Concealed (Unbound, Book 4)

Chapter Twenty-Six

A/N: Woohoo! I passed my exam, C13 - Insurance Against Liability - Part 1, with honours. To celebrate, here is another early post :) 

Much to Mrs. Hendrey, Mr. Corbin, and Devland's disappointment, I finished the written exam within half the time they'd allotted. I sat back and folded my arms, watching the clock tick by as the second hour passed. Twice, Mr. Corbin asked if I was finished, and I shook my head, noting that I was thinking of how to respond to a question. Their annoyance when I never picked the pencil up again was as satisfying to me as my surprise had been to them.

"Okay, time's up," Mrs. Hendrey finally said, sighing as she stood from her desk.

I raised my eyebrows and nodded to the exam. "That's okay. I'm finished."

"Really, Nora?" Devland asked, sighing from the back of the room.

I shrugged. "What? You said I had two hours to complete the written test."

If the exam was only supposed to be three hours and they were into surprises, I wasn't going to finish the written portion early just so they could prolong the practical aspect. I don't care what they had on the schedule for me to prove. They would find more to fill the time if given the chance, and I didn't want to be exhausted again. I knew they would push.

It was why I was here, taking the exam alone.

At some point, I'd have to investigate if that was ethical because to me it felt like harassment.

Mr. Corbin scowled at me. "Let's go. Your practical will be held in the practice room."

"Oh, goody." I rolled my eyes and got up, following as Mrs. Hendrey and Mr. Corbin led us out of the room. I felt tingles at the back of my neck knowing that they were caused by Devland's glare as he trailed behind.

"This portion of the exam usually takes two hours—"

"Uh, no." I shook my head, interrupting Mrs. Hendrey as we continued down the hallway. "I already spent two hours on the test, and we are allotted three for each exam."

"As I was saying," Mrs. Hendrey said. "You will have one hour due to your obvious skills."

"Let me guess. This has been altered especially for me, too?" I rolled my eyes as we stopped at the door leading into the practice room.

"Once we enter, the exam begins," Mr. Corbin said, ignoring my question, which told me I was correct. "There are five stations. Unlike the written test that scores your knowledge, there is no pass or fail for this. It merely determines what level of ability you have."

"I've already proven that."

"This is for marking purposes, not showing off," Mrs. Hendrey said, and I turned to her, narrowing my eyes.

"I wasn't showing off, as you well know. I was correcting a gross oversight of information." I glanced at Mr. Corbin. "And authority."

"Whatever your reason, it didn't count," Devland advised from behind me. "This is your test and you will partake. It is mandatory to complete in order to receive a credit."

"But I am not receiving credits for this class, am I?"

"No, but you will need credits from the class you are placed in next semester in order to graduate from Grimas High School because freshman classes do not offer credits," Mr. Corbin said. "Unless you want to come back next year, I suggest you take this into consideration."

I shrugged. "Fine, though we all know that I can transfer back to Pederson and graduate by Spring without it. Open the door and I'll finish the damn test. I mean, you've already wasted two hours with this farce."