Good morning. Today i my birthday so I am going to keep this short and sweet. My plans involve getting any scheduled work done early so I can take the afternoon off. I’m also hoping that by afternoon the rain that spent the weekend looming will actually fall, but that, I can’t control. Getting the work I have planned done, that I might be able to control. So off we go into the first prompt of the week. Timers set if you are joining in.
I like the thought of someone who has always succeeded having to deal with an unexpected failure, especially if that failure leads to the realization that most things were actually just handed to him. It will be interesting to see how Danny takes this. I really like stories where the characters are forced to reevaluate their perception of the world. Probably a sad commentary on me that I am also looking forward to breaking Danny a bit…
Monday, June 27th: It was the first time he ever tried something and failed.
It was the first time he ever tried something and failed. He stared at his exam results, staring at the grade. There was no mistaking it. It was a pass fail exam. There were no numbers to fiddle with, no grading curve to rely on. You either passed or you failed.
He failed.
For a long moment he stared at the result barely comprehending it. Then he blinked, clearing the vision from his eyes. He looked up and realized that the hall had cleared as he studied his results. Slowly he lowered the exam from his eyes and slipped it into his bag. He looked around furtively to see if anyone was watching him, judging him for his failure.
How could this have happened. He began walking, heading towards the stairwell and the exit, eager to put distance between himself and the classroom. He was also eager not to look like he was running away so he measured his steps, not hurrying.
He failed. How could he have failed. He did the same thing he did on every other exam he took over the years. He studied the same, put in the same effort. He skated through all of his other classes, his other exams. And yet here, he failed. He left the building, glad that this was his final class of the day. He made his way back to the small apartment that he shared and plopped himself down on the couch.
He had plans to meet up with friends, this being the last day they would all be here. Already much of the apartment was packed up. While it wasn’t official university property, the dorms were being renovated this year so the university secured alternative housing knowing that more than the usual amount of students would need a place to live. The lease would be up at terms end and they would leave as though it were a dorm.
Danny shook the thoughts away. He didn’t feel like celebrating now. He had failed and this failure would affect the following year’s classes. It was an important class and he failed.
He didn’t feel like celebrating.
Danny sat there in silence and then he heard movement as Steve came out of his room.
“Oh hey, didn’t realize you were back,” Steve said by way of greeting.
“Just got in,” Danny replied. He looked at Steve. There were deep bags under his eyes from lack of sleep and Danny remembered that his roommate had put in a lot of extra study hours as well as holding down a part time job. He also remembered that Steve took the same exam he did.
“You pass the exam for Thompson’s class?” Danny found himself asking.
“The pass fail one?” Steve said. He moved towards the fridge, opened it and rummaged out a clamshell box. He popped the lid sniffed it and decided it was passable. He found a fork and brought the food back to the living room.
“Yeah that one,” Danny said.
“Yeah I passed,” Steve said. He looked at Danny as he took a fork full of what looked like left over lasagna. “I guess you didn’t.”
Danny blinked in surprise. “Why would you guess that?”
“Well you didn’t really study for it did you?” Steve said with a shrug.
Ten til Midnight 