Dawn and Dusk and Dawn Again

Tears and Breakdowns

    The weeks rolled by. Everything was good. I managed to handle most of my subjects pretty well. Except geography, of course. That one was tricky, but at least I wasn't failing it.
    My desk-mate and his friends behind me kept calling me weird, but surprisingly funny nicknames, and making jokes about me. Even though it bothered me at first, I soon discovered they did this with everybody. It was their way of saying hello, I guess. Boys. After a few weeks, I actually became friends with my desk-mate, and found his amazing abilities in mathematics pretty helpful for when I need help with my homework.
    Everyone kept saying how stressful middle school would be, but I really didn't feel it that much. Sure, there were more subjects and some were tougher to handle than others. Mid-terms were looming over us and monthly tests were basically as loyal as a shadow. Still, it wasn't too much to handle. I guess they were going easy on us because we were only seventh graders and didn't have enough experience to be put in an entirely high-pressure environment.
    Angelette didn't seem to be handling it too well, though. When P.E class rolled around, and the time for a small 50-meters quiz came, it all came flooding out.
    Our P.E teacher, Ms Soale, paired us up in groups of three, and we had to get a passing grade. It was a small quiz, and wasn't going to be in our records, so I wasn't really worried. I was really bad at sports, though, so I guess I probably should have been.
    Nevertheless, the race was ran, and all was well.
    Wait... no. Yeah, that wasn't what happened.
    I was trying to get a look at my grade when I saw a small crowd gathering out of the corner of my eyes. Abandoning the search, I decided to take a look at what they were talking about.
    At the center of the group was Angelette.
    She was crying her eyes out, tears making her eyes all puffy and red flaring up in her cheeks. She was so genuinely sad. I thought some other kid had mocked her, or even worse, bullied her, like I thought my desk-mate and his friends had tried to do to me. But as I surveyed the surrounding area, no one looked responsible. They were either oblivious of the scene happening or they were checking their grades. So what could have triggered such a huge reaction?
    And why was I trying to formulate my own little conspiracy theory about this rather than just listen to what Angelette was saying?
    So I did just that.
    Turned out, she failed her 50-meters test.
    "I- I failed!" she sobbed. "I knew it! I'm no good at sp- ports!"
    "Angelette, calm down," comforted Rosanne, "This isn't your finals. It's not even a real test!"
    "But I failed! This has a possibility of been in my records! What I fai-" she sniffled, "What if I fail my real test, too! I'm rotten at P.E!" She paused, catching her breath. "I'll probably flunk my HSEE (High School Entrance Examination) too, and then I won't get into a good enough high school, and won't even get into college, and I won't get a decent job. I'm doomed!"
    Another girl, Cinoe, said smoothly, "If you're worried about your HSEE, you just have to practice. We still have three years until the test! And your academic grades are so good, don't worry about P.E."
    "My academics aren't good either. It's almost mid-terms, and my parents are making me go on vacation!" At that, she started sobbing again.
    I was lost. She didn't want to go on vacation? Heck, I would love a vacation! Wouldn't everyone? And frankly, I thought Angelette was completely over-reacting about the 50-meters quiz thing. It's just a small quiz! Chill, dude!
    I had to admit, I wasn't being really sympathetic. Of course, it's understandable to be upset about failing something. But in the end, I didn't really get it. The quiz was of no real importance, so why break down because of it?
    Angelette is such a crybaby, I thought to myself. There are things in the world much worse than a silly 50-meter run. She wouldn't be able to cry her way through them all.
    And complaining about vacation? What was that?
    I shook my head silently. I just didn't understand some people nowadays.