Inside the exam room, there was a heavy silence. The only sounds were pens scratching on paper and pages being turned slowly. Also, the footsteps of the supervisor as he walked here and there.
One hour had already passed since the supervisor officially announced the start of the exam.
Strangely, Zeyn had already finished answering all the questions.
She carefully looked over her answer booklet, then lifted her eyes toward the clock. It was clearly written in large letters:
TIME: THREE HOURS
She exhaled deeply.
Before entering the exam, she had promised herself that today she wouldn't rush. She would sit until time was up like the other students. She would write carefully, review her answers three times as recommended.
But here she was… already done within an hour.
It wasn't that she was completely certain about every answer. Her biggest problem was her ability to write extremely fast. Since her first year, she had almost always been the first to finish exams in nearly every subject.
"No, wait, I should stay a bit longer," she forced herself to remain.
To kill time, she decided to review the questions from the first to the last.
But every time she looked up and saw her classmates bent over their papers, some clutching their heads as if digging for a hidden treasure in the middle of their brains, it confused her even more.
"Did I make a mistake?
Why are they still writing?
Could I have skipped a question?
Or did I answer it wrong?"
The supervisor's voice cut through her thoughts.
"Still an hour and a half remaining."
That was when Zeyn felt she could no longer hold back.
She neatly gathered her booklet, carefully attached it to the question paper, arranged her pens in her pouch, and then stood up.
A few eyes glanced at her.
Not in surprise.
But out of habit.
Halima, her close friend, watched her from the back row and chuckled quietly. She remembered well how Zeyn had sworn before the exam that today she would sit until the last minute.
But as usual… even today, she couldn't resist.
TO BE CONTINUED…