Perfect Score

Vivian Peterson wished she could feel overwhelmed by fear and anxiety, wished her body would simply give out so someone could sedate her into an endless sleep.

As she paced her room hours after the Licensing assessment, sweat sliding down her temple onto her face, it felt like her life was over. She didn't panic before or after writing exams but this time around, she could feel it deep down. She was going to fail the assessment.

Many of the questions had strayed completely from their curriculum. Though the topics weren't unfamiliar to her, she didn't extend her study to cover those topics and now, she was doomed. Seven years of medical school went down the drain.

With a frustrated groan, she pulled a coat off the rack and stormed out of her room for a walk around the block.

When it was dark, she sat down on a bus stop bench when an old woman wearing a tattered army-green coat sat beside her. The state and colour of the coat caught her eye.

“Are you okay?” She asked.

The lady glanced at her with a withering smile and hugged the coat tighter. “Just a lil cold,” she replied, her teeth chattering. Vivian immediately covered the lady's shoulders with her coat. “Why, thank you, young lady. Are you waiting for the bus too?”

“What?” Vivian asked before realising she was at a bus stop. “Oh. Uh, not really. Just sitting here and wishing for something that seems impossible.” She chuckled to herself.

The old lady shrugged. “You never know. Sometimes wishes have a way of finding us.” Vivian stared at her like she had sprouted a horn from her head just as the last bus for the day drove by. The old woman thanked her and left. She whispered into the quiet night after. ”Only a perfect score. That's what I want.”

The next day, an urgent bulletin was posted on the students' website calling them to report for a rewrite of the assessment. Vivian couldn't believe her eyes. Was it a prank?

She arrived at school and her classmates were all present and flustered. She wrote the assessment again and stayed in school for the results.

At noon, it was posted. Vivian Peterson - 100%.

She stared for a long time at the result, wondering if the old woman had given her a gift in return for the coat.

I hope you enjoyed reading this short piece. It's inspired by the Freewrite #dailyprompt phrase "perfect score".

Thank you for visiting my blog.

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