Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII

A/N: Alright, this is based on a true story. I have no idea why I chose Cloud to represent myself. The only thing I have in common with Cloud is that we both are blondes and. . .we can seriously beat ourselves up when things don't happen the way we want them to.

Ironically, I came up with the idea of the Final Fantasy characters taking the ACT while I was taking an ACT! Surprisingly, I got a great score on that test!

Cloud ran out of the high school feeling free. School was out for the summer! However, he knew what was in store for him this summer: studying for the ACT!

"Oh, why did standardized testing have to be a part of college entrance?" Cloud groaned to himself. College was really important to Cloud, especially since he was a great student. But, every single sixteen-year-old student was in the same position. The summer between sophomore and junior year was the designated time for standardized test studying.

So, Cloud went straight to the library and headed in the direction of the testing section. He got various books about the ACT; some promised perfect scores, other boasted about being better than other test-prep books, and some books weren't helpful at all.

When he got home, Cloud sat at his desk and cracked open a book called This Book is Guaranteed to Get You a 36!

The book was extremely monotonous, explaining test strategies and methods of studying. After about two hours of reading, his cell phone vibrated. Cloud looked down and saw that it was a text from Zack.

"Hey Cloud! Do you want to go play basketball with me and Genesis?"

Cloud sighed and replied back. "No, I'm studying."

Within seconds, Zack replied. "Studying what? School's out if you haven't noticed."

Cloud replied. "I'm studying for the ACT so that I can get into a good college unlike you."

Zack replied. "Bah. I don't need to study. I'm just going to walk in and take that test on the day it's given."

Cloud laughed and replied. "Go for it. But don't come crying to me when you get a 12."

Cloud didn't receive a response to that text, which is a good thing because he was busy studying.

And so, Cloud continued in this boring manner over the course of the entire summer. He only spent two hours in fun activities that summer. That only happened when Tifa persuaded him to play Wii baseball with her. It was fun, but he could've used that time for studying.

Cloud became obsessed with this standardized test because he wanted to get into a good school with a high scholarship. Now there is nothing wrong with being goal-oriented, but Cloud took it to an extreme level. The lust for a high ACT score was starting to take over his brain. It was the only thing he would talk about, and his friends were getting sick of it.

Finally, school started again and the ACT was scheduled in the middle of the year.

"Well, you'll be happy that the ACT is coming up, Cloud. Then you can get your perfect score and you won't need to study all the time," Tifa said to him.

"Nice try. You know that I'll have to start applying for colleges afterwards," Cloud said.

Tifa was annoyed. Cloud was always her best friend, but he seemed to have forgotten his self-worth. After all, this was just a test, and he was focusing on it all the time.

Finally, April came, the month the ACT was to be given. Much to Tifa's relief, Cloud decided to give himself a break during the week approaching the ACT.

"I've done enough studying. I'm giving my brain a rest," Cloud said.

"Good. You've only spent every waking second studying for that stupid test," Tifa said.

"Bah! This wasn't a waste of time, Tifa. You'll see. I'll step out of that test with a really high score. A high score will look great along with my 4.0 GPA. When I apply the colleges, they'll be dying to give me scholarships, and I may even enter into their honors programs," Cloud explained.

"Well, it will be interesting to see what happens, Cloud. I hope that all of your desires actually can true. But in the meantime, stop being so arrogant," Tifa said as she walked off, annoyed.

For the rest of the week, Cloud wanted to hang out with his friends. He wanted to play basketball with Zack and Genesis, but they were cramming for the ACT. He asked Tifa if she wanted to start a Wii baseball tournament, but she was busy studying for her biology exam. In reality, she didn't feel like listening to Cloud boast about how much he studied for the ACT. Finally, he asked Aerith if she wanted to play World of Warcraft with him (in this story, Aerith is a nerd). However, she had too many commitments. Aerith was the captain of the Dungeons and Dragons campaign at the high school, and the big tournament was coming up on Friday. So she couldn't play with Cloud.

The night before the ACT, Cloud got all of his supplies together. He brought his admission ticket, pencils, driver's license, permitted calculator, and a nutrition bar for a snack. He was all set to go.

So, he decided to watch TV. It would have been a lot more fun with his friends, but they were all cramming for the ACT. He just wanted this test to be over, so that he could get his friends back.

The next morning, Cloud woke up early feeling extremely nervous. He could only eat half his breakfast due to the fact that his stomach was filled with the waves of nervousness and anticipation.

All to soon, he arrived at his high school. His friends met up with him, but he was too nervous to even speak. Instead he just leaned against a wall, waiting for the testing room to open.

Now Cloud had taken about twelve practice tests, so he knew what to expect. Why was he so nervous? Clearly he had taken harder tests than this. But the test was probably the most important test in his life. He had to get a good score, or else he wouldn't qualify for scholarships, special programs for talented students, and most importantly. . .college admission!

I need to get a good score! I can't afford to be taking this test over and over again!

All too soon, the door to his test room opened. He handed his driver's license and test ticket to the woman who was to be the proctor for the test.

