🐖 𝓦𝓱𝓮𝓷 𝓹𝓲𝓰𝓼 𝓯𝓵𝔂 🐖

I don't remember exactly, nor am I sure what year it was, but I know I was facing one of those pretty difficult exams. Like everyone else, I had put everything off until the last minute because I didn't feel like studying. So, I kept putting it off. The last day came, and I only had time to skim through my notes and the truth is, I didn't understand a thing. I walked into that classroom the next day with sweaty palms and my heart pumping blood in my head. I'd never understood equations or things like binomials and polynomials. I knew they existed, but I didn't understand why. And I certainly didn't want to waste time listening to music and watching movies studying something that wouldn't help me in life. Of course, that was a childish mentality at the time.

Teacher Wanda was an overly tall and intimidating woman; she wore her hair very short and always looked at everything out of the corner of her eye, judging everything. She said math would blow your mind.

📸https://muryou-aigazou.com/es

"It's more than adding and subtracting, it's understanding the world, it's opening your mind," his words seem to reappear in my mind after so many years.

That day he was in a worse mood than ever, and it showed when he handed out the exams. He would place the paper on the table with the questions facing away from him, pause dramatically, look at you, and move on to the next student. There were about 35 or 30 of us in that class.

"Now let's see, let's see who made the most of their time. I can't wait to see them return to take the test, having learned their lesson about studying."

📸https://muryou-aigazou.com/es

I saw the questions, and letters and numbers began to jumble together all over the paper. I only knew one question I could answer for the moment: my name. I felt hot and my stomach hurt a lot. I looked in every corner, at everyone sitting, at every corner, left and right, at the teacher who seemed to be swarming between the tables, checking that no one was cheating, talking, or copying. I could see everyone's pencils moving except mine. There was only one thing left to do: trust the gods of chance and mark any of the answers. There wasn't even time to read the instructions and statements; I just marked automatically. I imagined some kind of invisible pattern the teacher had invented to confuse us: out of 10 questions, at least two had to be option 1, perfect, 8 left, 1 will be the last, 7 left, 2 second-year, 5 left, and so on until I completed every single question on the paper. At least I wouldn't hand in a blank, but it felt like I was flipping coins. That night, I told my sister what had happened, and she laughed as she, too, confessed that she had tried it out several times.

-Well, maybe you'll pass.- my sister said.
-Well, when pigs fly.- I replied, incredulous.

Three days passed, and all the grades were on a sheet of paper for us to consult. The marvelous thing was my math grade: 82 out of 100 points, which was enough to pass, more than enough, and my best grade ever. That day, pigs did fly, and I passed that exam.

📸https://muryou-aigazou.com/es

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La profesora Wanda era una mujer demasiado alta e intimidante, usaba el cabello muy corto y miraba siempre con el borde del ojo juzgándolo todo. Decía que las matemáticas te iban a abrir la cabeza.

-Es más que sumar y restar, es entender el mundo, es abrir la mente -sus palabras parecen reaparecer en mi mente después de tantos y tantos años.

Aquel día estaba de más mal humor que nunca, y se le notaba al entregar los exámenes, ponía la hoja en la mesa con la cara de las preguntas en contra, hacía una pausa dramática donde te miraba y pasaba al próximo estudiante, éramos unos 35 o 30 alumnos en esa clase.

-Ahora vamos a ver, vamos a ver quién ha aprovechado el tiempo, estoy ansiosa por verlos regresar a tomar la prueba con la lección de estudiar aprendida.

Vi las preguntas y letras y números comenzaron a mezclarse por toda la hoja, solo sabía una pregunta que podía responder por el momento: mi nombre. Sentía calor y sentía mucho dolor en la barriga. Miraba a cada esquina, a todos sentados, a cada rincón, izquierda y derecha, a la profesora que parecía generar entre las mesas revisando que nadie estuviese haciendo trampa, hablando o copiando. Veía que los lápices de todo el mundo se movían menos el mío. Solo quedaba una cosa que hacer sí o sí, confiar en los dioses del azar y marcar cualquiera de las respuestas. No había tiempo ni para leer las órdenes y enunciados, simplemente marcaba en automática. Me imaginaba una especie de patrón invisible que la profesora había inventado para confundirnos, de 10 preguntas al menos dos tenían que ser la opción 1, perfecto, quedan 8, 1 será la última, quedan 7, 2 de segunda, quedan 5, y así hasta que completé cada una de las preguntas en la hoja, al menos no entregaría en blanco pero se sentía lanzando monedas al aire. Esa noche le conté lo que había pasado a mi hermana y se rió mientras ella también me confesaba que había puesto eso en práctica varias veces.

-Bueno puede que apruebes -dijo mi hermana. -Bueno, cuando los cerdos vuelen -le respondí incrédulo.

Tres días pasaron y en una hoja estaban todas las notas para que las consultáramos, y la maravilla era mi nota de matemáticas que había obtenido 82 de los 100 puntos lo que era suficiente para aprobar, más que suficiente y mi mejor nota en matemáticas. Ese día los cerdos sí volaron y yo aprobé ese examen.

📸https://muryou-aigazou.com/es

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