Chapter 1

This is just a new book that I'm writing... I don't know what exactly to call it. It's sort of a blend of a play and a novel. See for yourself and tell me what you think!

Optimistic: You may have messed up on the English section, but now it’s time to redeem yourself by doing well on the math section!

Pessimistic: Let’s be honest, you were overconfident.

Optimistic: Perhaps, or you just had a bad section!

Pessimistic: You’ll do just as bad on the math.

Optimistic: No you won’t!

Logic: It’s pointless to argue over how you’ll do. You won’t know until you actually start. Just take a deep breathe and relax before the next section starts.

Mr.James: Alright guys, start section two. Calculators are permitted. You have sixty minutes to complete the Math section, and I’ll give you a five minute warning when you have five minutes left.

55 minutes later...

Mr. James: Five minutes left.

Fear: Gahh! 5 minutes left for 15 questions. How will you finish? You’ll have to guess on so many answers!

Two minutes later...

Logic: You still have twelve questions left and only three minutes remaining. Just start going through and find easy questions and guess on the rest. There’s no penalty.

Three minutes later...

Mr. James: Alright guys, put your pencils down. You have a five minute break.

Pessimistic: I told you that you’d do bad.

Optimistic: You didn’t do that bad! You got at least 45 out of 60, and you probably got a few right when you guessed, so you definitely got above 80%!

Pessimistic: 80% is not where you want to be. That won’t even get you a 30, and your aim was a 32. You know how the scale works

Logic: He’s right...

Two minutes later...

Jess: Heath, what colleges are you applying to?

Heath: Ummm... ughh... I’m umm.. applying to Northeastern University, Stony Brook, and umm... Boston College

Excitement: She’s talking to you! This might not happen again! Try to impress her!

Heath: And umm, I’m also applying to some “reach” schools like UPenn and Columbia

Logic: Now keep the conversation going...

Heath: What colleges are you applying to?

Jess: I’m thinking of applying to MIT, I hope I get in!

Heath smiles back awkwardly.

Pessimism: She’s gorgeous and she’s smarter than you. She’s out of your league.

Optimism: Hey! Don’t think like that! She approached you for a reason! She obviously has some sort of interest in you!

Pessimism: Or she was just engaging in small-talk with a familiar face?

Mr. James: Alright, please take a seat everyone. Section three is now beginning. You have 35 minutes, and I’ll give you a five minute warning when you have five minutes left.

35 minutes later...

Mr. James: Pencil’s down. You’re not supposed to have a break before section four, but i’ll let you guys stretch for a few seconds if you want.

Optimism: That wasn’t so bad!

Pessimism: Yeah, but you still ran out of time...

Mr.James: Alright guys, this is the last section, but I’m guessing that you all are staying for the writing section too, right?

The class nods yes...

Mr. James: You have 35 minutes to complete this section. You know the drill...

35 minutes later...

Mr. James: Alright everyone, stop working. I’ll be around to collect the exams.

Heath sighed in relief that the exam was over, and in disappointment since he knew he didn’t do that well. After collecting the exam, Mr. James handed out the optional writing section to all the students.

Mr.James: Alright ladies and gents, this is the optional part of the ACT exam. However, considering that you all payed for it, I presume that all of you are taking it. You have thirty minutes. Good luck. Begin

15 minutes into the writing section...

Pessimism: You’re running out of time Einstein. You have 15 minutes left and you haven’t even finished the second paragraph.

Optimism: You’re a little behind, but you’re in the groove now, you’ll catch up.

Time’s up...

Mr. James: Okay everyone. Pencils down. I’ll be around to collect the writing section. Do not talk until I have taken the exam, and stay in your seats until all the exams have been collected.

Optimism: Hey! You did really well on that!

Pessimism: You still could have done better though, and you didn’t even get to check your work

Optimism: It doesn’t matter, and you know that you did well!

Heath left the classroom with satisfaction on how he did with the writing section, and in relief that he was done with those dreaded standardized exams. At the moment, he only had one thing on his mind.... Jess. He wanted to talk to her. He knew that he wouldn’t get another chance to talk to her if he didn’t talk to her now. They went to different schools and he had no way of contacting her. He had the opportunity to say something to her as she walked right past him, but no words came out of his mouth. He was silenced by his fear of rejection, and he was just shy.

Optimism: Hey! Don’t worry about her. There are plenty of other fish in the sea, and who knows, you might bump into her in a store, or Boston when you two go to college!

Cynical: Shut up. Stop being so optimistic. Even you know that he blew it. You want a little optimism? I’ll give you some: Consider yourself lucky that she didn’t spend enough time with you to know that you’re not worth it.

Heath stood outside feeling indifferent about Jess. Of course he regretted not talking to her, but he had grown to accept his inept social skills and his inability to talk to people in person...

He called his dad to let them know that the exam was over and that he needed a ride home.

Dad: Okay, I’ll pick you up. By the way, how did the exam go?

Heath:Umm... I’ll tell you about it when you get here... I’m just glad that it’s over.

Dad: I bet. I’ll be there to pick you up in a few minutes.

Heath: Okay.

He hung up the phone and wondered what he would tell his parents. He could always lie and tell them that he think he did really well, but he wouldn’t be able to escape their disappointment once the exam came.

Pessimism: So Einstein, what will you do?

Logic: You know what to do. Tell them the truth. They’ll find out eventually anyways. Might as well deal with the disappointment now than later.

Heath thought about what he would tell his parents. He knew there was no way of escaping the disappointment and frustration from his parents, unless... he lied about his grades when he got them....

Realistic: You can escape the disappointment from your parents, but you will have to live with that lie. You can deceive your parents, but you cannot deceive yourself. How did it feel when you lied about your SAT scores? Not so good, so don’t lie. You shouldn’t have to lie to get your parents approval.

Optimism: And who knows, maybe you will end up doing better than you thought!

Pessimism: Ha! Or worse...

On the car ride home, Heath confessed to his dad that he was a little disappointed in how he did. However, as he saw that disappointment through his dad’s reaction and facial expression, he quickly changed the mood by expressing to his dad how he did well on the writing section.

After arriving home, he felt his stress-levels increase. He had only gotten through his father. Now he had to tell the same story to his mom, brother, and grandparents and was forced to see the look of disappointment from his family.

After talking to his family about how he did on the exam, Heath quickly went to his room and changed his clothes. He lay down on his bed and just his eyes. He wanted to go to sleep and forget about everything....

Heath(thinking to himself): Of course they’d be disappointed. If they weren’t happy when I told them I got a 1950 on the SAT’s, then clearly they couldn’t be happy when I told them “It didn’t go as well as I wanted it to.” Rather than being supportive, they just give me that look... I can’t get a break from them and I can’t even get one from myself. Even my mind plays games with me. These conflicting feelings have just confused the sh*t out of me. I just want everyone to shut up.

Heath falls asleep...

Author's Note

This is a rough draft... Please be honest and tell me if the idea is good or not. It's sort of about how a teenager goes through different emotions that confuse him.

Reviews

[Bat-Becca]

I really love this, it's quite different, and it's well-written. It really does capture the internal struggle of a teenager. Good work :)