Dear Diary,
Tonight was perfect. It was Homecoming, we had a great game (we won!), and mom came to my game, which was such a shock. She is even supportive of my going to Wake Forest. The dance was so fun. Chris couldn’t keep his hands off me at dinner. He looked so hot in his tux. At the dance, we went to the equipment shed, and he finally got to see me in the lingerie that I bought at Victoria’s Secret. I think he liked it. We had sex again, but I faked an orgasm. I was so close, but he came first, and I just didn’t know how to tell him that I needed him to keep going. I didn’t want to make him feel bad, so I just told him that I came too. It’s a pretty bad feeling to be pent up and have no release, honestly, but there’s nothing I could do about it in the moment. I just never want to make him feel bad. It was such a great day.
XO,
Allie
Once I completed the entry, I tucked the journal safely away, removed all of the makeup on my face, and climbed into bed.
26
On Monday, when the alarm went off, I woke up confident instead of nervous about my math test for the first time ever. I was sure that by the time I got to school, the nerves would kick in, but right now I was okay. I picked out my favorite pair of ripped blue jeans and a yellow t-shirt, then I pulled on Chris’s hoodie, warm socks, and my Timberland boots to complete the look. It was going to be a chilly day.
Amy was down in the kitchen, still not speaking to me, casually drinking her smoothie at the kitchen table, and my mom greeted me as she handed me a smoothie of my own.
“Drink up, you need nutrients for your test today. I know you’re going to do great,” she said with a smile. This was more than she had ever spoken to me in the morning. Of course, it was because of an academic endeavor.
“Psh,” Amy scoffed from the table.
“That’s enough, Amy,” My mom defended, for the first time in my life. “Allie studied really hard for this. Ignore your sister, Allie,” she said, as she took the empty glass from me.
By the time I arrived at school, there were only a few cars that had beat me to the parking lot. I needed to focus, so I was glad for the lack of any distractions. I unzipped my backpack and pulled out my math book, then turned to the page for the unit that the test would be covering. I quickly reviewed the problems that would likely be on the test one more time until I heard a knock on the window. It was Isabelle. I looked at the clock, and it was time to start walking to class. I leaned across my seat to put the book back into my backpack and zip it closed.
“Hey,” I said as I opened the door.
“Hey! How fun was Friday night?” she asked rhetorically as I stepped out of my Jeep with my backpack and field hockey backpack, then shut the door.
“It was amazing, for sure,” I said with a distracted smile.
“So… did you and Chris do it in the equipment shed?” she asked, with a suspicious look on her face. I kept a straight face, but I guess my face said we had done something.
“Tell me everything,” she said with a serious expression.
“Don’t tell anyone,” I begged. She held an imaginary key to her lips and then zipped her lips shut, and tossed the key away.
“Thanks,” I said, then I told her the details of our time together, and she swooned at what could be in her future.
As we walked arm and arm to the locker hall, I told her I was nervous about my test, but that I had studied as hard as I could. Math was first period, and I was eager to get it over with. When we entered the locker hall, Chris was waiting for me at my locker, and I looked around in surprise. How had he beaten us down here? I didn’t see him up in the parking lot. I guess I had been too distracted by studying.
“Hey!” I said, surprised to see him. “How did you get down here so fast?” I asked once I got closer.
“I saw you studying in your car and didn’t want to disturb you,” he said, as he leaned in to kiss me.
“Thanks, yeah, I’m really trying to do my best on this stupid test. I want to prove to my mom that I’m more than just a field hockey stick, plus I need to maintain my GPA for Wake Forest.”
“Well, good for you. I know you’re going to kill it! Good luck, Superstar!” he said, then he headed out the door to his first class. I was grateful for his quick departure. I wanted to keep the equations fresh in my mind. I closed my locker and headed to first period so that I could get my favorite seat at the back of the room.
When I walked through the door, I was relieved that I was the first one there. That meant I had the whole room to myself so that I could spend a few extra minutes reviewing everything one last time. I headed to the back of the class to sit down and pulled out my books as the rest of the room filled with students, then the teacher walked in, and the bell rang.
“Books away, pencils and calculators out,” said Dr. Fallon.
Everyone did as they were told, and I slid my books into my bag and zipped it shut. Dr. Fallon walked around the room to make sure we were all obeying the honor code that Country Town Prep took so seriously. They had no tolerance for cheating.
“Once you receive your test, please keep it turned over, and I will let you know when you can begin. You will have 45 minutes to complete it. When you are finished, write the honor pledge, sign your name, then bring it to my desk and sit back down quietly until everyone has finished. As a reminder, eyes on your own paper.” And then Dr. Fallon passed out the tests, and I waited in anticipation to begin.
Once everyone had a test on their desk, he looked up at the clock, announced that we could begin, and I got to work. My eyes moved to the first problem with a mix of anticipation and nerves. Usually, at this moment, I would freeze, my eyes would go fuzzy, and I would melt into a puddle of anxiety, but as I worked through the equation with confidence, I took a deep breath and realized that I was properly prepared.
Throughout the test, I took my time, remembering the problems that I had worked through at the kitchen table with my mom. I used the strategies that she showed me to avoid common mistakes, and by the time I got to the end of the test, I was sure that I had answered the questions to the best of my ability. I took the time to check my work, then I wrote the honor pledge at the bottom of the test and signed my name. We all knew it by heart because we had to write it on every test or project that we had completed since we were able to write.
