EXAMINATION BLUE-A short story

EXAMINATION BLUES Examination Blues a short story by Austin Mitchell Cora was in her room crying. Her mother was in the living room also sobbing. The final results were out and she had failed her examinations for the third time. Miss Rhinella wasn’t going to blame the young girl. She felt that the she had done her best. Her neighbor, Miss Augustine’s daughter, Amelda, had passed all her examinations at first attempt. As a matter of fact, Amelda would soon graduate from teachers college and return to teaching at Nugent Hill All-Age School, where Cora was struggling to get through her First Jamaica Local Examinations. Her eldest son, Floyd, and her other daughter, Glynis, had to be sent to schools outside of Nugent Hill in order to get through their examinations. Miss Zephinella had known for a long time that something was wrong in Nugent Hill. Her younger brother, Selly, was wandering about the place like he had lost his mind. He claimed that Mister Baldie, Miss Augustine’s father, had congratulated him at the school-gate on the morning of the Common Entrance Examinations. Selly had ended up writing nonsense on his papers and he never got another chance as this was his final chance. Mister Baldie had passed on soon thereafter. Selly had dropped out of school and soon began loafing around the place. Miss Rhinella’s parents had taken him to many healers, but to no avail. “What am I going to do now, mama? I know you can’t afford to send me to another school, but I just can’t pass any examinations in Nugent Hill,” Nora sobbed. “I’ll have to ask your aunt, Mena, to help out again. It’s her, Floyd and Glynis stayed with, when they went to do their examinations. Now that they are both teachers and are helping her, she will not say no to you. Both of them behaved themselves when they stayed with her.” Mena was three years older that Miss Rhinella and had gone to live in Latore Ridge seven miles from Nugent Hill. She lived about a mile from the All-Age school so the kids were able to walk to school. “I’ve spoken to her already and she said anytime you’re ready, you must just pack up and come. I’m going to miss you, but I don’t want you to stay in this village and end up like Selly.” “I want to go, mama, I don’t want to stay in Nugent Hill any longer,” the seventeen year old girl told her mother. “You can go after the Christmas holidays. You don’t want to spend Christmas with mama and papa. You think Aunt Mena can treat you better at Christmas, than us?” “No mama, I’ll wait until after Christmas then.” Nora got through the First Jamaica Local at her first attempt at her new school. The next year she passed both the Second and Third Jamaica Local Examinations at her first attempt. Meanwhile Amelda was back in Nugent Hill doing her internship. She had heard that Cora had gone to Latores Ridge to live and attend school nearby. Amelda told Miss Rhinella that she felt that Cora was brighter than her, but was always behind her in examinations. She felt that Cora had an examination block. Excerpt from 'Examination Blues' by Austin Mitchell. Readers if you enjoyed reading this excerpt why not visit the Austin Mitchell pages at Amazon.