Fiction Friday - The Test

The Grand Hall was clinically bare.

When Josie imagined this test, that's how she pictured it: a giant room, a Grand Hall, bare as bones with sterile white walls. Of course her mind's eye included one equally sterile testing cubicle in the middle of the expanse just for her. 

Now that the day had arrived, was she ready?

She thought she was ready. 

After months of extra classes and practice test after practice test? Of course she was ready!

She had to be. She couldn't let the family down.

She had passed every practice test, but some were a close call. Was it enough?

Deep breath. In ... Out.

Her father's voice rang in her ears, "You'll do us proud. I know you." His last words to her that morning. He meant to be encouraging, she thought. Or maybe not. Maybe it was the last ounce of pressure he could apply. Meanwhile, her mom was arranging a bundle of lychee at the ancestral shrine. Hearing her husband's words, she'd looked over with a smile and nod of agreement before bowing her head. They all knew she would make the family proud. But it seemed that Mom wasn't leaving anything to chance.

Her older brother had taken this same test five years ago. Naturally, he passed with flying colors, setting the bar high. He had called last night and told her it was, "a piece of cake! No problem!"

No problem for him! Mr. Perfect. Mr. Got-into-a-good-college-and-moved-on-with-his-life.

Josie shook her head. The yips were setting in fast. She felt the ¥100 note in her pocket and smiled. Grandma had said goodbye to her at the door of their apartment and pressed it into Josie's hand. In their loose farewell embrace, she leaned in and said, "However it goes, stop somewhere for an ice-cream before you come home, Xiao-Xiao," using her private pet name for Josie. 

Josie closed her eyes and moved the bill from her pocket to her bra, where she would feel it during the test, and pushed open the door to a normal-sized classroom with normal-sized desks, crowded with early arrivals.

Everything rode on this. But whatever the outcome, she'd have ice-cream afterwards. 

Friday Fiction Inspiration: I've lived in China and Vietnam for the past 10 years. I teach English to students from East and Southeast Asia. This story was inspired by the notable pressure placed on these kids before major tests. If you have any recommendations or writing prompts for future flash fiction, please note it in a comment below!