The Math Mania II - Inside The Exam Hall

[ Read Part One First -> HERE ]

It all boils down to the next three hours. A matter of life or death. One slip up, one little error, and I'll become bankrupt, well not really but,  just saying. Concentrate on the exam!

I walk slowly to the the last bench and sit, thinking of how quickly we've grown. It is like yesterday, when we looked up at people and said, "Ooh! Look! He's writing Board exam! He's so old. " Dei. Math Exam! Concentrate. Daydream ellam later. (Oh sorry. The guy in the italics is just the me with little sense) So, as I was saying, this doesn't feel real at all. Dude! Concentrate. On. Exam. Now! Okay, okay, fine big guy.

I look at the pad with reverence (overkill perhaps? :P ) My solel companion in exam halls from second class. The sun, star and the moon i scribbled drew are still there. And of course, the old unforgettable pencil box.

There are three moments of life which can be considered 'absolute-zero' points.

The first - Moments before receiving the maths question paper. Having a vision that it has many questions you have no clue about.

The Second - Moments before the maths answer paper needs to be submitted, especially when you find a huge mistake after the bell rings. Now that's catastrophic.

The Third - The obvious one: When papers are being distributed and you have a vision of flunking.

8.45

Moment One. My hands receive the question paper, literally shivering. I fling it open. Glance One -> I'll pass. Glance Two -> Sappa Paper. Glance Three ->Lot of free space. Awesome. Pencil-scribblings-on-question-paper! For the win! 

"Nothing should be written on the question paper. We have plenty of supplies of answer sheets and have to use only answer sheets to do rough work", rang out Girija ma'am's autocratic tone. Mind Reader! What is the point of giving so much space if you cant scribble on it? But Moment one has passed.

8.46 -> (A little too precise? Don't worry, you can count on my memory to skip chunks of minutes)

What?! Stupid horizontal sheets that look awkward in pads? Craps. :P But never mind. This is the time given to go through the paper. But who listens?! First fifteen minutes is to finish off Section A. Hence, I officially and unofficially enter the world of math.

Streaming through questions one, I put a dot beside the right option. I think dotting cant be regarded as 'scribbling-on-the-question-paper'. We weren't supposed to touch answer sheets before 9.00. The awesome thing about Section A is, you don't have to do everything the orthodox way, ...... as I count on fingers for the answer for the second one. "Ah, the paper is... EASY, yay!", I breathe, and DANG, question number three, I have no clue. That's the third time I've jinxed something. Time to keep the stupid mouth of the mind shut. :P I go through problem three, again. Ah, Elimination! The other options are meaningless. *Phew* That was close. Ma'am then gives instructions as to what to write in the front page and all that.

8.50 -> (Patience fellows, true, time has pass by only four minutes. But notice the acceleration from 1 min gap to 4 min gap? It'll pick up reeeal fast :P )

Everything in Section A that didn't require pen and pencil is done. I try to do the other 'needs-calculation' problems on the pad and gave up. (If you zoom in, you'll notice the numbers on the pad :P )

Now, I'm faced with a problem. To start with Section A or Section D in the answer paper. Normally it would be 'D' because those are the big mark ones and even if I don't have time at the end I'll miss out only on small mark ones. But. What if we're supposed to write in order? For the first time in life I read the 'Instructions' .... and get nothing out of it. Then, I get scared of what would happen if I don't have time to write some questions in Section D. Chunks of marks gone! But this time as it happened, I was dead wrong about the time, but fortunately this time, its something good. In the hope that the teachers wouldn't be sadistic and cut marks, I decide to start from Section D.

9.00

I get cracking at Section D. 29. Done. 30. Done. Whaat? Horrible Decimals already? :| I went faster. I need time to check these stupid decimal problems. 31. Prove Problem! Yay! I love prove problems I know. When you end with a "Hence Proved", you don't need to ever check it. 32. Answer: Radius is negligible 1 millimetre. Hmpf. 33. Oh nos. The devil of a root three! What? Another decimal? Sheesh :| 34. Another decimal? What the heck is going on?

9.30 ->  (See? This is the time jump I was talking about)

After successfully pwning Section D, I take a short three second break by retrieving the fallen rubber and I start off again. Section C. Ooh. A construction. After a few minutes of turning the pad around, I get it right (I think! :P ) Moving on. No time to waste. Huh? You have to sign something to get an extra paper? :P Breezing through rest of the questions, though it involves some groaning to draw the diagram and shade the area in 27.

10.00

ARGH. Its already 10 and I've done just two sections! Unnecessary panic, but I didn't know it then. I am blinded with time-fear to see any sense. Section B! Section B! Aah. Turning pages eats up four seconds. (All this would sound really stupid now, but I'm just giving you facts :D )

Pang. Awful values for K in 11. But moving on again, 12.13.14.15.16.17.18. Phew. *Deep Breaths*

10.15

Section A. Yay. No steps required! :) I write down all the answers in ten lines after working out a few on the table. Yes, on the table. :P

10.20

I'm done with the paper. I realize I still have over one and a half hours to go. Maybe, I should have done it a little more neatly. :-/ I check if I have written all the questions. I tie the paper as discreetly as possible, without trying to let anyone know but -
"You have finished?" "erm... Yes, ma'am"

"But you still have One and a half hours left!"

"I.... know.. ma'am. I'll... er.. check"

And she turns to Aravindh Babu, and asks, "Is the paper that easy?"
Say Yes, PLEASE!

"No, not at all ma'am", and he turns around and gives me a startled look.
I hate you. :P

Now everyone starts "Ada Paavi"-ing. Hmpf. Isn't it obvious? I SCRIBBLED! :|

10.25

I take more deep breaths, allowing myself two minutes to relax. Just two. I look around the room for the first time. Numbers are still swimming in front of me. I hardly notice a crow perched on a tree or a tiny thin girl writing unusually with glasses on. Time's up. Back to work. Phase One of exam is over. But the more vital phase remains. Checking.

10.30
Beginning of Phase Two. Starting with Number 34. Damning decimals. :| I redo the problem in the rough column. (Yes, I actually drew huge rough columns in the answer sheets in extra spaces) Something looks wrong. :| Oh Crap! I missed the 1/3 in volume of frustum. Well never mind if you don't get this. All you need to know is I would have missed the answer by 18000 odd centimetre cubes if I didn't notice it. I get freaked thinking what would have happened if I had not found this out. Poda! You just found it out! So what's the problem? Oh yeah. :P

10.45

After getting multiple decimal values for the "Aeroplane" and the "Bucket" problem, I give up, deciding that it won't matter because the whole number values are right. I move on to redoing everything else. Redoing is my method of checking. Either logically or mentally or in rough column :P After, correcting a few more deadly silly mistakes I waste another five seconds by drinking water :P

11.00

Most of them have finished. This is the time when people get into the 'non-nervous' mood and start chatting. The nervousness would comically return when people are asked to hand over the papers. I'm done with checking once. I decide to check again.

11.20

I'm done checking twice.

11.40

Thrice.....

11.55

Four Times! :| I give up. But my instincts tell me I have mistakes hidden out there. I glance through the pages again, and again...... and again. I truly give up, shutting the papers, I take more deep breaths.

12.00

*RING* That's the bell. The time for Moment Two. But I refuse to open the paper, fearing I would find any. Sounds silly, but even if I did find any I couldn't change them now anyway. I hand over the paper. Moment Two never happens and Moment Three would never happen either. Only grades would be out. I feel a HUGE wave of relief as I walk out. I guess I could say I was satisfied.