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stitchwitchsapprentice · 2 years ago

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Joy of Rain: A Short Story

Joy sat in the cafeteria watching the raindrops collect on the window. The clouds had been gathering all day, and during lunch, they had finally grown too heavy to contain the water within them.

"At least we won't have to worry about evacuation practice in this weather," said a girl behind her. The evacuation drills were new that year--a daily walk to the Tholmarun River to prepare for the event of an attack on the school. Most students weren't used to it and liked any excuse not to go.

"I wouldn't mind," Joy said. In her opinion, today would have been the best day for it. It was certainly better than continuing to crowd everyone into the cafeteria during that time due to "bad weather."

"You wouldn't" said the other girl and a fit of giggles burst from her table. "You're a... what was that word again? Pluviophile?"

"Hey leave her alone."

"...leave her alone."

This came from two voices--two voices that rarely spoke in unison anymore. Merinda and Lizelle had been friends when they were young, but as the years had passed, they had grown apart. Now, Joy turned to watch them glare across the table at each other before both returning to homework assignments. Neither spoke to her, even though they both sat with her.

Joy turned back to the window. She could just make out a figure in the storm--almost certainly one of the Voiceless taking out the trash or doing some other necessary job no one wanted. The tests at the end of the year would determine who among her class would be made Voiceless. Maybe a life like that wouldn't be too bad, she thought.

When evacuation time was over, they were herded to their classes. Merinda, Lizelle, and Joy all had science together. It was the one class Joy actually liked. Because it was the one class she was actually good at. Joy took a seat next to the window. While the teacher wasn't looking, she opened it a crack and slid her hand out along the outside windowsill. Outside was cooler than the stuffy classroom. And she liked catching the raindrops in her palm, each carrying a tiny piece of grit to her from far away, like a gift.

"Now, I told you I would announce who would be attending this year's Academic Jamboree." Joy was vaguely aware of their teacher speaking. "This was a very difficult year for our judges, and we have a tie." A buzz of chatter filled the room. No one had to guess which two students had tied. Joy could imagine Lizelle and Merinda still glaring at each other from across the room. She knew their projects intimately. She had helped with both--separately, of course. "Lizelle and Merinda each scored a ninety-six on their projects. But since we can only send one person to the regional competition, you will have to decide between the two of you who will go. In the meantime, let's continue with our study of weather..."

The rain continued throughout the day, and Joy would have relished the walk home, were it not for that stupid contest. Lizelle and Merinda walked behind her, in an ominous silence. They were nearly home before Joy turned around. "Why don't you two just accept that you're both smart? Won't you accomplish more by working together anyway?"

"You heard what Ms. Sarwar said," Lizelle burst out, "only one person can go to the jamboree."

"Yeah," Merinda added, "and only one person can be valedictorian." It had not been some childhood spat, but the combination of academic competition and the threat of failure that had pitted her friends against one another.

"Well, there's an idea." Lizelle grinned at the other two girls.

"What?"

"Whoever has the highest grade at the end of the week."

Merinda eyed the other. Joy knew what she was thinking. Lizelle was the best of the three at academics. She was good at tests and recalling the answer to a question in class. But Merinda wasn't far behind her, and she had excellent oratory skills. She had been known to argue circles around classmates, even with minimal preparation. Joy was only good at projects. Given the proper amount of time to research something, she would understand it thoroughly, but she was a terrible speller and her test anxiety made her only mediocre in class. That was probably why the other two girls hadn't started a rivalry with her as the academic competition heated up--she wasn't fair game.

"Deal," Merinda said, and the girls shook hands on it.

Joy watched as the other girls crossed the street to their houses. Then she sloshed her way through the puddles before going home herself. She tried to be happy about the rain, but the newest competition between her old friends had ruined it for her. She would have liked to ask one of them for help with her history homework, but she knew neither was in the right state of mind for it.

The rain cleared in the night, but Joy could tell another storm was coming. She stood on the front steps of her house and breathed deeply. She loved the wet of the air, and the smell of the newly wet dirt. "What's the weather going to be like?" Merinda asked as she crossed the street to join Joy. "Is it going to rain again today?"

"Definitely. But I think we'll lucky, and it won't start until the end of evacuation practice."

"Is that a hunch, or is that you tracking the weather patterns?"

