The Blank Mind | Teen Ink

The Blank Mind

November 3, 2022
By Anonymous

The black mechanical pencil scratched urgently on the test. The room was filled with silence but it was broken as the wooden table rubbed across the ground from being pushed away. The pencils continue to rapidly write on the paper. I look up at the time. 

Big hand past 10 and the little hand on the 2.

I have time. 

I told myself that. 

The pressure continued to rise as the minutes rapidly passed.

I have 18 minutes and 1 ½ pages. 

The faster I wrote, the lighter my writing became. Students stand up one after the other as the clock ticks by. The flipping of the pages seemed to grow louder and louder. 

Was it just me hearing this? Maybe it was just my imagination. 

More and more students stood up. 

Time check. 

Big hand past 10. Little hand on 25.

2 problems and 3 minutes. What. the. heck. My brain had just shut off. 

My hands suddenly start shaking. My sight suddenly becomes blurry from being blocked by tears. My brain. It was blank. 

Frantically, the lead touches the paper and answers are written as droplets fall from my eyes.

 1 minute, 1 more problem. 

There goes the bell. The unfinished problem sat there as the pencil dropped from my hand. Tears started falling fast as backpacks rapidly zipped up. The rough paper towel rubs across my face as the mascara filled tears caused it to become semi black.

 How did that really just happen?! 

I know that I knew the concept, but it’s as if it had just flown out of my mind. More tears were wiped with the cotton sleeve of my hoodie as I walked out of the once quiet, but now chaotic room.


The author's comments:

This is about a time where my brain blanked during a test. A time where I needed it badly. I wrote about this because they way I felt and the emotion I had, affected and had an impact on me that lasted for a while. I used a bit of imagery and used my emotions to help “paint” the picture. I also used short sentences to emphasize certain parts while still making them meaningful. 


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