Final Exams And A Strange Request

Finals were upon her, and she realised that she hadn't studied hard enough. Her text books lay open at the first page, the words jumbling up as she crammed ... hard. She only had two exams, but these were essential. The results from these would go towards accreditation for her Fine Arts degree.

She simply could not fail. Failure was not an option.

After a breakfast of cereal, whilst sitting in a room full of dirty pots and buzzing flies, Sophie steeled herself. She could only do her absolute best. If that didn't work, there was always next year.

The clock ticked ominously in the silent hall. The only sounds were the scribblings of pens on paper, and the soft footfall of the invigilators. There were two, opposite sides of the hall, making sure that nobody could cheat. All revise papers, phones and other devices had been confiscated. It was just the pen, the exam paper and the person.

Her head throbbed and the words swam. Time ticked onwards until the final bell rang. There was a great outpouring of relief, sighs simply rippled through the hall as all the students took a deep breath. It was over.
But for most of them, including Sophie, this was just round one. There was a break for a couple of hours before round two commenced. This time the exam was being taken in the much bigger sports hall. Once again, it was a rinse and repeat scenario, but with the accompaniment of rain drumming a rhythm on the bowed ceiling.


After it was over, Sophie felt sick to her stomach. Something told her that she'd tanked both exams. It was just a matter of waiting for the results. She needed a distraction, and as luck would have it, the minute she switched her phone on, there was a text message from one of her tutors Wade Anthony. He was throwing an after uni party, would she like to come?

Would she ever? All through the semester, she'd pointedly refused all invites as she was determined to do well. But since this was all over now, why not let her hair down and have some fun?

When she arrived, the place seemed eerily quiet. No loud music, no gathering throng of students and professors. It was .... creepy.

She wandered indoors to ... nothing. Starving, tired and in desperate need of a shower, she didn't dare touch anything. So she headed for the laundry room and washed her hands in the hopes that this would stave off the hygiene issue.

And then she headed home, wondering why the invite if you couldn't be there to organise and host the party yourself? She was in mid thought when she heard an almighty howl and the sound of sobbing.

Student: Why you Kyle? My bestest buddy in the world. Why?

Sophie wasn't quite sure how to handle this, since she personally didn't know this Kyle Shalom from Adam. Comforting this poor Sim might not be the best thing to do. Besides, at the rate he was going, she half expected him to lay prostrate with grief. But nope, he stood there quite firmly and sobbed his heart out until he couldn't cry any more.

With a sniff, and the wipe of his sleeve across his face, he straightened up and turned towards the stairs.

Student: I think I'll have a shower, change out of these clothes, since they're soaking wet.

And that's when Sophie remembered the fairy trap in the shower. She knew that there were several showers on the second floor, and she hoped that he'd choose one of those. She didn't want to hang around, just in case, so she headed to the kitchen area to clean up.

And that's when she heard the second howl!

Yep, he'd hit the shower with the trap in it, and his hair turned a sickly yellow.

Student: What the..... ? This can't be happening to me! 

Oh boy.

To avoid looking guilty, Sophie grabbed the nearest student and started playfully pestering her. The giggles were infectious.

Female Student: Hey guys, I'm making salad, want some?

That soon put paid to Sophie's harmless shenanigans, as she turned back to her full sized form.

Sophie: Did you like that?
Vampire Student: Meh, I guess.
Sophie: Will I be seeing you back at campus next semester?
Vampire Student: You're coming back?
Sophie: Yeah, I guess.
Vampire Student: Yeah, well, I dunno. We'll see.

It was getting late, very late. Sophie collapsed into bed at about 4am and slept soundly until well after midday. Throughout the dorm, there were shrieks of happiness as student after student opened their results letters and discovered that they'd passed.

Sophie wasn't so sure. She stared at the envelope for what seemed a long time before carefully tearing it open. Closing one eye in the hopes that the results would look better - she started reading. And frowned.
She got a C average. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either.

But then something else caught her eye. A small handwritten note on the bottom of the envelope.

It  was from Professor Wade Anthony. It simply said .... remember Question 6, ask your mother.

What the hell was that supposed to mean? There were so many questions that needed answering that she couldn't even remember what any of them were, let alone Question 6.

But she didn't have time to ponder, she needed to pack up her stuff and be ready for the moving van. She was heading home whether she liked it or not.

After saying her goodbyes, she floated to the end of the street to await the moving van and make her long journey back home.

The campus was beginning to look empty and quiet as many other students also made their way home too.

She hopped into the van and headed off home. To see her family..... and figure out what Question 6 was in the exam paper. And why it had something to do with her mother.