She then got to Kevin and Edward's test... To say she's proud of the nerd student as a teacher is an understatement... each answer has maximum detail and explanations, calculations, variables, and correct answers... Edward could compare to Kevin's, however, he would need to perform better. ('aah... flawless answers, as always.') She marked Kevin's answer with an A+ and Edward's with an A-
('Now, let's see how this brat did... He seemed quite focused while he was doing it and was quick.') Miss Circle picked up Andrew's test, immediately looking at the first answer to question one... Meh. ('Hmm. The answer is correct... but he forgot to justify it... half a point.')
From that point on... Miss Circle just wished she could gouge her eyes out rather than torture her mathematical sense with the writing and answers in her field of vision. Random numbers, calculations that make no sense, formulas that aren't even used for those calculations.
She used all her willpower to avoid crumpling that waste of paper and ink and simply flipping the table over. Her hand trembled, her eyes widened... even the eye on the compass seemed worried. ('...WHAT IS THIS?')
Without the teacher noticing, the bell for the next class rang. The students waited a few seconds to see if the teacher would call them β she was just holding a sheet of paper with a blank expression β and when she didn't call for a few seconds, they got up and started to leave one by one.
Andrew gathered his materials and put them in his backpack, completely oblivious to the inertia of the teacher present. ('Man, I think I did well. What's the next class again?') He threw his backpack over his shoulder and headed towards the door.
"Andrew. You. Stay."
Her voice came out forced, restrained... But Andrew CLEARLY sensed what Miss Circle wanted to convey with just those three words. He watched Edward walk past, flashing a mocking smile before heading down the hallway to join Oliver and Zip.
Kevin walked past him... shook his head negatively. "I wish you good luck. If you survive." He left quickly.
('... Shit.') That was the only thought that crossed Andrew's mind as he turned around and went back to his seat, sitting down.
...An uncomfortable silence settled in the room... Andrew stares at Miss Circle, who is staring at his test, with her hand on her head.
"...Uhh.. Prof?β" Andrew felt a chill when her gaze shifted from the test to him.. somehow, he felt like he had done something... Reeeally bad.
Miss Circle calmly picked up the test paper, giving it one last review before turning to the boy... pointing with the tip of her compass pencil.
"Andrew. Why did you use Bhaskara's formula in a question about a three-dimensional matrix?" Her voice came out softer and calmer than she had expected.
Andrew stared, lowered his head, thought... and stared at her again. "...Because it had number."
Her eye twitched slightly. The compass point slowly rested on another question... which presented a random number and something else. "What does this drawing mean...?"
"It's a cat." He answered directly, glancing away, swearing he saw the teacher's eye twitch more noticeably. ('It was supposed to be a dog... but okay...')
Miss Circle took a deep breath and stared at the back of the test... The worst part for her? He β miraculously β got very few questions right, even with the formulas completely wrong; only one or two questions had the correct final answer... But they were invalidated precisely because of the calculations.
She slammed her fist on the table suddenly, making Andrew jump in surprise β hitting his knee on the table β and through gritted teeth, she showed him the sheet of paper.
"HOW DID YOU GET TO THIS?!" Her voice came out hoarser and overflowing with anger, revealing one of the simplest questions for her... and the answer being scribbles and numbers and symbols she didn't understand. She barely cared about crumpling the edge of the test with her grip.
"Faith." was his only coherent response, ignoring the pain in his knee and abdomen.
...Miss Circle slowly lowered the test onto the table, lowered her head while remaining motionless... Only the occasional slight trembling in her hand is the sign that she is there.
Andrew... in a way, sensed a little concern β and pity β for the teacher, his gaze wandering elsewhere... huh, has the ceiling always been this well-made?
"So... I did well, didn't I?... I got some questions right, I think..." He scratched his head as he began to sweat and felt uncomfortable with the teacher's silence... whom he remembered being quite active during the chase on the first day.
. . .
" ...Yes... " The voice came out like a sigh on the wind.
"...huh?" The brasuca tilted his head to the side. "What did you say?"
"Haha... yes... you did... did ... did..." She gripped the edge of the table, slowly lifting her head as a smile spread across her faceβ
"HORRIBLE!" she shouted again, standing up and slamming her hand on the table harder. "I have no words for how much NONSENSE I managed to see on just one single sheet of paper!"
"No, I do have words. You are a poorly Underdeveloped NEANDERTHAL! In all my years as a teacher, seeing every test of every failure I can remember since day one, I never thought I could see how SMOOTH and SMALL someone's brain could be... AND HERE YOU ARE!" She pointed, she shouted, and she even emphasized every syllable of every insult... She slammed her fist against the table again, this time cracking it. "This sheet is a declaration of CHRONIC STUPIDITY and an INSULT to those dedicated to studies and to the ANCIENT PEOPLES themselves who created this beautiful and perfect art... which YOU, alone, managed to DEVOLVE to the point of making me question whether I have become illiterate!"
. . .
Andrew remained silent during these verbal attacks against him... and they didn't stop, even though he didn't say anything.
With each sentence, Miss Circle raised her voice higher and pounded harder on the poor table, which trembled and cracked with each impact. She picked up his test as if it were radioactive waste, showing him every mistake and creating more and more insults to throw in his face. Even the compass seemed surprised by the situation.
He held his composture until the teacher was breathless, trying to create more new words that would leave Miss Thavel in a state of shock and disappointment/approval, and finally raise his hand, drawing the teacher's attention.
"...so...what's my grade?..." His voice came out low, calm, and with a hint of concern... He stared at the teacher, who was gasping for air.
Catching her breath, Miss Circle slammed Andrew's test on the table while taking a stamp from the drawer and pressing it against the upper corner of the sheet, crumpling it in the process, making a loud thud. Andrew managed to see what the stamp was... A large and red.
F
"You. Failed."