Chapter 27

 

The next few days I find no time for guitar playing. 

And I hate it. 

I’m constantly flooded, overwhelmed. Mrs. Lindsay gives us all the class time to study and bring stuff in to help us prepare, and she’s flipped my switch. 

I’m a study machine now. 

On a Friday afternoon, we’re all at lunch at our usual spot when Lily asks us if we could sleepover at her house that weekend. 

“That sounds awesome! I think I’m free,” Amber says. 

“Me too!” Maria sits up straighter. 

“I can’t. I still need to study for that test coming up next week,” I say and immediately feel guilty. 

“Really? I haven’t even started studying yet,” Maria takes a bite of her cream cheese sandwich. “I mean, it’s next week.”

My eyes grow wide. 

“You can take the weekend off, Kat,” Lily says softly, “if you want to.”

“That’s okay,” I suddenly don’t feel hungry anymore, “better to be safe than sorry, right?” I try to smile. Maria just shrugs. 

Amber doesn’t have to worry because she’s just smart. I bet she could do the test in her sleep. 

Maria will definitely study last minute. Like any other test. And she still manages to get a decent grade. 

And Lily… I guess she prioritizes studying. Does it only on school nights. 

Me? I’m a nervous wreck. There’s no choice for me to study or not. 

 

After school, I’m sitting at the living room table with all my school textbooks and notebooks laid out in front of me. 

I’m currently studying topic 3, which is money calculations. And my head feels like it’s about to explode. 

Maybe it is time for a break. 

But I’ve only studied for a week! I need more time.

Instead, I get up and find myself in the kitchen, looking for something to eat in the fridge. I take a few squares of my favourite dark chocolate and pop it in my mouth. 

See, I just needed a little something to push me off to a good start. 

And I find myself studying for the next four hours. 

 

The whole weekend (which actually appears to be only two days) I study as much as I can. Aunt Cynthia thinks I’m going crazy, she keeps telling me to not push it and to take breaks. But how can I take breaks when I might know nothing on the test? If I study, I have a greater chance of not failing. And I don’t want to fail. 

The weirdest thing though is that I don’t make time for anything else. Not even playing mom’s guitar. And I tell myself that I can take a break, but I still don’t. 

 

On Sunday night, I stay up very late. 

The test is in 3 days. I remind myself. It’s all worth it.

But you missed out on a whole weekend of fun! You could’ve been with your friends. 

Whatever! Okay? I’ll have many more opportunities with them. 

After that, I lean back on my pillow and fall asleep instantly. 

 

I wake up and see sunlight on the other side of my bed. 

Way further than it usually was. 

Daylight savings. I think groggily. 

When I look at the clock though, I should’ve been up an hour ago. 

I hop out of bed too fast, and get undressed and washed really quickly. Can I make it to school on time in 30 minutes?

I fly out of my room and meet Aunt Cynthia on the couch drinking her coffee and watching her show. 

“Why didn’t you wake me up?” I whisper-shout. 

Aunt Cynthia turns to me, “you needed your sleep. Why didn’t you go to bed earlier?”

“Studying,” I grumble. 

“Kateri, the test is in 2 days. Did you cover everything you needed to study?”

“I- I don’t know. I guess so.”

“Great. Now you have to be in bed by 9:30 every night-”.

“9:30?? That’s too early for me to fall asleep!” I race to the kitchen for a granola bar. 

“It’s the sleep you need Kat! For your body! So you don’t sleep in!” Aunt Cynthia turns off the TV. 

I fume. 9:30 is way too early with all the homework I have to put up with. Aunt Cynthia just doesn’t understand. 

I shove all my notebooks in my backpack aggressively and scarf down my granola bar. We get up and leave. Aunt Cynthia doesn’t talk to me the whole ride. 

I can live with that. 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *