Page 297 - The Life of A Teenage Girl (Stories About Finding Your Way)

SHAUNA’S STAND–UP

She turned to me unexpectedly. “Oh, hi, Shauna! You’re kind of
early.”

I looked at the clock — it was 9 a.m. on the dot. “Yeah, I guess I

really am ready for the math test.”
“Well, I expected you to come when it’s lunch break so you’d have

more time, but it’s okay anyway.” She went to her desk, grabbed the
math test, and handed it to me.

“Remember the rules for tests: no speaking, no cheating, and most
importantly, don’t fail this time.”

“Don’t worry, Mrs. Stanley,” I said. “I can’t and won’t fail this

test.”
She nodded and told me to sit in the front of the class. I went and

sat on the nearest chair, then took out my tools for the test.
For the last time, I prayed again and started writing with

confidence that I would pass. I quickly answered the questions I knew,
and if I didn’t know one, I just skipped it until I finished the rest —

then went back to work on them. I got that idea from my mom.

Anyway, after a while, I was actually doing well on the test. What
I was writing kind of made sense to me, so I knew eventually I wasn’t

going to fail, especially because I had studied hard for this.

When I finished, it had already taken me 13 minutes, so I gave it
back to Mrs. Stanley. She looked at the test for a second, then looked

at me. She did that about twice, but I didn’t think it meant I failed.
“Wow, Shauna…” Mrs. Stanley started. “The test already looks

good.”

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