Irreplaceable

8

"You ready?" He asked me. I shook my head no. He sighed at me and patted my shoulder consolingly.

"I will wait for you after I am done." I said and looked over at him. He nodded.

"Okay, I will meet you at the car then?" He bit his lip and I agreed. I walked into the classroom being used for the exam and went to the seat with my name on it. The thick packet for the test was already there, face down on the desk and taunting me. The administrator was standing at the front, watching everyone like a hawk.

Once the students that were coming sat down and the clock struck nine, he barked the command to turn over our papers and begin. My hand shook a little when I lifted the heavy sheets and flipped them face up. I read the first question and took a deep breath.

Here goes nothing.

My hand scribbled furiously across the page as the time ticked down. I could feel sweat form on my brow and only wiped it if it threatened to fall over my brow into my eyes. If I didn't know the question then I moved on to the next quickly, not giving myself a chance to stew over the ones I wasn't sure about.

I hated exams with a passion. They made my heart beat out of my chest with nerves and my body sweat buckets... and for what? Marks on a page that said nothing about how smart or clever I actually was. Nope. They only told others how I did under pressure with the stupidity that was secondary education.

I could take apart my smart phone and fix it. I could repair my dad's car and give it an oil change. I knew how to take apart an engine and name all the parts. Who the hell cared if I knew what happened in my country in 1864 or how to spell onomonopeda... uh onomonpeea... shit, you know what I mean.

School was shit. In fact, if it wasn't for Nathan I probably wouldn't even go. I might've just dropped out and done online classes or just started at the shop earlier. Although I think even they wanted you to at least have your Secondary Diploma before working in the shop out back.

"Put your writing utensils down and put your exams face down on the desks. You may leave them where they are on the desk and make your way out of the room. Last person out, close the door." The administrator said abruptly. Numerous groans ran out as the papers shuffled over to face down and the students got up from the desks.

I got out of there fast, not so much because I was done all the questions or had anywhere to be, but because I didn't want to spend another second inside that room. I skipped quickly down the hall and glanced inside the classroom that held the Advanced class. I spied Nathan along the far wall, near the back.

His head was down and he scribbled quickly on the page. I could see that he was answering every single question before moving on to the next. Damn that boy was smart. I bit my lip and walked away, over to the cafeteria where they had numerous machines full of food and drinks for us, even when the kitchen was closed.

I bought two bags of Oreos and two cokes. One of each went into the overly large pockets in the cargo shorts I was wearing. Then I went outside to wait for him. There was only one exam for the both of us today; his started an hour after mine so I had to wait. I didn't mind though. He was nice enough to drive me after all.

It was eerie seeing the school so empty and quiet. I pulled out my phone and began goofing off on an app while I sat there. I munched on my cookies and almost got into his when they were gone. I didn't though; I just sipped away on my drink and waited.

Finally, the other exam was let out and I saw Nate walking across the front entry to meet me. I got out his stuff and wordlessly held them out to him as he approached. He grinned at me and took them, both of us looking at each other for a second with nothing to say.

"I figured you might need some brain food." I said to break the silence. He laughed.

"Since when are cookies and soda pop brain food?" He asked as he leaned against his car. He still cracked them open and popped one of the cookies in his mouth.

"Since every college and university student ever studies with them!" I retorted with a grin.

"Okay you got me there. But it still doesn't explain you." He pursed his lips and raised his brows. I made a shocked face.

"How rude." I muttered. He ruffled my hair and got in the car. He was cracking his can to take a drink while I got up and dusted myself off. I got in and buckled up, relaxing for a moment.

"Okay. Time to study for tomorrow's exams." He said eagerly. I groaned and smacked my head on the dash.

*

It didn't help. I failed a core exam. My mom was disappointed in me. My dad was too busy to be disappointed per se, but not too busy to tell me I needed to smarten up or I wouldn't finish high school. That was worse than the pity I saw in my sister's face. She was doing better in school, so she wouldn't understand. I was terrified to even tell my brother Greg.

What it meant though was that I would have to take the class over or I wouldn't have enough credits to pass. No spare periods for me next year. That would suck. The good news was I got the job at the Peter's Garage. Nate and I both did. We would be rotating between the positions each week with the regular employees.

I was looking forward to it. I felt like it was a step in the right direction. I mean, I always had done really well in those types of classes. Wood Shop, Mechanics, Tech, and even my Maths were not too bad. I was a hands on kind of guy. It was some of the other ones I bombed at. Like English, History and Art. I had failed the core English course so I was screwed for next year.

I would have to retake it in the first half and then take my remaining credit in the second half. I didn't understand how it could be so important that I study classic literature and be able to write a whole frigging essay in an hour and a half for my exam. I thought it was unreasonable. I was going to be a mechanic, not a bloody lawyer. I was a doer, not a thinker.

My mom went in to the school and spoke to the principal. They were going to set up some tutoring for me for next year too. I guess Nate could only do so much. I felt like such a screw up though. English was supposed to be my first language, actually it was my only language, so how the hell had I managed to fail it?

I didn't see any deeper meaning in all that crap they made us read. It was boring. I didn't get how it would help me rebuild a car in my future as a mechanic. It made no sense. Building and taking apart stuff made sense to me. Pieces go together a certain way and you make a machine. Said machine goes three hundred kilometers and hour, and it is awesome!

What wasn't awesome was that after the summer, Nate and I would probably see each other less and less. Most of our classes were already different, but now I would have more of them than he did and I would have after school commitments. If I planned to do sports as well as the extra tutoring, then I would not have much time after school for goofing around.

I had to make the most of the summer and then the weekends I guess. It was looking more and more like I wouldn't have time for an epic love story after the summer... so I had to get my game face on.