TWO SOULS, ONE UMBRELLA

VIEVE PEREZ HILTON l woke up to the ringing of my phone. When I opened my eyes, I realized I had fallen asleep at my study table. I saw my phone still ringing, and when I checked who it was, It's Gwen…. I answered. "Hello?" "WHERE ARE YOU?!" Gwen shouted at me. "Why are you calling so early? It's still dark outside," I said without enthusiasm. "What? It's raining, and today's the entrance exam for Ivywood Preparatory Academy! Hurry up, the gates are already open," Gwen said seriously. l jumped up in surprise. "What? Okay, okay, I'm coming." After hanging up, I hurriedly got ready. I must have stayed up too late reviewing, because I forgot to set an alarm. After getting ready, I left my room and saw my mom cooking breakfast. "Morning, sweetie," Mom greeted me with a smile. "Mom, I'm sorry, I'll just eat bread. The Ivywood Preparatory Academy exam is today," I said sadly. "Oh, okay. I'll just prepare your sandwich. Bring an umbrella; it's raining outside," Mom said. I put the sandwich in my bag and grabbed my umbrella. I said goodbye before leaving the house. It was raining heavily when I went outside. When I checked my watch, I only had ten minutes before the entrance exam started. Even though the road was wet, I ran to the bus stop. When I saw the bus, I crossed the street—the light was red. But when I was in the middle of the road, a car honked loudly. When I looked up, I saw a bright white light coming from a vehicle. I sat down in shock. I felt scared; I thought I was going to die. My emotions were mixed, but anger prevailed. I was about to stand up when a man got out of the car, an old man in a suit. "Miss, are you alright? I'm sorry, I didn't see you because of the rain on my windshield," the old man said. I stood up. "What?! It was a red light, sir! Do you know you could be sued? I almost died!" I said angrily. "I'm really sorry, miss. Young master was in a hurry," the old man said fearfully. "What the—Felipe, hurry up?!" an irritated voice said. A man opened the car window. ln my anger, I confronted the man. "Hey, sir! Do you know that because of your haste, I almost died?" I said angrily. "So what are you going to do? Call the cops?! You can't do anything," he said nonchalantly. "You're so confident!, yet you're acting tough. You're something else sir," I said defiantly. "I don't want to waste my time with you. Straight to the point. Do you need money? Even if you don't, here's some," he said arrogantly, taking money from his wallet. "Shove that down your throat! I don't want your money, I want an apology," I said seriously. "If I say s-o-r-r-y, will you stop?" he asked. I furrowed my brow. Why does he have to spell it out? "Yes," I replied. "No," he replied. I was surprised when he rolled up the car window. "Hey!" I tried to knock on the window, but he suddenly sped off. I was soaking wet in the middle of the street. Damn! You'll pay when we meet again. l went into the exam room with wet clothes. I didn't have time to change, so I dried some parts of my body. "I'm sorry I'm late, something happened," I said, breathless. The female teacher, wearing glasses, looked me up and down. "You're late, and you're wet," the teacher said. "I'm really sorry," I said sadly. "Well, you only have 30 minutes to answer all 100 questions." She handed me the test paper. I sat at the back. I felt incredibly cold because the room was air-conditioned, but I ignored it. The important thing was to answer the test paper. 30 minutes passed… "Time's up, pens down. Pass all the test papers to the front," the female teacher said. I nervously handed in my test paper. I didn't know if all my answers were correct because I had to hurry. I rested my head on the table. I felt terrible. When I see that guy again, he's dead meat. *Ring Phone* I woke up to the ringing of my phone. I noticed I was the only person left in the room. I was surprised because there was a jacket on my back, someone must have put it there. My phone had been ringing for a while, and when I checked who it was… It was Gwen… "Hello?" "Where are you?! I've been looking for you!" she asked angrily. "I'm coming out now, I just fell asleep for a bit in the exam room," I said. "Okay, let's meet at the gate," Gwen said and hung up the phone. I stood up from my seat and looked at the jacket. It looked familiar, but where had I seen it? I took it with me before leaving the room. When I got out of the main building, I saw Gwen waiting for me. "What happened to you?" she asked irritably. "I'm sorry, something unexpected happened," I said irritably, remembering the man. "How was the exam? Was it difficult?" she asked. "I don't know, I only had 30 minutes to answer," I said sadly. "Are you serious? Girl, you'll lose your scholarship if you don't pass. You'll have nothing," Gwen said in surprise. "Yes, I know…" I said with difficulty. I started overthinking my grade. How will I tell my mom that I might not pass the exam? Our dreams will vanish. Suddenly, someone snapped their fingers in front of my face, bringing me back to reality. "Were you listening?" Gwen asked. "No, sorry. I was just thinking about failing, and what will happen to me and Mom," I said sadly. "I know it's hard to be smart, you're dwelling on what happened. Be positive," Gwen said. I smiled. "You're right. All that reviewing would be wasted." Gwen and I walked together. Finally, my ordeal was over, but I didn't know if I passed the exam. I hope all my hard work and Mom's efforts weren't in vain.