The Surly Bonds

Chapter 12

June 10, 1986. The last session of school finally approaches as eager students wait impatiently for the clock to tick down to their temporary scholastic freedom. The eighth graders casually roam the empty halls, while the sixth and seventh graders remain trapped inside the warm, stagnant classrooms. Annie sits at her desk, hands shaking as she sifts through stacks of papers. Annie's classmates patiently wait in their seats, idly chatting amongst themselves at low volume. Annie buries her nose in her math book, flipping through pages in a frenzy. The tardy bell rings, silencing the classroom. The room falls quiet as Mrs. Daniels enters the classroom with a stack of warm tests, fresh from the copier.

Annie quickly looks around the room. Every desktop is vacant, only containing a pencil and a solitary piece of white scratch paper. Annie quickly sweeps her desk of all clutter and pours her book and papers into her backpack, resting underneath her desk. Mrs. Daniels stands at the front of the classroom and declares, "This is it, folks, your last test of the school year. I'll be passing these out in a moment, but before I do, I want to remind you to read the directions carefully, no talking, keep your eyes on your own paper, and please do not forget to write your name."

Annie pulls out a pencil and a piece of scratch paper, well behind the rest of the class. Mrs. Daniels paces in front of the class. "From this point on, absolutely no talking. Once you've completed the test, drop off your math book at the back of the classroom and you may leave. Good luck and have a great summer."

Mrs. Daniels carefully counts the test papers, and hands them to each person sitting at the front of the classroom. They pass the test papers to the person behind them, and instantly write down their names. Annie taps her pencil repeatedly. The classmate in front of her raises his arm and extends it back, precariously holding the tests between his two fingers. Annie follows the downward path of the hand, and quickly grabs the test. She hastily hands off the extra tests to the person behind her. Annie quickly scribbles her name on the top of the test. She slowly examines the paper. The numbers appear jumbled in her quick glance. She shakes off her disorienting view and focuses on problem number one. The premier problem reads: 3/4 x 4/5 =, and Annie nervously taps her pencil. Her heartbeat rises from normal rhythm to a jackhammer. Her breaths increases rapidly.

Annie moves onto the next problem: 1/5 ÷ 3/5 =. She taps her pencil on the test paper, leaving a series of silver dots. Annie drops her pencil and looks around the room. Students quietly write numbers with their pencils on the test. Mrs. Daniels makes brief eye contact with Annie. Annie looks down at her paper and picks up her pencil. She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes.

Annie opens her eyes and finds herself at a large table, in a white, empty room. The math test rests in front of her, along with her pencil and a shred of scrap paper. Phoebe enters the room, gently closing the door behind her. Confused, Annie asks, "What are you doing here? This can't be real."

"This isn't real. We're deep inside your head," Phoebe responds.

"Great, now I'm going crazy."

"Not yet. We got a test to take."

"I'm here to take a test, you're not."

"You're stuck and you haven't even written down a single number."

"I'm thinking."

"Think harder. You don't have all day. You've already wasted so much time reminiscing about things that aren't going to help you," Phoebe replies. "Challenger, mom and dad's marriage going down the crapper, and some shell shock from Elliott."

"Don't start with that."

Annie looks down at her math test again to see the first problem,  3/4 x 4/5 =. Phoebe chimes in, "Come on, those are easy. You're multiplying straight across. Don't overthink it."