The Test That Never Ended

It was Monday morning, and Alex was already having a terrible day. The alarm had failed to ring, the bus had been late, and Alex had forgotten to bring a notebook. However, none of these problems seemed important compared to the thought that suddenly appeared in Alex’s mind. The English test!

Alex stopped walking. There was a test at ESL Batalha that afternoon, and Alex had completely forgotten about it. Even worse, not a single page of the textbook had been studied.

“Oh, no,” Alex whispered. “I’m going to fail.”

Trying to stay calm, Alex hurried into the school and entered the English classroom. Everything seemed normal. The teacher was standing by the whiteboard while the other students chatted quietly.

“Good afternoon, everyone,” said the teacher. “Please take your seats. Today, we have a very special test.”

Alex felt the stomach tighten.

The teacher handed out the papers, and Alex looked at the first question: Write an opinion essay on video chatting.

That was strange. It looked more like a writing exercise than a test. Alex turned the page. Write a email to an e-friend giving advice on how to make new friends at a new school.

“What kind of questions are these?” Alex thought nervously.

The classroom clock began to tick louder and louder. Every second sounded like a hammer hitting a wall. Around Alex, the other students were writing quickly, their pens moving across the paper as if they knew every answer.

Alex tried to write something, but the words refused to come. Then something even stranger happened.

The clock stopped.

Every student raised their head at exactly the same moment and looked directly at Alex.

“What's wrong?” Alex asked.

Nobody answered.

Instead, the teacher slowly walked towards the desk and placed a hand on Alex’s test paper.

“You should know the answers,” she said quietly.

“But I haven’t studied!”

The teacher smiled, although there was nothing friendly about it.

“You have studied these questions before.”

Alex stared at her. “What do you mean?”

Before the teacher could answer, the lights went out. When they flickered back on, the classroom had changed.

The white walls were covered in hundreds of clocks. Some showed different times, while others had no numbers at all. The windows had disappeared, and the door at the back of the room was now a tall, black mirror.

Alex jumped to their feet.

“This isn't real,” Alex said. “I'm dreaming.”

“Are you sure?” asked a voice from behind.

Alex turned around. It was another student, sitting at the back of the classroom. Alex had never seen this person before, but there was something strangely familiar about their face.

“You're the only one who can leave,” the student explained.

“Leave? How?”

“Finish the test.”

Alex looked down at the paper. The questions had changed again.

Write a story which starts with the following, "Jennifer and Jason felt very excited as they put on their backpacks to go hiking."

Alex's hands began to shake.

“Failing,” Alex answered. “I'm afraid of failing and disappointing everyone.”

The student nodded.

“Then why are you here?”

“Because I forgot to study!”

“No,” the student replied. “You're here because you keep believing that one mistake will ruin everything.”

Alex wanted to argue, but the words disappeared before reaching their lips.

Suddenly, the teacher shouted from the front of the classroom, “Time is running out!”

The clocks began moving backwards. The walls trembled, and the students started disappearing one by one, leaving empty chairs behind them.

Alex grabbed the test paper and wrote the first thing that came to mind: I don't know all the answers, but I can try.

As soon as the sentence was finished, the room fell silent. The teacher stopped moving, and the clocks stopped ticking.

Then the student at the back stood up and walked towards Alex.

“You finally understand,” the student said.

“Understand what?”

“That the test was never about English.”

Alex looked at the paper again. The questions were gone. In their place, there was a single sentence: You are allowed to make mistakes.

For the first time that morning, Alex felt calm.

But then the student smiled and said something that made Alex's blood run cold.

“There's just one more thing you should know.”

“What?”

The student pointed towards the black mirror.

“Look at your reflection.”

Alex slowly turned. The reflection was not showing a frightened student standing in a classroom. It was showing Alex sitting asleep at a desk, with an English textbook open beside a notebook.

Standing behind the sleeping figure was the teacher.

“That’s me,” Alex whispered.

“Yes,” the student replied. “But which one of you is dreaming?”

Before Alex could answer, the mirror shattered, and everything went white.

Alex woke up with a loud gasp. Their head was resting on an open English textbook, and a pen had fallen onto the floor. Sunlight was coming through the bedroom window, and a familiar alarm was ringing on the bedside table.

For a moment, Alex couldn't remember where they were. Then the classroom, the clocks and the mysterious student came rushing back.

It had all been a dream.

Alex sat up and immediately checked the phone. Monday. 7:15 a.m. There was still plenty of time to get ready for class since it was only in the afternoon.

Feeling relieved, Alex opened the school calendar to check the date of the test.

Then Alex froze.

The test wasn't today. It was the following Monday.

Alex stared at the screen, reading the date again and again. A nervous laugh escaped.

“I'm such a goofball,” Alex said, closing the calendar. “I've got a whole week to study!”

Feeling much better, Alex picked up the textbook and began reviewing the first lesson.

Everything was normal again.

Or so Alex thought.

As Alex turned to the next page, a small piece of paper slipped out of the book and landed on the desk.

It was an English test paper.

At the top, written in blue marker, were the words: Write an essay "What would you do if you could change one decision in your life?"

Alex stopped breathing.

Slowly, Alex turned the paper over. On the back, in handwriting that looked exactly like their own, were five words: See you next Monday, Alex.

Beneath them was a final sentence: This time, don't forget to study.

Alex stared at the paper for a long moment. Then, very carefully, Alex closed the textbook.

Because suddenly, next Monday didn't seem so far away.

And Alex had a terrible feeling that the test had already begun.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!