Chapter 8

Wow, this exam isn’t that hard! I thought as I bubbled in an answer on my scantron sheet. I wonder how Johnny is doing…Ok NO thinking about him while I’m doing an exam! Unable to contain myself, I peeked beside me and saw Johnny furiously attacking the sheet with an eraser. Stifling a giggle, I returned my eyes to my own sheet before anyone suspected me of cheating. I finished my exam soon after and left before Johnny did. Waiting outside the hall, I felt relieved because I was sure I’d aced the exam. Johnny came out a moment later and walked towards me with a pained expression on his face. “Hey you, so how was it?” I playfully asked. “Ugh, I’m certain I passed, but by how much I’m not sure…” he sighed. “Don’t worry, the exam wasn’t that hard. I’m sure you passed with flying colours!” I smiled. “We’ll see in two days”, he said, regretfully. “What?! Two days? We’ll know how we did in two days?” I yelled. “Uh, yes. The exams will be marked and returned to our assigned tutorials. Our tutorial is in two days, so we’ll know in two days”, Johnny explained. “Ahhh, ok! Hope we did well”, I said, as we walked towards the coffee shop to treat myself to a post-exam reward.

Lina! How was your exam? I haven’t seen you in like, forever! Wanna hang out with me after your Chem tutorial? We really need to catch up! Plus, I got some stuff I need to tell ya ;D Anyways, TTYL, love ya! Love, Ginny.

I smile when I saw Ginny’s text. I was on my way to my Chem tutorial and I was ecstatic because we would be getting our exams back.

Hey Ginz! I thought it was a piece of cake! Yeah, we totally need to talk! I’ve got loads of stuff to tell you too =) Meet you at the caf after my tut! TTYL Love, Lina.

When I got into the room, I walked to my usual spot, which was at the table near the back of the room in between Scott and Johnny. It’d been really weird with Scott recently, because he was always trying to get me to go study with him. He kept texting me too, to the point where I had to stop replying because it was getting annoying. His last text to me was on the day I was studying with Johnny. He was asking me to meet him at the UCLA library to study with him, but I replied saying I was already studying with Johnny (I had a legitimate excuse that time), and he’d answered back with an “Oh”. He hadn’t texted me ever since.

Scott walked into the room as I was thinking and plopped down into his seat. “Hey, Lina! I haven’t talked to you in awhile. How was the exam? I tried looking for you, but it was impossible because there were too many people!” Scott said brightly as he looked at me. I turned to reply him, “Haha, yeah, I’ve been busy. I thought the exam was alright. How about you?” “I thought it was the easiest test ever! You should come study with me instead next time. I’ll be sure to give you tips and hints, since my brother took this course last year”, Scott said as he flashed a smile. Uh…no thanks? Luckily, I was saved by Johnny as he sat in his seat next to me. “Hi Johnny!” I said, unable to hold back the smile. “Hey Lina”, he smiled back, making my heart melt. “Sup Scott”, he greeted Scott. “Hi”, Scott replied coldly, turning away. Snickering, Johnny turned back to me and grinned. Unfortunately, I couldn’t talk to him because our TA started going over lecture notes. “You’ll be getting your exams back at the end of class, so please try to pay attention and not worry about them”, he said. Why does Johnny look so good everytime I see him? It’s getting harder and harder trying to not fall for him… I can’t fall for him, I can’t. Stop thinking about Johnny and pay attention.

Class seemed extra long today because I was desperate to get my exam. I kept looking at the clock, but every time I did, it seemed like it didn’t move at all! When class was finally over, our TA handed out our exams on the way out. “Sweet man! I passed!” Scott exclaimed, jumping in the air. “How’d you guys do?” “Not too bad, I suppose”, Johnny replied indifferently. “Oh, how about you Lina?” Scott asked, looking at me. “Um, I didn’t check yet, too scared to!” I laughed, clutching my exam to my chest. “Aw, you’re so cute. Anyways, I have to go to my next class now, so tell me how you did later! Bye Lina”, Scott gave me another bright smile, nodded at Johnny, and turned to walk down the hall. As he turned, I saw the mark 70 on his paper. Gasping, I started to worry because 70 wasn’t a very good mark and based on what Scott said about getting hints from his brother, I probably got lower than that. “So, are you ever going to check?” Johnny laughed at me. “Um, I’ll wait ‘til everyone’s gone. I don’t want anyone to see my mark!” I said, nervously. “Well everyone’s gone already, so check! I’ll give you some privacy”, Johnny said and turned his back to me. “Haha, um ok, here goes”, I held my exam up to my eyes and gasped loudly. I stared at the red numbers for what seemed like a long time. Tears started forming in my eyes and I swallowed a lump in my throat. “Um, Lina? Can I turn around now?” Johnny asked. I couldn’t answer because I was still in shock by what I saw. Johnny must’ve heard me sniffle and turned around. “Lina, what’s wrong?” his smile faded and was replaced by a concerned look. “I…I can’t believe it. I studied so hard…” my tears were released and poured down my face. “How bad is it?” Johnny asked, his worry deepened. “I…I got…” I cried harder because the shame was overwhelming. Johnny’s eyes never left me as I gathered myself together. “I got…I got…58…” I whispered as my tears soaked the page. Johnny’s expression didn’t change as he stepped closer to me. His arms wrapped around me as he pulled me into a hug. My tears stopped immediately as I rested my head on his shoulder, feeling secure and cared for.