"A little of both." Science wasn't just the one subject Joy was good at it, it was how she fed her soul. She had several instruments for measuring things like temperature, air pressure, and wind speed, and she checked the government's satellite data regularly. She thought of the Voiceless person she'd seen in the rain the day before and wondered if they even had a computer with which to check.

"Good. Because I need your help in Ms. Sarwar's class." Merinda took Joy by the elbow and started pulling her towards the school.

"Wait, shouldn't we wait for Lizelle?"

"What are you talking about? She's going to be fine. If you help me with science, I'll help you with the history test."

Joy taught Merinda about weather patterns over cereal in the school cafeteria, but they still hadn't touched the history homework before the bell rang for the first class. Merinda promised to help at lunch, but by then she and Lizelle were back to glaring at each other. Joy tried to run over history facts in her head during evacuation practice--the first colonies on Nideon, the war in Jadinth, the state mandated tests and Race for Excellence--but she got distracted watching the clouds.

The rain did come back in the afternoon, though not as heavy as the day before, and Merinda and Lizelle's silence on the walk home didn't really bother her. She let the drizzle cool her angry thoughts.

The morning after that, it was Lizelle on her doorstep before Merinda. "You walked to school with Merinda yesterday," she said, "so now it's my turn. It's only fair." The sun was out again, and Joy knew the day would be hot and sticky after the previous days' storms. She didn't have the energy to argue.

"Did you finish your essay on how math is applicable in real life?" Lizelle set a brisk pace toward the school.

"Last week." Joy had written hers on meteorology, of course. "You were supposed to proofread it for me."

"Oh yeah. I'll do that tonight. But first, I need help with a topic. What do you think Merinda's writing her's about?"

"Currency." They passed a Voiceless man on the street. Joy didn't know exactly how she could tell he was Voiceless, but she could. Some combination of his shabby clothing and the fact that he kept his head down, refusing to make eye contact.

"Do you think they really are voiceless?" Joy asked Lizelle quietly, after they had passed.

"What?" Lizelle glanced over her shoulder, as if noticing the man for the first time. "Oh no, I'm sure it's metaphorical. You know, it's passing the test that grants you citizenship." That test--administered to all tenth grade students--was not only the substratum of her friends' feud, but the reason all of Joy's classmates were increasingly on edge. It was only a few weeks away, and anyone who failed would be made Voiceless.

"Joy, you're losing focus!" Lizelle said. "I need your help with a topic!"

Joy stopped. "No."

"What?"

"No. I don't have time to help you. I have to find someone to edit my math essay."

"I told you would do that tonight."

"You told me last week you would do it." Joy cut her off. "And Merinda told me she would help me with my history homework, which she didn't. And there's a test today. I'm not going to fall into another one of your traps."

"Traps?! Our traps?!"

"There is exactly one person who gets an exemption from the test, and it's the person who goes to the Academic Jamboree." Lizelle's face fell. Joy continued. "I bet you forgot, didn't you? Because neither of you need it. You're both going to pass!" She clenched her fists. "You don't know how much I wanted that exemption. But I never got to turn in a project because you two were so busy getting me to help with yours! You are the most spoiled... selfish... children! I have ever met! And I'm not going to help you anymore because if I have any chance of passing the test at the end of the year, I have to study!" She didn't wait to see if Lizelle had a response. She stormed away.

Joy fumed at breakfast. She saw Lizelle and Merinda sitting at another table, and watching her. They're probably talking about how selfish I am, she thought, the sheer gall of her, not to help us. She tried to focus on her history homework, but it was difficult when she could feel the other girls' eyes on her. She knew she did even worse on the test than she normally might have. After the teacher asked them to pass the tests forward, she closed her eyes and tried to imagine what it would be like to be Voiceless. She'd better start resigning herself to it now.

After lunch, just before evacuation practice, Ms Sarwar found her. "Joy, will you come with me?"

She didn't know what it was about, but didn't mind staying out of the heat. She followed the woman to her classroom. Merinda and Lizelle were both standing by her desk. "Oh what now?" Joy asked. She could feel herself on the verge of tears.

"I don't think I quite understand," Ms. Sarwar said, "but both Merinda and Lizelle told me they stole their jamboree projects from you."

Joy blinked. This is not what she had expected.

#original fiction #Milon #short story #yes I am a teacher and standardized testing is bullsh***

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