Episode - 7
768 Words
Part 14
The Plus Two exam was over. Their results would come only after about two months. Jenny was very confident that she would pass with good marks.
Until the results came, she spent those two months at home—helping her mother, doing artwork, trying out new recipes in cooking, and planning what her future might look like. Jenny was now happy at home and did not even think about her past.
Two months later, one day suddenly, the results were published. As soon as Jennifer heard, she immediately checked her results online. Jenny had passed with excellent marks. She was even on the school’s Second Year Top List.
Overjoyed, she ran and told her mother. Her father owned a steel company and was at work. Jenny called him on the phone and asked him to come home. He quickly arrived, rushing inside the house, confused about why he was called. That was when she surprised him by showing her results.
Her father, filled with happiness, hugged her tightly and kissed her forehead. Then he asked:
“What do you want, dear? Tell me anything you wish for, and I will get it for you.”
“I’ll tell you after I get my certificate.”
“Is it for higher studies? Whatever it is, I will arrange it.”
“I’ll tell you, but only if you promise to make it happen.”
Suddenly, the joy faded from her face, and she turned sad. Noticing this, her mother asked:
“What happened? Why does your face look so dull?”
“If I had studied properly last year, I would have scored even better marks.”
“But you have scored very well now… you prepared and improved, didn’t you? So why worry?”
“No, I could have achieved this without even an improvement exam…”
“Let the past go. Thinking about it won’t help. You must now move forward and study well.”
Jenny had been the school topper in 10th standard, but her marks dropped in Plus One. She had to improve and make up for it. That was what hurt her most—that she couldn’t secure the top marks in the first attempt itself. Still, after the improvement, she managed to achieve full marks.
With her top marks, her parents celebrated joyfully. They invited close relatives and family friends and hosted a small party.
Most guests who came to the party kept asking her what she planned to study next. She, along with her parents, had only one answer: “MBBS.”
Likewise, in her school too, there was a special program where those who had scored more than 90% marks were honored with a memento.
Part 15
After a few days, the certificates were to be distributed. All students would receive their certificates, along with their Transfer Certificates and other formalities, on the same day.
Jenny went to school on that day to collect her certificates.
There, one of her classmates mocked her:
“With this much fat, how did you even score so many marks?”
Jenny replied boldly:
“So, does being fat mean I can’t write an exam? Only thin people can write exams, is that it? You are thin, right? Then why did you fail one subject?”
“Now that she has scored full marks, she has become arrogant too.”
“I have every right to be proud. I worked hard and earned these marks. If you had studied, you too could have scored and been proud.”
Just then, Aaron arrived in a car. When he saw Jenny, he looked at her with a mix of contempt, anger, and jealousy. Jenny also glanced at him and walked into the office.
After collecting her certificate, when she came out, Aaron stopped her.
“Don’t go around boasting about scoring full marks. You know very well what I can do.” (He twirled his phone in his hand and looked at it.) “Your full marks will lose their value if I decide so. Now leave quietly.”
Aaron twirled his phone again and laughed mockingly.
Everyone was surprised that Jenny had appeared in the school’s top list. After her excellent marks in 10th grade, she had again topped in Plus Two. But in Plus One, her marks had dropped. She had written the improvement exam for Plus One along with the Plus Two finals. That was why everyone was astonished—how had she managed to prepare for both exams and succeed?
Jenny left from there. After that, no one saw her again.
- Writer
