It was 8:30 on a cold, Friday, winter morning. Jim jumped out of his bed with confidence. He has been studying all week for the big exam today. He got a good breakfast of waffles, bacon, and eggs that his mom made him. He ate, thanked her, and ran out to his car. He started it up, defrosted the windshield, and sped off to the school. 

He got there and quickly jumped into the line of people waiting to be let in. The time was 8:50. He was 40 minutes early. He could see everyone’s breath in the wind, due to the below freezing temperature they were all standing in. The line slowly shrunk as the people were getting let in. As Jim got closer to the doors, he saw his friend Jake. “Hey Jake! Are you ready for the final exam?” He exclaimed. “Not at all man. I was at a party last night and didn’t get home until 1. I tried to study, but it was really late so I went to sleep.” Jake said, worrily. “I’m sure you will be alright.” said Jim, clearly lying because he knew this was the hardest test they will take all year.

They both walked into the school, then into the room they would be taking their test. There had to have been 500 desks lined up in a certain pattern so that nobody could cheat. “Best of luck to you Jake.” said Jim. “You too Jim.” Jake said in an unenthusiastic tone. They both went to their assigned desks. The bell rang loudly as the clock hit 9:30. The teacher walked around and passed out the test.

 Jim immediately rushed through the first page, getting through every question with ease. Jake on the other hand, couldn’t figure out how to answer one question. The 3 hour testing period passed, and the teacher announced, “Everybody put down your pencils, the test is over. I will be coming around to collect all of your tests.” 

As the teacher passed Jim she asked, “How was it?” Jim confidently replied, “That was the easiest test that I have ever taken!” As the teacher approached Jake’s desk she says, “Please hand in your paper Jake.” There was no answer. Jake fell asleep midway through the test. She swoops up the paper and notices that not one of the questions was attempted.

 A few weeks later, the test results came back. Jim rips open the envelope and yells, “100 percent!!!” He quickly calls his friend Jake to see what he got. Jake answers the phone, sounding very dull. “What did you get on the final exam Jake?” Jim said. “Jake replied by saying, “I didn’t get a single question right.” Jim didn’t even know what he was supposed to say. “Sorry man.” Jim said quietly, as he hung up the phone. 

Over the summer, Jim got a letter from his dream school, Princeton. He opened the letter and it read, “Dear Jim, we noticed that you excelled in all of your classes, and you completely aced your final exam, so we want to award you with a full ride academic scholarship. One of our spots opened up recently, and we would like to reward you for all of the work you have been putting in. Congratulations. From, Princeton Tigers.” Jim almost broke down into tears of joy. “THIS IS THE BEST NEWS THAT I HAVE EVER HEARD!!!” He called Jake, to which he picked up angrily. “Right now isn’t a very good time Jim. My scholarship to Princeton was just revoked.”