lot of things to analyze that aren't subjective. I get that not everyone understands the intended meaning, sometimes it's just not clear, but you can analyze the theme, the structure, the symbolism, all those things. And that makes up like two thirds of the essay." He claims.

"Okay, but, I mean, it still sucks." Carla says and everyone nods their heads agreeingly.

"I read the poem." I say and look at Austin. "What do you think it was about?"

"Rage against the dying of light." Adam mumbles. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Austin blinks a few times. "Uhm, literally every single line in the poem was about how humans should resist death basically."

I can hear an 'oh' by Carla while Adam and I make confused sounds.

"Yeah, well, the poem made me want to seek out death, so I guess it failed what it was written for." Adam mumbles.

"How was that what it was about?" Carla asks.

"Even the name alone gave that away." Austin points out.