A Test of Guts

'I do not understand!'
That was a phrase I never thought I would ever be able to relate to. I looked at the question in the pop quiz on my table and had that horrible feeling again.
This was a feeling I haven't ever experienced. It was disgusting and painful. It made my head hurt, my throat thirsty and I couldn't help but feel incredibly restless.
I held my hand up, requesting to go use the toilet for the third time in this test.
Immediately, my seatmate and the class clown, Troy, snickered.
"What's the matter Dean?" He asked, laughing.
"You don't know the answers?"
"No talking!!" The teacher, Mr Diego reprimanded him.

He gave me the signal to go and I quietly left the class.
The truth is I didn't need to go to the toilet, I just needed to leave the confines of that chair.
I had to walk around, so I strolled for a bit, mulling on what Troy said.
'Is it possible? Is this feeling just pure ignorance?' I asked myself leaning on the wall in the corridor.
Now I know that I didn't read for this test but I'm sure I could at least guess at what the answer may be or even look like.

"It hurts doesn't it?" I stood up shocked at hearing another voice when I was already outside.
"The mere fact that you don't know anything on the test paper. The mere thought that you may fail this test must be simply dreadful to you." Troy said grinning as he walked up to me in the hallway.
"What do you want Troy?" I asked him, immediately annoyed that my quiet space was ruined by him.
"Nothing left but for me to come and gloat at you in your dumps my man." He said laughing heartily as he put his arms around my shoulder.
I shook him off.
"I don't know how you might have snuck out of class, but you laughing so hard would give you out won't it?" I asked him, tired.
"Sneak out? I submitted and was let out." He said all smiles.

That statement in itself gave me chills. Troy, the last of the class, finished a test before me.
"D-d-did you know the answers? How could you have finished?" I asked, stammering.
"Know the answers?" He said smiling.
"I doubt anyone knows the answers. Hence it was pointless for me to just waste time there, why not mark randomly and submit." He said calmly.
"Ooh. So it was an all or nothing move." I said.
"If you don't answer, the failure is certain, but maybe I'm lucky and I'll get off with above average." He said leaning on the wall.
"..and how are you sure that your answers are correct or that you'll get above average?" I asked him.
"How can you be so calm when you tick your answers randomly?!" Now I was the one with a raised voice.
I was frustrated, frustrated that he wasn't frustrated about not knowing anything in the paper, frustrated that he could simply answer randomly and come out acting All cool.
"Dean..." He called my name smiling.
"Like I said, I didn't know any of the answers, nobody in class knows them. I simply ticked the answers to each question based on what my gut felt about the question." He said smiling while holding his stomach.
"Your gut?" I was shocked at what I was hearing.
"Hmm" he replied, nodding his head and patting his belly.
"You mean to tell me that this test which was so hard that nobody could answer, you answered it all according to what your gut felt.... according to a hunch?!"
I asked again, amazed by the simplicity of his thinking.
"Yes I did bro." He replied laughing.
"It's quite simple. Does number 12 answer looks like a B... Hmmm... B it is." He says, mimicking taking an exam and asking his gut.

"I have to go." I say leaving him and his dialogue with his stomach.
My head hurt more because of what he was saying.
As I finally got to class, I realized that the number of people who remained writing was fewer than it was when I left.
I looked at the clock when I sat down, 5 minutes left.
I looked at my question paper, over 20 questions left.
Even if I did know how to solve them, there was no time.
My mind went back to what Troy said..

If you don't answer, the failure is certain.

That was the only boost I needed to do the one thing I never thought I'll ever do.
I slowly held my pencil, and began ticking randomly.
The first answer that my brain thinks might be the answer was the answer to me.
No time to waste, I plowed through the questions, reading through them and scanning through the options and ticking.
No time for my brain to doublethink or have an argument thus becoming indecisive. Answer is A for number 1, it has nothing else to be.
With 1 minute to spare, I was through.
I scanned through the sheet again, making sure no question was left unchecked.

As I submitted and left the classroom, I saw Troy leaning on the corridor wall.
"So how was it genius?" He asked me, laughing.
"I don't know.. I'm hopeful I guess." I replied truthfully.
"Don't worry." He comforted me.
"You'll surely pass above average, my gut tells me so." He says, patting his belly.

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