5. Tested
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I answered the final question then put down my pen and that was it. The last question on the last exam. I was now finished with grade ten, and finished with school entirely until September.

I looked up at the clock then glanced around briefly before my focus returned to the papers in front of me. It was only a quarter past two. I'd tried to draw it out and go slowly but it still only took me forty-five minutes. There was a full three quarters of an hour left, and everyone else was still busy.

I could feel mister Keebler's eyes on me, and I knew he'd have some snarky comment any moment now if he thought I was slacking off. So I flipped back to the first page of the exam and picked up my pen as I pretended to go over the questions a second time, as if I was double-checking my work.

Not that I needed to. I could have scored a hundred if I wanted. It was just math, there wasn't any trick or secret to it. Once you knew the formulas, it was dead simple. I didn't want a hundred though. At this point I'd be accused of cheating if I turned in a perfect exam.

Instead, I made sure my score would be a nice typical sixty-seven. That would bring my final grade in math to seventy-one. That was a good average number. Not so low that anyone would want to give me 'extra help', but nowhere near high enough to bring me any extra attention.

It was the same for the rest of my classes too. My overall grade for the year would be seventy-five. English would be my highest score at eighty-two, because I liked that teacher and wanted her to feel like she did a good job with me.

For the next seven or eight minutes I continued to pretend I was double-checking my work. When I glanced up again I realized mister Keebler was still watching me so I quickly focused on the paper again. I made a show of scribbling out one of my answers, then set about writing down the exact same thing again.

I worried he was somehow on to me, that he somehow suspected I wasn't really giving his exam the attention he thought it deserved.

As I slowly wrote out my same incorrect answer, I thought about the expression I'd seen on his face and I realized that wasn't it at all. It wasn't his indignant you're-not-taking-my-class-seriously-enough look. He looked confused, curious, and slightly uncertain.

I finished rewriting my answer when it finally dawned on me. I hadn't bothered with my baseball cap all week, so my long hair was on full display. And he was trying to figure out if I was a boy or a girl.

For a few minutes I was filled with awkward feelings about that. I'd sat in this same seat every other day since September. Surely he knew I was a boy. I was Nathan Trent, the small quiet boy with average attendance and average grades.

Or was I? So much had changed in the past two weeks I wasn't even sure myself anymore. I knew what name was on my ID of course, but I never liked it. It never felt like me. Even Selene didn't really believe me when I told her.

I turned my exam back to the first page and looked up at the top corner, and realized I hadn't even written it out. I'd just put 'N. Trent' and left it at that.

My thoughts continued wandering around the question of who I really was for the duration of the exam.

At long last mister Keebler stood up and announced "Time's up, pencils down. Leave your exams on my desk on your way out, and enjoy your summer."

I watched and waited till everyone else had left. As they passed the teacher's desk and left their exams he thanked each of them. He addressed everyone by their last names as usual. "Thank you mister Clark. Thanks miss Dawes. Thank you mister Persad. Thank you miss Zhang."

I finally got to my feet and took my exam up to the front. I dropped my paper off and avoided meeting the teacher's eyes, which were still fixed on me. "Thank you miss...ter Trent."

He sounded uncertain, but I figured he must have recognized my last name and picked what to say based on that. I just nodded slightly as I stepped through the door into the hall, and at last I was free. Free of math class, free of school. For the next two months anyways.

Now all I wanted to do was get out. I didn't even need to visit a locker, I had no books with me and had already cleared out my locker last week. I already had my hoodie on too, though I'd probably have to stop wearing it soon. It was getting hotter outside, and I knew Selene wouldn't appreciate me showing up for work all sweaty.

With my thoughts elsewhere as usual, I stuffed my pen in my pocket and made a bee-line for the school's front doors.

I was nearly there when I collided with a student who'd just emerged from another classroom and stepped right into my path. I managed to stay on my feet while he went tumbling to the floor, sending his books scattering across the hall.

"Fuck!" Doug swore as he picked himself back up.

Chuck was right behind him, and he glared at me. "Watch where you're fucking going, ya freak!"

I stood there momentarily frozen, my mind was spinning.

First off, I had no idea how a collision between Doug and I had sent the former to the floor while I remained standing. He was at least fifty pounds heavier and six inches taller. It reminded me of my last encounter with the two of them, when I'd emerged from the movie theatre. Suddenly I wondered how I'd stayed on my feet that time too.

The next thing that caught me off-guard was neither had threatened me this time. But the most surprising thing was in my internal predator-prey fantasy, they were no longer large scary hungry wolves. They were a pair of harmless wolf cubs.

