Alec slowly stood up from his desk after his last class on history finished. He brought his wrist watch toward his face, pausing to rub his eyes with his other hand. He had a history test the next day, and since he had flunked the previous three, he really needed to at least get an A- .
Problem was, his best friend Morgan was having a going away party that evening, as a farewell for his friends and family. He was heading out of state to study law. Having been best friends for over 10 years, Alec knew that he couldn't make a good enough excuse to miss it. He resigned to support his friend and face failure. He knew he didn't know half the answers to the questions. And on top of all this, he wanted a degree in history.
Alec stalled for a minute or two, until the last few people had left the classroom. As he turned to leave, he heard his name being called softly from behind him.
"Alec..Hello, Alec."
The door to the classroom closed.
Alec turned to look behind him. It was his history teacher.
"Yes Miss Lacey?" he said uncertainly.
"Um, well, I need to talk to you for a moment or two." Her eyes dropped to the chair on the other side of her desk. Alec walked over and sat down.
"Alec, you know that you have not done well with this class right?" she said as she folded her hands together.
"Well, not to say that I haven't tried, but the commuting and the w..."
"I know. I know." she cut him off holding her hands in front of her. "You've explained that before. I am fully aware. You know that you want a diploma, and so do I. You can't get it if you don't study."
"Yes, but I'm so busy a.."
"Busy? You just told me you're busy. Why would I be talking to you if I already knew that?"
"I..I don't know Miss Lacey." Alec replied, lowering his head.
"Okay. Well I want you to know. First of all, since school is out for today, call me Abby. Can you do that for me?"
"Uh, yes A..Abby. I uh, I can."
"Good. Now I...I really don't know how to explain this but if you don't get your grades up, you will have to drop out this class. But, if you can promise to try to get better grades in the future, I can help make up for your past."
Alec's eyes opened wide, then he frowned.
"How would you do that?"
"If you can pass my test, I'll change your grades for this test." Abby said, a sly grin on her face.
"Ha ha. Pass a test to pass another test? Really?!"
"I promise you'll enjoy it. Maybe not the ending though." she replied.
"Well, okay sure. I'm in." Alec said, the uncertainty returning to his voice.
"Okay, then climb onto the table." she said in a giggly tone.
Alec froze. A goofy smile spread across his face.
"I sit in a chair and take my tests. The paper sits on the table." he laughed.
Abby gave Alec a stern look. His grin faded as her hazel eyes bored into him.
"Not for this test." she whispered. "Lay down on the table."
Now Alec was really confused. Was his teacher playing games with him?
Not really sure what was happening, Alec climbed onto the table.
"Trust me Alec. Please trust me." Abby said, picking up a scarf from the shelf by her desk. "Close your eyes."