The Exam

# Chapter One: The Exam The clock ticked louder than Aaron had ever heard it. Rows of desks stretched across the cold examination hall of St. Bartholomew Academy, and Ms. Delacroix walked slowly between them, her heels clicking like a metronome counting down his doom. Aaron stared at the paper. The words swam. His hands trembled. Question after question passed him by, until the bell finally rang and he had written nothing at all. "Pencils down," Ms. Delacroix announced. As she collected his blank sheet, she paused. Her eyes flickered with something Aaron couldn't name — was it pity? Fear? "A zero," she murmured, almost to herself. "May God help you tonight, child." Aaron didn't understand. Not yet.