They yapped and they nipped and they growled, but they were clumsy, immature, and generally harmless. In terms of size they were still larger than my small black cat, but they weren't frightening, and they weren't dangerous.

I still hadn't moved yet. I stood motionless and stared at them while they gathered up Doug's books. Then they just walked away without another word. Not even another glance in my direction.

I remained there motionless as I watched them, until they'd moved out of sight around a corner. Presumably they were on their way to their lockers.

I hadn't noticed anything different about them. They were the same two tall muscular jocks who'd bullied me relentlessly for the past eight years. Yet they no longer scared me, they were no longer threatening.

As I finally made my way out of the school I continued to dwell on this unusual turn of events. I was certain they hadn't changed, yet the dynamic between us was different now. And I knew if they hadn't changed, then I must have.

Yet I didn't feel any different. And in my internal fantasy world I was still the same small black cat.

I wound up walking to the park that overlooked the bay. It was nice and fairly quiet, and I enjoyed watching the boats out on the water. I settled onto a bench there and tried again to puzzle out what happened on my way out of the school.

About a half hour later I was no closer to understanding. I eventually concluded that I didn't have enough information to know what was different, what had changed. My best guess was it was something intangible. Perhaps I had more self-confidence now, because I had a job and was earning a good wage. My first paycheque would be coming soon, and I was looking forward to that.

I'd already figured out I'd be getting five hundred and fifty dollars, based on my hours for the past two weeks. Though I knew it might be less, due to deductions and things. Still, even if it was only five hundred, that would be more money than I'd ever had in my whole life. I didn't even know what I'd do with it all, but I was looking forward to having it.

With my mind now on work I decided to head over to the store. I wasn't actually due to work again until tomorrow, but I was close enough to downtown and I enjoyed being there. I enjoyed spending time with Selene whether I was being paid or not.

"Hello dear," she smiled as I came through the door. "Unless I'm mistaken, you're twenty-five hours early for your next shift."

I shrugged "Hi Selene. I know I don't work till tomorrow, but I finished school and decided to come by to see you."

She accepted that explanation. "Well it's nice to see you too hon. How did the exams go?"

I replied on my way to the back room to deposit my hoodie, "I wrote my math exam this afternoon. I got sixty-seven."

She raised an eyebrow as I returned to join her behind the counter.

"The teacher graded the test before you left?"

"Nah," I shook my head. "There were eighty-five questions on the exam and I answered fifty-seven of them correctly."

Selene continued to watch me as she asked, "How do you know which ones you got right?"

"Uh," I blushed slightly as I admitted "I could have got them all right. I just made sure to answer some wrong, so I'd get a sixty-seven."

"Hmm." was all she had to say about that.

After a minute or two she asked, "Tell me hon, do you already know how you did in your other subjects too? Or is it just the math class that you have all figured out?"

I shrugged, "I know how I did in all my other classes too. My overall grade for the year will be seventy-five. It's a good average number, exactly in the middle between fifty and a hundred."

"I recall you mentioned you could be in the honour roll if you wanted," Selene commented as she continued watching me. "Now I believe you could have scored a hundred for the year if you'd been so inclined."

I blushed again and said quietly, "Some teachers won't score a hundred. Like they refuse to accept a student could be perfect, so they'll find an excuse to dock a few points here and there."

After a moment I added, "Anyways like I said, I don't want to do that. I don't want the extra attention."

"I remember," she nodded. "All right dear, I won't pry any further. You're welcome to stay and keep me company but I don't expect you to do any work. Your shift isn't until tomorrow, after all."

"Yes ma'am," I nodded.

The shop was quiet of course, it almost always was.

As the two of us waited for a customer, I commented "I ran into those two bullies again this afternoon. Literally, in fact. I collided with one in the hallway after the exam."

Selene gave me a worried look, "They didn't try to hurt you again did they hon?"

"No," I shook my head. "It was really strange actually. They swore at me but they didn't threaten me. They didn't even try to chase me. They just left me alone."

"Well, that's a good thing isn't it?" she asked.

I nodded slowly, "Yeah. It was strange though."

I watched her to see if there'd be any other reaction, or if she had anything else to say about the situation. She didn't though, and there wasn't anything in her eyes or expression to suggest she had any other thoughts on the matter. She seemed concerned for me as usual, and relieved that I was ok. That was it.

When it came time to close up the shop I helped out despite her protests. I swept the floor, then straightened out a display that some customer had messed up earlier.

Then Selene and I bid each other a good night, and she locked the door behind me as I set out for home. As usual I made it a long, meandering journey.

Two hours later when I finally reached the house, my folks had already finished dinner and were watching TV, exactly as I'd planned. I helped myself to some leftovers then went downstairs to my room.

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