Remnants of the Vision

"Listen, I believe in you."

They were the last words I heard my father say before I was ushered into the hall along with everybody else. I took my seat near the front, waiting for the instructor to tell us to flip the test and begin. I had 5 pens with me just in case one or two were to fail.

Fail.

That was a possibility that I always considered. Failing the finals. The most important test of the year. The test that would decide whether or not we could move forward to the next grade. The passing mark was 80%. My average was 85%. Unless I studied the wrong areas, I shouldn't fail the test.

I sighed. If only the test was on maths. But no, it was on my worst subject. History.

I have to get at least 80% to pass.

Breathe in and out.

I must stay calm during this process. Read the questions and think clearly. Get every unimportant thought out of your head. You need to stay focused.

Ahhggg

I let my head fall on my hand, trying to remember everything that we learnt in this semester. 1.1 million people died during the holocaust. Young people were particularly targeted by Nazis to be murdered. If they lived, they posed a threat as they would grow up to parent a new generation of Jews. Many children suffocated and those who survived would be taken to the gas chamber. The final solution was constructed in. In... ahhh when was it? When did it occur?

"Alright, turn around and face the front. This is a standardized test. Talking is prohibited. Keep your eyes on your own desk..."

Please just shut up. I don't need your voice distracting me from what's important. Ah, what was it?

"You may begin."

The sound of hundreds of papers being flipped was heard. I looked at the writing question.

In the eyes of the Nazis, were the methods of execution and experimentation effective.

Hold on, "In the eyes of the Nazis, were the methods, of execution, and experimentation, effective."

The majority of the children were killed. Twins had experiments performed on them by Joseph Mengele. They didn't want any future generations of Jews alive.

"The method of execution and experimentation on children were effective and was helpful for our cause. Over 1 million penitents died from malnutrition, poor quality living conditions and any that survived were placed in the gas chamber for execution. They believed Jews must be eliminated from the world. Mengele performed experiments on twins to test the bonds between them."

Yes. Maybe, just maybe, I will be able to pass this exam.

I walked out of the exam hall feeling proud of myself. That had to be the best essay I had written.

I saw my father leaning against the wall with a large smile on his face. Walking up to him, he asked me, "How was the test, Kira?"

"I think I did pretty well," I replied, smiling back at him.

"That's my girl!"

"Hey Kira," I turned to see my friend running towards me with his bag slung over his shoulder, "How was the test?"

"It went pretty well, I think I might be able to pass for once," I replied, hugging him. I turned towards my father, waving goodbye at him while dragging my friend away, "Sorry father, as happy as I am that you decided to wait 2 hours for me, we have decided to leave you and go forward with our shopping plan."