Dan's point of view:
What am I going to do? I knew I should've studied, I'm such an idiot... Why do I have to procrastinate all the freaking time?
God what should I do, what should I do, what should I do... Ugh! I can't think of anything, and it doesn't help that Phil is playing his game so bloody loudly.
"Can you be a bit quieter please, I'm trying to study." I tried not to let my crankiness seep into my voice but it was still apparent.
"Umm, yeah sure- sorry." Phil paused his game, turned it down and then started playing again.
I tried to focus on the words in front of me but they were all a jumbled mess. I knew I had to study if I didn't want a horrific grade, but honestly I wasn't in the mood.
My eyes drifted to the game Phil was playing, he was losing pretty badly but he still appeared to be having fun. A lot more fun than I was having...
Even with the volume turned down I still couldn't concentrate. Ugh I can't do this, I just can't... I don't know what tipped me over the edge but when I looked down at my textbook again I lost it.
"I CAN'T DO IT!" I screamed and harshly pushed my book away from me.
"What?" Phil had paused his game again and turned to me with a questioning gaze.
"I can't do it." I repeated much more quietly, yet still in an angry tone.
"Can't do what Dan?" Phil seemed quite confused, but that's understandable as I wasn't being very informative.
"My exam. I can't do it."
"Dan, you have to do your exam."
"No one can force me to." I replied, quite confident with my case.
"No one's forcing you to do anything Dan. It's obvious that you're getting a bit stressed from studying, how about you take a break and calm down. Once you've calmed down then you'll have a clearer head and then it'll be easier for you to think about what you want to do. How about you come and sit with me for a bit- I've got chocolate, chocolate always helps me when I'm stressed."
Phil made a valid point but I doubt that I'd change my mind, I haven't studied and I really don't want to sit through that long exam only to fail. It was quite cute that Phil was talking about chocolate, his childlike nature was amusing... Wait, no that's the wrong word, cute makes it sound like I'm attracted to him- and I'm not.
Well at least I don't think I am, I mean- I've only ever been attracted to girls, but then I've never really thought about being with a guy... But my sexuality is not important right now because I've got a huge freaking law exam, tomorrow.
"Dan?" Phil interrupted my thoughts and brought me back to reality.
"Umm... Yeah, that sounds like a good idea." I mumbled, slightly embarrassed that I was contemplating being attracted to my roommate.
So I sat with Phil and we both played his game, I beat him and it was quite easy to do so- he was terrible at this game.
We played another couple of rounds and then Phil asked "So, how're you feeling?" I had to think about that. Obviously I was more relaxed, but it still didn't take away from the fact that I hadn't revised the information for my exam. And I don't think anyone can cram that much information in one night.
I let out a drawn out sigh and then replied. "Yeah I definitely feel more relaxed but I'm still not sure whether I can take my exam, I mean- I've done hardly any work or revision this year and I don't think it's possible to cram all of the information I need for my exam tonight..."
"Then just cram most of it." Phil seemed rather casual with his response.
"Huh?" I didn't understand what he meant, I need all of the information to pass my exam.
"Look, you said it's not possible to study all of the information- so just revise as much as you can. Trust me, you don't want to miss your exam- at least if you take it then you've got a chance of passing. And the worse case scenario is that you take it and fail- but then you get a chance to retake it next year. I know you may be thinking of leaving it until next year, but there's no harm in trying it this year. If you did want a career in law then it'd look worse if you refused to take the exam, but then took it again- it'd look much better if you failed by a few marks and then took it again. If you refuse to take the exam then it looks like you can't handle it, and I know you may think that you can't- but trust me Dan, you're one of the most capable people for sitting this exam, if you focus. Now you need to sit down and get on with some solid studying, I'm happy to help you study if you want."
Wow, when did Phil get so mature? Mind you he is older than me... But not too much. He is right though- it'd look much better if I took it, and then if I get a crap mark, I can always just put it down to 'personal problems' or 'panic'. But to be fair the panic reason is quite true.
I guess if Phil helped me then I could get some decent studying done, I bet I could learn a good half of the information...
"Okay, you're right. I'll take my exam, thanks for helping me out- and for the chocolate." I smiled as I said the last part, Phil did too.
"No problem, stressed spelt backwards is desserts- so it was only logical." He giggled slightly at his statement. I was working it out in my head and he was right, stressed spelt backwards is desserts. What a funny coincidence. I smiled at him and he returned my expression.
"Okay, so do you want me to help you study?"
"Yeah please, that'd be really helpful." Phil gave another small smile and then got up and grabbed my text book which was sprawled out on the floor.
(The next day).
It was 08:46 am, and my exam was at 09:00 am. I was sitting on the floor by the exam room with my text book in my lap. I was near the lockers and right by the door. Despite the noise I was still trying to do some last minute studying.
Phil and I had stayed up most of the night studying, regardless of wether I pass, I'm still extremely grateful for him helping me.
We'd covered a lot, but not everything. So now I was trying to skim read over the information we hadn't covered and pick out key words.
I was still nervous and I knew that the upcoming hour and a half exam would be hell, but I was a lot more confident after my studying session with Phil.
After studying for the remaining time before my exam, the rest of the exam participants and I got ushered into our exam room- without saying a word. I sat down at my small desk, and stared at the overturned exam paper.
The desk was a light shade of brown, and the chair I was sitting on was also small, blue and made of plastic- it reminded me of secondary school a bit. The lady supervising us went over the basic rules for every exam.
"- You will have an hour and a half to complete this exam, do not start before I tell you to do so.
- If you have any queries don't hesitate to talk to me, but I cannot answer any of the questions for you.
- Do not, under any circumstances, cheat in you're exam. If you're caught cheating durning your exam you will get 0% for your paper, and will have to retake your exam next year.
- Do not talk to one another about anything, if you need something- talk to me. If you are caught talking to someone you will have the same consequences as cheating.
- Put an answer by every question, don't leave anything blank.
- You must have the following equipment; a pen, a pencil, a ruler, a rubber and a sharpener. Calculators are banned from this exam, so if you are caught using one you will get 0% and will have to retake your exam next year.
Any questions?"
No one said anything, but a few people shook their heads in response.
"Okay, we're starting at 09:02, we will finish the exam at 10:32. You may now start the exam."
I turned over my paper, and proceeded in filling out my name- dread and panic really settling in. I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself down, while reading the first question.
'Critically examine the meaning of intention in the context of homicide with reference to recent cases.'
Hmm... I can answer this, I specially remember looking at the revision for this question- as Phil had made silly joke about me having homicidal intentions. I took about five minutes to scribble down my answer, and then moved onto the next question.
'State the legal test of insanity. Is it unnecessarily restrictive? How should it be revised?'
Again, I knew the answer to this question... Both of the questions were actually quite easy, well to me anyway. With confidence I wrote down my answer, and then moved onto the next question...