Chapter 2 ~ (Test is over, BUT is it?)

The next day arrived, and Mrs. Mooncrest refrained from waking Noe up, believing she had likely studied late last night and deserved proper rest.

Nevertheless, Mrs. Mooncrest shared the good news with her husband. Mr. Mooncrest received it with a smile, unsurprised, and remarked, "I had a feeling she would agree. She's my daughter, after all." His expression then turned serious as he added, "But the most crucial part is the scholarship test. She needs to perform well. Let's make sure not to disturb her and allow her to study in peace."

Mr. Mooncrest finished his breakfast and prepared to head to work. Mrs. Mooncrest handed him his bag, and they bid each other farewell.

***

At 8:30 a.m., Noe finally woke up and proceeded to complete her daily routine. After about an hour, she sat down at her study table, remembering the conversation she had with her friends last night. The conversation went as follows:

She felt a sense of regret, but there was nothing she could do about it. Opening her laptop, she eagerly searched for the date of her scholarship test. To her surprise, it was just around the corner! She had a mere nine days to prepare. Fortunately, the curriculum wasn't much different from what she had studied at her previous school. With a determined mindset, she created a timetable for her study plan in the upcoming days.

***

Days passed like grains of sand, and finally, the D-Day arrived. Her father accompanied her to Willowbrook Boarding School for the test. Noe felt nervous, yet a tinge of excitement fluttered in her heart as she visited her soon-to-be new school. As she reached her destination, she was struck by the school's significant size, though not as massive as Elysium Academy.

Upon a large board, the name "Willowbrook Boarding School" was displayed. Noe hadn't paid attention to the name before due to the hassle, but now it struck her that the name was really strange, kind of a mystical essence to it. "Who would give a name like that? So quirky," she thought to herself.

Her father was taken to another room where other parents or guardians were seated. Meanwhile, in the central room, an anchor was telling the audience about the tales of the academy's history and greatness.

As Noe made her way to the test room, she passed several rooms filled with students patiently waiting for the test to commence. Although not accurately counted, each room seemed to have around 40 to 50 students. Soon enough, she reached her designated room and took her seat. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

At 9:00 a.m., the test began, with a duration of three hours. The difficulty level was moderate, and Noe felt quite confident that she would score decently. After three hours, the test concluded.

Her father didn't ask about how the test went, but instead, he took her to Noe's favorite restaurant and let her choose whatever she wanted to eat and drink. Noe chose a classic Margherita pizza with iced tea. After enjoying their meal, her father finally asked, "How did it go?"

"The food was delicious, of course, and umm, thank you," she replied shyly.

"That's good to hear, but I meant, how did the test go?" he inquired.

"It went well. I'm confident that I did fairly well. Don't worry," she responded, trying to act confident.

"I know my daughter is just like me, smart, right?" he smiled.

"Of course, Dad! No, actually, I'm even smarter than you," she teased. They both giggled.

***

At around 2:30 p.m., they arrived home. Although it was already late, Noe couldn't resist the urge to check her test answers.

She went straight to her room and reviewed her answers. To her disappointment, due to overconfidence, she had made several silly mistakes, such as calculation errors, misreading questions, and marking incorrect answers. It left her disheartened, but she didn't want to let her parents know about it. So, she acted naturally and happily, as she usually does.

Later that night, after dinner, she checked her friends' messages. They were all furious with her. It had been a week since she last spoke to them. She wanted to say something, but she felt that it would only further ignite their anger. As a result, she bother not to talk. Gradually, she felt a tinge of sadness for not being able to attend Elysium. However, it wasn't as serious as before. After visiting Willowbrook, she sensed that she could start on a new journey in her life, like the beginning of a new chapter.

"But I have messed up my scholarship test. There's no way I'll be able to study at Willowbrook! Damn it, why do I always act so full of myself?" she muttered angrily to herself.

***

A week had passed, and the result finally arrived. Noe had scored 234 out of 300, which was a pretty decent score. It also helped her to fetch a scholarship of 65%. Although it fell short of her parents' expectations, they congratulated her wholeheartedly. Everyone was happy that day.

No, nothing strange happened.

***

[Tip(2):  Noelle's father, Mr. Mooncrest (45), is a police officer who struggles with high blood pressure and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Her mother, Mrs. Mooncrest (43), is a homemaker who deals with low blood pressure and slightly high cholesterol level.]

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