Chapter 2: The Test

EDISON ELEMENTARY, Monday afternoon

The lunch period was winding down. Simon was not where he usually hung out with his brothers and friends. He was in a hallway, digging through his locker.

"Um... Simon?" He heard a voice behind him say.

"Jeanette?" He replied as he spun around quickly, there Jeanette stood, clutching her binder and her science book close to her.

"I've been looking for you." She said.

"You have?" Simon raised an eyebrow.

"Oh... um, well..." Jeanette stammered as she fidgeted with the glasses on the end of her nose. "It's just that... I haven't seen you all day, and I was wondering if you were okay."

"I'll be fine." Simon muttered under his breath as he turned towards his locker again.

"What?"

"I said 'I'm fine', Jeanette!" Simon said plainly.

"Um... that's not what I heard." Jeanette stated. "I heard you say 'I'll be fine, as in, you aren't doing fine right at this moment."

Simon was about to respond when the school bell rang, indicating the end of lunch.

"I'm sorry, Jeanette." Simon said. "I need to get to class now."

"Yeah, me too." Replied Jeanette. "Maybe we can talk after school, or something?"

"Maybe." Answered Simon as he began to walk away. "See you later."

"See you later, Simon!" Said Jeanette. She watched Simon walk down the hall for a bit before sighing to herself and turning towards her own class.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

The kids were inside the classroom and seated at their assigned desks well before the teacher walked into the room. "Good afternoon class," she began to say. "I have interesting news for you. There has been a change of plans, and we will not be taking that math test today…."

Everyone began to cheer.

"Okay, class, settle down!" the teacher said. "However, we are going to be taking a different kind of test."

The room filled with groans.

"Don't worry class," the teacher chuckled to herself as she handed the test packets out. "It's called the 'Performance Evaluation Test'.

"You mean we are taking P.E.T. test...like a 'teacher's PET'?" Alvin snickers as he points a thumb to his brother Simon. The class begins to snicker loudly as they caught his joke. Simon frowns grimly to himself; he did not think the joke was at all that funny.

"I know," The teacher continued, as she ignores Alvin's joke. "I've never heard of it either, but it's supposed to be designed to see how much you know. It's only six pages long, and it won't affect your grade, so there are no worries there! However, this test will, I believe, reflect on us, your teachers. I sure hope you all do you best, and make us proud! Now you have 45 minutes to complete the test. You may begin now."

The room was filled with silence as the students went to work on the test and the teacher corrected homework papers. Some kids scratched their heads. Some gave their test papers dirty looks. Some shifted uneasily in their seats. And after 15 minutes, Simon stood up and walked over to the teacher's desk.

"What is it Simon?" she asked.

"I'm done, Ms. Toluene." Simon replied in an almost bashful tone as he handed her his finished test packet.

"You are?" Ms. Toluene was surprised. She knew Simon was smart, but he just seemed to wiz through the test a little too quickly. "Well," she said as she flipped through his test packet to see if every question was answered, "why don't you read a book or something while we wait for the rest of the class to finish their test."

Simon walked back to his desk and pulled out a book from his backpack. It was then he noticed that his older brother was watching him. As he opened his book, Simon flashed Alvin a grin that stated 'See what happens when you study?' Alvin could only glare at smarter brother for a moment, then go back to struggling with his own test.