How Far We've Come

Chapter 12

After the Reagan Island field trip, the field trips began to die down. Semester exams were fast approaching and just the thought of them would constantly stress me out. I wasn't taking any AP classes yet, thank goodness, but my classes were still unimaginably difficult. The field trips had left me with a lot of make up work, but studying became my main priority. I needed to get an A on these exams.

I was never the best at tests that told you to take information from a long time ago and piece it all together. That's why I got easy As for the normal classes, but semester exams were my downfall. That was also why I never did well on standardized tests, although those were a different story. They were just overall difficult.

It was easy to see how stressed out I was. My parents tried to help, but they couldn't do much. All I would do was worry more. I had sleepless nights worrying about these exams and then spent most of my waking hours studying for them. They were probably even in my dreams.

"Okay, who here is stressed about semester exams?" asked Mr. Rickman. Almost every student in the classroom raised his or her hand and I felt their pain. These were my first exams in Prestwall, and my first in high school. I didn't know what to expect.

"If you stress out, you will only become nervous and do worse," he advised. "So to help you out, I have prepared a small exercise. Meditation is more powerful than you know."

He pulled out a stopwatch and asked us to check our pulses. After checking and calculating, we wrote the numbers down. They weren't abnormally high, but they weren't low either. "Now, I am going to play soft music. Listen to the music with your feet firmly planted on the ground and allow yourself to feel calm. This is not a waste of time- on the contrary it is rather productive." I had heard tips like this before and brushed them aside, but I trusted Mr. Rickman. After half a year in Global, the teachers and students had begun to feel like family. So, I did the exercise.

I let the soft music flow through me and take my worries away. I sat there in peace and serenity, feeling grounded as my heeled boots were placed firmly on the floor. For the first time in weeks, I felt relaxed. Now was not the time to worry, it was the time to relax. So, I sat there with my eyes closed and let the serenity take my worries away. I felt like I was in a different dimension of bliss and happiness, where no worries or fears existed, where I could just absolutely relax.

Soon, the music stopped and I slowly opened my eyes. Mr. Rickman instructed us to take our pulses and we did so. They were significantly slower than before.

"Now you see the impact of this exercise? High school will be a stressful time, but that is no reason to ignore your physical needs. Your mind may be developing and working overtime, but so is your body," he explained. "We will be doing this exercise every week, so keep this journal."

Satisfied, I closed the journal and finished the rest of the day. That evening, I studied as hard as I could since my first exam was tomorrow, but I felt like I could concentrate better. My studying took less time and I felt confident, ready to get a good night's sleep.

Then, exam week came. It was stressful, but not nearly as hard as I expected. By Friday, I had finished all my exams and was sitting with my friends at lunch. The day before, I had finally gotten free time, and rather than reading a book, I sketched. I pulled out my sketchbook and showed my friends the face I had intricately drawn and shaded.

"You like it?" I asked. "It took me about an hour."

Clary whistled. "Wow, that almost looks like a photograph. Who is it?"

I shrugged. "I honestly don't know. I just started drawing, and somehow this ended up on the page."

Lina laughed. "Well, it's really good. Wait a second... That looks like Mr. Rickman!"

I squinted at the page, turning it sideways and upside down to see what Lina saw. Only after Jessica said, "Oh my gosh it actually does!" I saw it.

Mr. Rickman walked by and I stood up. "Hi Mr. Rickman!"

"Hi Anasika," he greeted.

"Can I show you something?" I asked since he seemed in a bit of a rush.

Mr. Rickman shook his head. "I have a meeting today, but maybe in class? I'm sure it's amazing."

I grinned. "Okay! Thanks!"

But, in class, Mr. Rickman wasn't there. We waited for five minutes, just twiddling our thumbs until Mr. Marvin walked in.

"Now I know you may be wondering where Mr. Rickman is," he began as a murmur of agreement echoed throughout the room. "But, don't worry- he's fine. His head just started hurting so he had to go home. Instead, Mrs. Callie is here to teach you!"

A young woman walked into the room with black hair and a red shirt, completed by high-waisted jeans with embroidery at the ankles, brushing against her black ankle boots.

"Hi everyone!" she introduced excitedly. "I'm Mrs. Callie! I teach environmental science, so you'll have me senior year, but I've taught Biology too!" Her excitement was contagious and, while she was so obviously a grown woman, she talked like an excited child. But under that excitement was also seriousness, a balance that I admired very much.

She began teaching us and it was evident that, while she was no Mr. Rickman, she was still an amazing teacher. I had no doubt that all four years of my global experience would be amazing if all the teachers were this good.

Soon, we were filing out of the classroom and walking home. But, on Monday when we came to school and asked Mr. Marvin about Mr. Rickman, he simply told us there would be a big Global 9th meeting after lunch.

"A meeting?" I repeated to my friends. "That doesn't sound good." They nodded solemnly and suddenly a negative atmosphere had been cast on the hallway. Soon, we finished lunch and gathered in the Biology room.

Mr. Marvin took a deep breath and gestured to Mr. Gandalf to begin. I crossed my fingers, hoping and praying that nothing was wrong. Unfortunately, my wish was not granted. The room fell silent as Mr. Gandalf began talking.

"As you all know, Mr. Rickman was not in school on Friday. But, his head injury was far worse than we had previously assumed. He went home that evening and it just became worse. He... he is in the hospital now."