Chapter 4 : The Test & Results
Two Weeks Later
I enter the class and find my beloved students the same way as I had the first day I entered. Trust me, not a single soul had changed positions, including Jason, the fellow sitting at the door. By now, I had learnt their names.
Everyday I'm welcomed with the same sight. It's time for these guys and girls to pull up their socks and get serious.
I walk into the class and they take their seats.
“Hey everyone. I thought today we should do something different for a change. I know how sick and tired you are of the basics of Statistics, so I will not torture you anymore. I have a surprise test for you all.”
The groan was loud and unanimous, coming shockingly from the first benchers, who are normally always ready and keep hounding me for it.
“Take this test seriously as it will help to gauge how much you have understood, and which concepts need to be repeated. It will help you to understand how prepared you are for your upcoming exams. The test should be easy for you, as we have discussed the material over the past two weeks. Serious measures will be taken for those who fare badly, so don’t take this as a joke.” “The very best to all of you. Put on your thinking and calculating caps, and allow the statistics genius within you to take control,” I add with a dramatic flourish.
With this final word of advice, I distribute the question papers.
What a pleasure it is to see these ever chatty and lively students all silent, concentrating on the paper before them, peering hard as though an answer might magically pop up from the paper. Some of them are racking their brains to reach appropriate conclusions. You can literally see the veins popping in their foreheads; they are straining their grey cells that hard.
A few even look heavenwards waiting for divine intervention, and others up to me, as though the answer will be revealed on my visage or I will pity their sad faces and give them the right answers. At the end of the allotted one hour time, I collect their papers and remind them to be present the next day to see their corrected papers.
The mixed emotions on their faces make it a little hard to guess how they found the test.
I will find out soon enough when I check their papers in the evening. I have a long night before me. I pray to all the Gods and Goddesses that are free to give me the strength of Hercules to endure the arduous task of paper corrections.
I never liked it. I believe it's the worst part of the job and that's what deters me from taking it up as a profession. I hope I don't fall asleep after the tiring day I had.
All day I've been attending my own lectures, doing references , my projects, research papers, honors assignments, crossing every item on my own check list, then teaching these students and now I will be correcting their papers. It's a wonder I'm still awake and standing.
A huge challenge stands before me. It's seems difficult but definitely not impossible for the Gods, therefore not for me.
The Next Day.
I did it. The impossible task. I managed to correct the papers without falling asleep and even managed to squeeze in constructive criticism for them to work on.
I walk into the classroom and I can feel the tension in the air. It's so thick you can cut it with a knife. I kid you not. Their faces reflect their inner turmoil. 'Did I pass? How bad is it?' I could hear it in their nervous chatter.
I start on a cheerful note, “Hola, everyone. I hope you are excited to see your papers. Let me put your fears to rest by telling you that no one has failed. The majority of the class has performed extremely well."
The sigh was a collective one. The palpable tension suddenly dissolves.
"Rest assured, we can move forward with the more difficult concepts as your basics are clear. Have a close look at your papers. See where you have made mistakes and lost your marks, and how you can rectify those errors. Any questions or doubts, please feel free to ask me right away so that I can help you, and you will not repeat a mistake twice.”
Answering their doubts took the whole lecture. Who knew that these normally laid back people, so uninterested in class, were actually so serious about Statistics? That just goes to show that everything is not what it seems.
When the bell signifying the end of the period rang, everyone packs their things and starts leaving. I see Arnaud getting up to leave and stop him.
“Mr. Tatou, can I have a word with you?” he nods and waits until I finish my work. All the students have left and it's just Arnaud and me. “Mr Tatou, may I ask you why have you fared so badly in the test? You have the lowest scores in the whole class. Is it that you find Statistics difficult, or were you just too uninterested to answer correctly?” I enquire curiously.
He looks so damn good. I nearly lose my trail of thought looking at those beautiful eyes, but I need to know why he performed so badly. My reputation, as well as my degree, are at stake here. He just shrugs and mutters something incoherent. On my insistence, he repeats it a little louder. He says, “Ce n’est pas juste. This is not right. You are not supposed to be mon professeur. With someone as pretty as you in front of me, how do you expect me to concentrate on stupid Statistics, a bunch of useless nombres, and find the value of y? This is wrong. You distracted me. It's not my fault.”
His words surprise and shock me to such an extent that I forget to reprimand him for calling my subject stupid and its contents useless. There is an awkward silence, and I realized that he is waiting for me to say something. The job is tough, but it has to be done.
The situation is delicate and I need to be careful, “Mr Tatou, flattered as I am with your frank confession, I must say that this reason is not good enough for your bad performance. In order to salvage your grades, you will have to take extra classes with me after the normal classes startingtomorrow. Please come prepared.” With that I gather my books and leave.
The words that I had said to myself on the first day when I met him came back to haunt me. It definitely was going to be one heck of a long year.
One that I look forward to?
Maybe.
Hell yes!
AN : Hope you enjoyed the story till now. Do tell me if you like Zoya and Arnaud. Please vote or comment. I love reading your comments so do leave some.
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