The night sky was enveloped with clouds as heavy rain was becoming imminent. I was standing in a street in UP with my hands on my waist and eyes closed. The only apparels on my body were a white dry fit shirt, a pair of black cycling shorts, my favorite running shoes, and my iPhone in my armband, which was set to make a new record. Teenage Dream played on the earphones.
I started to run and thought of the very reason why I did so – board exam results ain’t coming. I wanted to relieve the stress I was feeling all over. Five days had passed after I took the board exam for electronics engineering, and it had been a question why the release of results was taking so long than it did usually in the other recent licensure exams.
“2.5 kilometers. You’re half-way there,” the voice over on my phone prompted as I strode the curve turning to the Oblation statue.
Then, it started to rain hard.
I thought of what most reviewers would categorize as hardships and pain in the course of studying almost everything under the sun. If my memory served right, six months of my life was dedicated to full-time review albeit I admit that it was not so full-time, or so I assume. During the first few months, I was taking the review lightly, but only when the big day drew nearer did I feel pressured about passing. I would always tell my classmates, “I haven’t done this kind of studying before. All I am reviewing is so over the top. And haven’t felt so restless.”
Raindrops kept on drifting towards my face by the wind. When water accumulated enough to make me look I cried a river, I would just wipe my whole face with my hands. My shirt already had this spongy texture — I was all wet. Odd was that I was beginning to worry about shoes being destroyed than my health. The five-kilometer mark was in my sight and the voice over said, “Congratulations!”
I stopped running, began catching my breath, and shivered. Still, the rain was still pouring. Suddenly, my friend was calling on the phone. I took it.
“John! The results are in! Congrats, we passed the board exam!” he exclaimed.
“Are you kidding? Oh my God. Holy molly banana! Can you repeat what you just said? Did I pass? Did you pass?”
“Yes, you passed! We passed!” he replied. His excitement was soaring high.
“I’m gonna have to pass out.”
The rain stopped.
