Scatter Plot

S.i.x

Tests are absolutely horrible. I hear the word and my heart stops. I've never done well with tests, unless it's on a really good book that I had an audible to...so I get by in English. Every other tests, I pretty much go in knowing it will kill my grade. Even if I'm well versed on the subject, I probably forgot because I can't seem to listen in class.

"Don't worry about the test, if you paid attention in class you'll Ace it." Mrs. Daniels looked directly at me, and I slowly sink down in my chair. Why does she always look at me?

"If you did your homework, you'll do fine on the test." Mrs. Sean...looked directly at me.

"If you finished your study guide, the test should look very familiar." Mrs. Kelly said, scanning over the class, landing her gaze right on me.

"..........." Señora Sanchez said in Spanish, her gaze resting on me...I can only assume she was speaking about doing well on the test that apparently we have but I don't know yet. How I made it to the sixth level of spanish is a mystery, a mystery and a lot of Google translate.

The worst, however, are the state tests. Tests like the ACT, and the PSAT. I got semi alright scores. I'm going to retake the ACT. I hate sitting in that room, dead silence, for hours! They don't let me keep my water bottle, I drink water when I'm bored. I'm aware of every paper turning, every squeak of a pencil, every cough, sneeze, swallow... I'm aware of every thing except my test. The words look jumbled and I have to re-read over and over to understand the first sentence. By the time majority of the class had flipped over their papers, I'm still on the second question. That gets me nervous, and I feel as though they are judging me because I haven't turned my paper yet. I quickly circle answers, whether they're right or not, and flip my paper. It makes me feel less anxious to be on the same page as everyone else, even if I didn't even read three questions on the previous page.

The eve of the ACT, I made the mistake of listening to Hamilton all the way through in order for the first time. I had heard a lot of the songs, but never in order. So that morning, all I could think of was Hamilton. All throughout the test, all in was singing in my head, was Hamilton. I don't advise anyone to ever do that to yourselves.

Another thing about those big state tests, they always seat us alphabetically...so I'm in between Sheila, one of my friends, and Clark... Clark is gross, in kind words. I'm not trying to sound mean here, but he picks his nose in class, he has been caught watching porn in class, he's been caught touching himself, in class. He just gives off a very creepy vibe. He also has a sneezing problem, so every one coincidentally calls him sneezy. His record is 38 in a row. It's...it's disgusting. Anyway, in these state tests, he's usually sat behind me. I can't focus knowing any second his nose could explode down my neck. Even if you aren't a germaphobe, you can sympathize with me, right?

I probably could do really well on these tests, if I was placed in a secluded room, with no outside noises, but they'd allow me to play music of my choice. If they gave me bathroom breaks, I was allowed snacks, mental breaks from the test where I was able to chill with Pinterest, and if I was allowed my water bottle. I know that's a lot of things to include, but collectively only would take a few hours with the bathroom breaks. They couldn't time me either, because I hate that. I also hate it when it's so quite in a room that you can hear the clock ticking, because there are intervals between the seconds where I swear they don't match.

Classes should do what my Sunday school class does, where if it's a nice day, we park the lesson outside under a tree. Outside is just so much better.

Classes should just be more entertaining, is that so much to ask? I signed up for a writing through film class next year, and I'm excited because we get to watch movies every class. I'm also a little nervous, because when I find a movie is boring, I'll go do something else. I just hope his classroom has the spiny chairs.

Honestly, I think I give Mrs. Kelly a heart attack every time I come into her classroom. She has these metal bars under the tables, so I push off of them with my feet and keep my chair balanced on two legs, and the amount of times I've almost fallen is innumerable now.

"We're going to take a little break and play a game." Mrs. Kelly says, looking right at me. "I think Rachel needs a minute to get her wiggles out." I lower my chair to the floor and give her a smile. As everyone makes their way to the front of the room, some of them don't push in their chairs, so I jump on and off of them to get to the front of the room. Mrs. Kelly gives me an exasperated look. I sit myself down on top of a table as she gives directions. If only all of my teachers would be this considerate to play games.