Chapter twenty: Finals

8/7 Tuesday: Afternoon; Ylisstol High School, Gym

The school gym was the only biggest space in the school where it was possible to hold multiple exams in a controlled and supervised environment by the staff. Arranged on the floor were rows and rows of empty tables intended to seat two at each end, so it was difficult to cheat or collude, should anyone dare.

After doing a bit of last-minute cramming just outside the gym doors, Robyn, Robin, Chrom, Sumia, and Cordelia got up from where they were sitting on the floor to enter the gym. The atmosphere was quiet as they followed the directions of the teachers on where to sit according to class and subject. Of course, Ms. Flavia was there to direct her class where to go. Her colleague, Mr. Basilio, was busy organising his class too.

By the top of the hour, Robyn and Robin had seat at the same table with their pencils and erasers at the ready, along with their calculators. This was mathematics, after all. It would have been very difficult had they had to write this final exam in pen. Yesterday's exam was tough enough already, and there would be no rest until the last of them were done.

Still a little anxious, they took simultaneous deep breaths to calm down. They exchanged glances and smiles, as if looking at each other gave them some reassurance. Eventually, Ms. Flavia went to hand the exam booklets out ("Don't flip the booklets over until we say 'start'!" she instructed more than once to the students).

Then after a few minutes of handing out the booklets, Ms. Flavia watched the minute hand hit the top of the hour and she simultaneously hit the timer on the computer at her desk, which was wired to a projector showing the timer to the entire gym. "You may begin!" she said. Behind her, the timer began counting down.

Robyn heard the sound of many papers turning, so she had to start too. To think she didn't get enough rest yesterday after completing her first exam. Now this? She hoped she would do well. All she needed to do was survive the next three hours…


8/7 Tuesday: Evening; Ylisstol High School, School Gate

They left the school at the same time with mixed feelings. On one hand, they felt fulfilled that their second final of the term and only needed to focus on their remaining ones. But on the other hand, they had an uneasy feeling in their stomachs after finishing the exam, not knowing what to expect after.

"Gosh…" Robin said, shaking his head.

"At least that's over now. Let's go home and study!" Robyn poked Robin's side.

"I know…"

It occurred to Robin that Robyn had referred to his home as her home too.


8/8 Wednesday: Afternoon; Ylisstol High School, Gym

Robyn and Robin had no time to rest last night because the moment they got home, they had a quick dinner with Morgan, and then it was on to reviewing their notes for the next exam. There was no use cramming to study a chapter that wasn't covered because it was too late by now. A quick review of the material, plus studying extra for parts that were uncomfortable (so to speak), was what was needed to be done. And they had two exams that day! One in the afternoon, one in the evening (which allowed time for lunch and review, thankfully).

So that was what it became when they were doing their third exam of the term. It was social studies, which was full of trivia about the history of Archanea and of the national monarch. Personally, Robyn and Robin looked forward to this exam, since history and in particular historical battles and strategies fascinated them. They answered question after question as if it took no time.

Very unsurprisingly, Miriel had completed the exam ahead of everyone else with an hour to spare.


8/8 Wednesday: Evening; Ylisstol High School, Gym

But as satisfied as they felt after the morning exam, there was not much time to rest. After the morning exam, they had a three-hour break to recuperate before the next exam. Together with Cordelia, Maribelle, Kellam, and Gaius, they studied in the library and reviewed concepts for language arts. The exam, they were informed during the last week of classes, composed of two short answer problems and two essays. Two essays!

Ideally, according to Ms. Flavia, the essays would take two hours alone. The short answers would be relatively – well – short. This exam was a test of critical thinking and the ability to process information and respond in a short time. This was part of their studies for the past term.

So the minute the exam started, Robyn and Robin did their best to not waste even a second of exam time, knowing their time was limited. They looked focused. Chrom looked composed. Vaike looked like he was about to rip his hair off. Sumia was crying inside and outside. Henry and Tharja looked dead inside, like they didn't know how to approach this exam.

This exam was going to be long and strenuous.


8/9 Thursday: Afternoon; Ylisstol High School, Gym

The many hours used on the commute to the anime convention last weekend paid off for Robyn and Robin. Were it not for those many hours, they probably wouldn't have felt prepared for the Thursday exam. Last night, after the language arts exam was over, they had a late dinner at home and went straight to bed, since Morgan had already fallen asleep by the time they got home. That meant the only time they had to review the coming exam was in the following morning.

No way were they going to pull an all-nighter before the next exam, which thankfully wasn't next morning. At least they could sleep in a little!

But the upcoming exam was the chemistry component of science. As they wrote their exam, they felt tired throughout and certainly weren't at their best. It was a good thing that those hours of studying on the train and bus managed to get into their memories at least.

And of course Miriel, who was the most interested in science in the entire class, finished her exam first with half an hour to spare. For plenty of others, not including Robyn and Robin, they felt crushed.


8/9 Thursday: Afternoon; Ylisstol High School, School Gate

The last exam, focusing on the physics component of science, was really, really hard.

Soon enough, it was done, and they were free at last! Robyn and Robin left the gym feeling somewhat confident about their performance in this last exam. They had done enough practice problems last night (if not counting the past two weeks!) to know what they were preparing for, and the answers seemed to flow from their minds and to the pencil. It was a good thing they had a formula sheet to depend on.

Then they were out at the school entrance, having met up with Chrom, Frederick, Gaius, and Miriel. As well, Lissa had finished her exams.

"Finally! It's all over!" Lissa said. "This calls for a post-exam celebration, right?"

"It's only the weekend but… I think I can wait until tomorrow, if I'm honest," Robin said.

Chrom replied, "We do have the rest of summer, after all. We should plan something… What do you think, Robyn-chan?"

Robyn was looking at the sky as if concerned for it. The daylight hours were long and it was very warm (hence, she wore her summer school uniform). Her mind was off elsewhere, which led the others to look at her worriedly.

"Don't worry about it yet!" Lissa said, hoping to cheer her up. "Come now, we should think of something to do before the new term starts! No sense in worrying. It's not like you'll add another hair to your head like that."

Robyn smiled. "Yes, you're right."


8/11 Saturday: Lunchtime; Ylisstol High School, Foyer

The Ylisstol High School foyer, where the school shop and secretary were located, was a common gathering place for pretty much everyone in the school. The conference room was here and so was the school entrance. As such, it had ample space to post bulletins and announcements on the wall, including exam scores.

It was the last day of school hours before summer break. As classes were mostly wrap-up and closing remarks from teachers who briefed students about the exam results, many were looking forward to seeing what the actual results were. A crowd had formed in the foyer as the results were posted on the bulletin, with students eager to look at where they finished.

Joining Robyn and Robin were Chrom, Cordelia, and Vaike. Now that some fellow students had walked away, they got a view of their class scores and they eagerly searched for their names. Well, at least four of them. Robyn and Robin simultaneously found their names together. They scored the same score and had gotten above the average! Chrom had also scored above average, and Cordelia was in the top ten, even.

Whereas in contrast, Vaike had finished near the bottom and did not pass.

"It… it happens sometimes… Don't feel that bad…" Robyn said, trying to console him.

Vaike could feel the pity of the students around him.