In the following day’s Courier, the headline reads:
BARCLAY ADMINISTRATOR SHOOTS BACK: “TEST THEM YOURSELF”
And, on the same page . . . in a related article . . . it reports that the Barclay school administration and Mr. John Snyder have agreed for the twenty-five Barclay seniors to take a special exam . . . one designed to test their comprehensive knowledge on the subjects of American History, English, World Geography, and Trigonometry. The exam . . . which will be administered on the following Saturday . . . will be composed by Mr. Snyder, and he will also “proctor” the taking of the test.
It is Friday night, and the senior library is a busy place . . . quiet, but busy. The twenty-five seniors are crowded around four of the library’s tables. Each table has a sign propped up in the middle of it. “ENGLISH” is written on one sign, “AMERICAN HISTORY” is on another, “WORLD
GEOGRAPHY” is on the third, and “TRIGONOMETRY” is on the fourth.
The girls are struggling through mock exams that Mr. Hendersen has made up for them.
Freshman Kayla is standing close by. She is holding a large “squirt bottle” and is wearing a light blue t-shirt that has the words “WATER GIRL”
embroidered on its front. Laurie gestures for her, and Kayla hustles over and . . . dispenses some of the refreshment. Freshman Heidi is also standing close by. She too is holding a large squirt bottle and is wearing a light blue t-shirt, but her shirt says “MILKSHAKE GIRL.”
“Are some of these trig questions college level?” Rachel asks. “Yes.” Mr.
Hendersen replies. “I don’t trust this guy.” And he pulls over a chair and saddles up next to her. “That’s it.” he tells her. And a minute later, “You’ve got it.”