Pain

• Justine Townsend, Grade 4
• Short Story
• 2013

My burning sweat and the beating sun made red stinging marks on my skin. Listening to the horrible screams hurt my blistering ears. I'm thinking in my head, "When will this end? Why me?" Then I stopped and thought for a moment, drowning in my own confusion.

All the horrible sounds echoed in the enclosed area where I sit. Bending my back I encounter the monster once again, but for the last time. Wondering how to solve the problem. How to slay the beast with no name that layed in front of me. It was the hardest problem to solve as it included the future, my fate and my trust. "Which strategy do I use?" The thought pounded through my head.

In a few minutes I just gave in. I couldn't take the pain anymore. "I give up! Just leave me alone! I'm sick and tired! What more do you want from me?" I said, shivering in fear and fright.

At that very moment I woke to find the glaring truth right in front of me. My cheeks burned red with embarrassment. It had been a cruel prank my brain had set up. I was there in the classroom. During a maths test! The beast was there.