It was D!

A Dondle McGrewfin fealt uneasy about Clara's situation.

B The author used juxtaposition to emphasize the importance of humility.

C Clara is a wombat.

D Clara wanted to show off her talents.

“I don’t know!” The question in question is, of course, asking what is the best description for the scene in which Clara wet her bed. If only Tanya could remember what juxtaposition meant! She figured she would guess ‘B’ anyway because the rest of the answers didn’t require learning any hard words and it was definitely not D. Then again, Clara certainly could have been the masochist type, though. Nah, that’s crazy for them to expect Tanya to deduce that. ‘B’ – final answer. Okay. Next!

Now onto the final section: “compare and contrast Jacob and Dondle McGrewfin in their character developments for building empathy (30 marks).” Perfect! An easy to answer free 30 marks. Her strategy was to spend the rest of the class time just writing whatever came to mind that related to the topic – as long as it was coherent and diverse, she would easily get all thirty marks. Maybe 28 if Mrs. Hart was in a bad mood. With this confident self assurance, she took her pen to her exam paper and began scribing.

--- One Week Later ---

Quietly entering Mrs. Hart’s room during lunch break, Tanya addressed: “Mrs. Hart?” Tanya, head down, waited hopefully expectant.

Deliberately pausing, Hart responded: “Yes?”

“Can I ask you a question?”

Numb to the inevitable ignorance of students, Hart simply put “what’s got your tongue?” with a gentle smile.

“Well, my English test…” she lifted her papers onto the desk. “It’s the written portion. I don’t understand. I feel like I deserve higher...” Tanya taperred and, unsure of how to act, dipped her head further down in humble shame.

“Tanya.” Hart paused for effect and then sighed. Over the years, Hart has slowly developed a distant authoritative relationship with her students, uncaring for their wellbeing. However, she found herself in a dilemma here, quickly shuffling between one response that proved she did indeed care and two others that made a joke out of her claim. Hart usually just plays along with students’ [x, y, z] complaint and gives them an extra mark or two. Other times it’s just a cold no. But neither of these options felt fair to Mrs. Hart. Why? What’s so special about Tanya? It wasn’t Tanya’s long golden hair, it wasn’t her deep blue puppy eyes, or her dainty mannerism. Perhaps it was Tanya’s unbelievably easy to please nature that made Hart soft that is so rare to find in ninth graders. Mrs. Hart looked away, frowned, and then back at Tanya in a sorrowful expression.

“I can’t give you those marks” Hart finally exerted.

“Why not? What’s wrong? Could you at least tell me so I can improve my writing?”

“Tanya. I don’t normally tell students this. There was nothing wrong with your writing.”

Tanya glared at Mrs. Hart and grew red in the face: “then why don’t I deserve an A?”

“Tanya… because not everybody can get an A. I would score A+'s to everyone if I could.”

“What do you mean?!” remarked Tanya.

“Hmmm….” Hart hesitated. “Do you like stories, Tanya?”

“Well, yes. Probably more than anything!” Tanya beamed.

“It’s a bit of a.. bumfuzzle. A doozy.”

“Um, okay”

“Alright, I’ll tell it to you. Now, listen. This is very important. It could change your life.”

Tanya trusted and respected Mrs. Hart thoroughly: “I’m listening”

Mrs. Hart sighed, and then straightened up her posture and smiled with a cheery glow. “There once was a man named Tim Toggins. Tim Toggins was punched a few too many times as a baby and as a result built an empire of human servants under his rule. One day, after his empire has grown so much, it just collapsed completely out of the blue. Like an elastic slowly expanding and building tension, Tim Toggin’s empire finally burst under the pressure and his own people slaughtered him. Do you see what I’m saying, Tanya?”

“Not a jib”

“Wasn’t expecting it. Listen, all you need to know is I don’t make the rules and that this whole life we play, this game, this empire we’re all in is, I’m sorry to say, is all made up. None of it’s true. What I’m saying is: I think your written portion was fantastic. Brilliant. Perfect, even. I think you’re all of those things, Tanya. But this play is designed to make you feel bad about yourself. I gave you 18 marks because my hands are tied and someone had to receive that grade. What I’m saying is that all civilizations fall, sweet heart. This one we are in is no different. Life will not feel fair at times, but you must always remember that this moment you have right now is all you’ve got. What you do and achieve on the outside means nothing, only what you achieve inside yourself. It’s not how many marks you have, what you got for Christmas, or how your eyebrows look. We exist only in this moment, stuck in this present space, and we’re never going anywhere until we’re dead, at which point it will no longer matter. My advise to you, Tanya Taylor, is to make the most of it. Right now. And now. Not then. Not there. Now! Is it starting to make any sense?”

“Uh…yeah. You’re not giving me marks because Tim Tiggins told you ya can’t? 

“Toggins, but other than that, exactly! So glad I was right in hoping you’d be mature enough to understand. Run along now, I have things to do.”

Confused about what just happened and not sure how she should feel about not getting the marks she deserved, she took Mrs. Hart’s advice anyway and forgot about the problem. Tanya over the weeks, months, and years reflected a bit on that conversation and it wasn’t until she turned about 30 years old when she was a successful boat saleswoman and happily married to the love of her life until she finally understood what Mrs. Hart meant: life is not a hourglass measured in finite time, it’s a limitless jar measured in joy. Life is timeless.