BEAUTIFUL MESS [Book 2] | MIKHAIAH

14 🌸

Today was the day that would determine the rest of my life. Today was eight hours of downloading everything I had learned over the past two years onto an exam sheet. Today, I had run to the bathroom ten times since my arrival at the testing center. Amaia had started fifteen minutes ago, and I had another forty-five until my exam session started. I used it wisely. I paced. I drank coffee. I scorned myself for drinking coffee when I required another three bathroom stops and nearly fell over with relief as Sam and Steph walked into the center.

"Oh, my God. I'm going to fail," I said the instant I saw them.

Sam, who looked paler than usual, nodded and excused himself to the bathroom. Understandable.

My phone vibrated in my pocket and I checked it. It was a message from Elle.

Elle: Kick ass today babe! xx

I responded with a long, drawn-out sigh.

"It's just a test for God's sake. You can do it again if you fail, you do realize that?" Steph said, leading us to a seat.

"I know, but I can't afford to take it again."

"Then don't fail."

"That's easy for you to say!" I said with a borderline screech. A few other exam-takers gave me a dirty look for interrupting their last-minute cram session. "That's easy for you to say," I whispered. "You can afford to do this a hundred times."

"No actually, I can't. I fail, then I have to go into law."

"What?"

"Law. My parents expect me to follow in their footsteps if I screw up today, so I get one shot at this." Steph's hands twisted together in her lap.

"That's ridiculous. You can do what you like. To hell with them."

"I can do what I like if they chose to fund me. I get one shot at becoming a doctor or I have to fall back on the law degree that got me here."

"Oh," I said, leaning back into the plastic chair. "Bummer."

We sat in silence as we pondered the importance of the two years of med school that got us to this point. "I'm nervous," Steph muttered.

I reached out and took her hand. "Me, too."

When the exam room opened, and Sam, Steph and I stepped into our futures with sweat running down our backs and butterflies rioting in our stomachs. I didn't bother saying good luck as I was worried about upending my breakfast.

***

Eight hours had never felt so long, so short, or so intense. Panic set in at the half hour mark and after dealing with flashes and black dots in my vision by doing what I could to provide oxygen to my body, I got back on track. Neurology, pathology, lymphatic systems, diagnoses, psychology and everything in between regurgitated itself through my neural networks. My head started pounding in hour two from such insane concentration, my back ached from sitting for so long in one position, and the time was going past far too quickly for my liking. So focused was I on the exam, that I had another brief moment of panic when I ran out of questions to answer.

"What the...?" I whispered under my breath, earning a glance from the exam controller who had been prowling around the room like a hungry panther. With whisper-quiet steps she was beside my table a moment later giving me the once over. "Sorry," I mouthed at her and rechecked the test twice to make sure I hadn't skipped a bank of questions that was going to find me on Fail Street.