"Your name will be on one of the desks," she said as she signed him in. Cloud walked around until he found the desk with an index card that read "Strife, Cloud." Luckily, he was right in the front row. Sitting next to him was Aerith and she looked as nervous as he was.

"Hey Aerith, are you nervous?" Cloud asked.

Aerith sighed and said, "Yeah. I studied a lot, but I think that the D&D campaign took away from my last minute studying," she said as she pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose.

Cloud silently laughed to himself. Aerith was over the top when it came to studying. She was almost worse than he was. Aerith studied all the time, even during D&D campaigns. When it wasn't her turn during a round of D&D, she would pick up her notes and begin studying science, history, math, or anything else.

It seemed that all of the students arrived, and proctor stood up.

"Today, everyone in this class will be taking the ACT. The ACT is a standardized test that is used for college acceptance. Everyone in this room will be taking the non-essay test. If you believe that you are supposed to be taking the essay test, please raise your hand," the proctor said. No one raised their hand.

"Remember to turn off your cell phone or the alarm on your watch. If your cell phone or alarm goes off during the test, you will be dismissed and your answer document will be void. I will now pass out the tests and answer sheets. Please do not break the seal on the test booklet until you are told to do so," she said.

Cloud looked at the test booklet that was handed to him. The front of the test just had a boring explanation about what the ACT was. Cloud quickly scanned through it, and he began to feel confident.

That's so stupid! I know all of the stuff that I just read on this page. I already knew that the ACT doesn't have a guessing penalty.

"Once you are done reading, look up," the proctor said. Cloud immediately looked up.

"Now you may fill out the first three columns on the answer sheet," she said. Cloud spent about five minutes filling out this name, address, phone number, test booklet number, and social security number.

"You may now break the seal of your test booklet," the proctor said.

Cloud broke the seal. Man, there are far too many steps to taking these standardized tests! No wonder you hear so many horror stories about them.

"The first test is the English section. You will have forty-five minutes for this test. You may begin now," the proctor said.

Cloud looked at his watch and began testing. He always thought that the English section was really easy, and he breezed through it. When he was finished, he had fifteen minutes to spare.

When he was done, he looked through his questions to make sure that he agreed with all of his answers. This was a bad idea; he decided to change the answers to some of his questions. Little did Cloud know that the answers choices he picked first were the correct ones.

After the English section ended, it was time for the mathematics test. Cloud was very good at mathematics, so he assumed that he would do well on this test. However, self-doubt crept in. Cloud thought that he was answering the questions too quickly and he assumed that he was solving them wrong. Again, Cloud did not trust himself, and he made several careless mistakes that would cost him his score.

"You have five minutes remaining," the proctor said.

Five minutes! I'd better finish these last ten problems at warp speed!

And that's what Cloud did. He wasn't the most thorough with solving the problems, but at least he finished the test.

"The time is up. Put your pencils down," the proctor said.

Cloud breathed a sigh of relief.

"You are now allowed a ten minute break. You may walk the halls, but you cannot talk," she said. Cloud walked down the hall and began to eat the energy bar he had brought with him. He felt good about what he accomplished so far, and the rest of the test wasn't bad. After he finished eating, he went back to the testing room where he saw a very frazzled looking Aerith.

"Aerith, are you alright?" he asked.

"I think that I've just blown the entire test," she said.

"Why? Did you leave any questions blank?" he asked.

"No. I answered them all, I just have this feeling that I didn't so well," she said.

Cloud rolled his eyes. "Just do your absolute best. Then you can be happy with how you scored." Aerith just shrugged her shoulders.

Little did cloud know that he should take a bit of his own advice.

The next section was the reading test. This was pretty easy, and Cloud thought that he was answering the questions perfectly. The rest of the ACT was going to be a breeze.

After the reading came the final section of the test - the Science Reasoning section. Cloud had heard friends of his complain about this test, but he wasn't afraid. He was able to take on those charts and graphs like a true warrior. He made sure that he left the Fighting Scientists passage as the last one. This was a strategy he read in one of his books.

All to soon, the proctor called the five minute warning for the test. Cloud was already finished. He felt that he took a good test, but he was annoyed that he had to wait five minutes for the other students to finish up.

"The time is up. You may put your pencils down," the proctor said.

"Now, complete the final column on the first page of your answer sheet," she said.

Cloud had to write out a statement saying that he was the person who took that test and that he did not have someone else take the test for him. It was really stupid and a waste of time.

Afterwards, the woman walked around the room and collected the answer documents and books.

"The test is over. Make sure you have all of your belongings, and have a nice day," she said.

All of the students raced out of the classroom, Cloud being the first in line. He ran out of the classroom and all the way home. He felt good about his performance on the test. He would find out how he did in two weeks. Until then, he could return to a normal lifestyle. As soon as he got home, he sent texts to Zack and Genesis to see if they wanted to play basketball.

A/N: So what score did Cloud get on the ACT? I'll update ASAP. Please review!