The Lost Exam

Abby Morris was sobbing uncontrollably at her kitchen table. She was swiping pictures on her iPhone 11 with a feeling of helplessness and grief. There were old images of herself posing with another woman. She looked away from her phone as she tried to control her emotions.

“Mommy, are you okay?” A childlike voice arose in front of her.

Abby followed the voice and saw her 7-year-old son, Mikey, standing by the kitchen entrance. She quickly wiped her tears and smiled at him. “Yes, I’m fine. Is there anything you need, sweetie?”

Mikey joyfully smiled back at his mom. “Dad’s here. I saw his car outside.”

“Go ahead and open the door for your father so he can come in. I want you and Allison to get ready.”

Mikey innocently nodded. “Okay, mommy.” He walked away.

Abby took a deep breath as she bravely held back more tears behind her dark brown eyes. After she placed her phone face down on the table, she stared out of the window above her sink.

David Morris entered the kitchen. He observed Abby’s impassive, motionless behavior and became slightly concerned. “Is everything okay?”

Abby nonchalantly turned to David to reveal her red, wet eyes. “Yeah,” she softly spoke.

“Abby, don’t lie to me.”

Abby rolled her eyes. “Dave, I’m fine.”

David approached the table and sat across from her. He leaned closer to her with sincerity. “Abby, we have been doing this custody agreement for months, and this has not bothered you for a while. Why is this bothering you now?”

Abby shook her head rapidly. “No, it’s not that.”

David leaned back against his chair. He was utterly puzzled as he stared at her. “Then, what is it?”

Abby trembled as she tried to fight her tears. She took her time to answer the question. “It’s the one-year anniversary.”

“One-year anniversary?”

Tears slowly emerged from Abby’s puffy eyes. Abby could not help but allow them to flow down her cheeks. She nodded.

David took a moment to remember. A few seconds later, he finally remembered. “Oh yeah. Your friend Tracy.”

“Yes,” Abby whispered.

“Abby, I’m so sorry. I know it was difficult to hear about the passing of your best friend just a year ago. You told me that the both of you were very close.”

“We were more than best friends. She was like a sister to me. It’s going to be hard for me to move on from her death.”

“The grieving process is different for everyone.”

Abby carefully wiped her tears. “Tracy was very fun to be around. She had this positive energy. We knew each other since the second grade and became inseparable. She was very smart in school.”

“Like you, huh?”

Abby cracked a smile and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, like me. She was a pro in English and Math. We would team up on science projects and ace them. One time, she won first place at a science fair.”

“That’s incredible.”

Abby bleakly sneered. “I won fifth place that year.”

“Oh.”

The sneer turned into a gentle smile. Abby nodded with pleasure. “But I was very proud of her. I knew she deserved that.”

“Of course. She was your friend.”

Abby sighed. “There was one subject she struggled with. It was History. She was close to failing. I decided to help her out and become her tutor. I was trying to get her ready for the final exam.”

“That was kind of you. Did she ace it or at least pass it?”

Abby hesitated. She did not feel comfortable answering the question.

“What?” David confusingly asked.

Abby reluctantly replied, “It’s like this. When we were juniors in high school, we had a new History teacher who was very strict. He made the subject very hard for all of us. As I said, Tracy was close to failing History, and this was only in our junior year. Before that, she was getting A’s and B’s.”

“Wait, tell me more about this challenging teacher.”

“His name was Mr. Porter. He was very stern. He was not very nice to his students. It was funny. When we walked into his classroom on the first day that school year, he was playing some classical music. We thought that we entered a music class or something.”

David chuckled. “Yeah?”

“I mean the guy was wearing a pair of golden G-clef cufflinks. But he fooled us pretty well. He mentioned what he was playing as if we cared. Then, he made the rest of our school year a living hell. He was cramming so much stuff in history class. It was so overwhelming. He was coming up with a final exam, and we knew that this exam was going to be extremely tough. However, we were not able to take his exam because he died a week before.”

“Oh, damn.”

“The school hired a substitute to cover the class. We assumed that Mr. Porter did not finish creating the exam or maybe the exams were lost somewhere. The substitute ended up giving us an open-book test. We all had A’s.”

“At least, that is the only good part of the story. How did he die?”

“His car was hit by a moving train.”

David’s jaw quickly dropped. “Wait. Was his name Jonathan Porter?”

“Yes, I believe Jonathan was his first name.”

“My aunt went to school with this guy. She told me stories that he was a history nerd. The kids said that he was weird and creepy, but that did not stop my aunt from going to the prom with him. Unfortunately, she regretted that. He was a jerk. He criticized her dress and makeup. He didn’t want to dance with her. But when she refused to sleep with him after the prom, he didn’t take her home. She had to call a cab that night.”

“I’m not surprised. Twenty years after his death, I can’t believe I’m talking about this guy. Anyway, Tracy moved out of New Jersey to attend Arizona State University. She wanted to relocate to Tempe to take care of her grandparents.”

“I’m sure it was rough to go your separate ways after high school.”

Abby shrugged. “Yeah. That’s life. At least, we kept in touch. It felt great to see her at the high school reunion too.”

“Yeah, I remember you introduced me to her at the reunion a few years ago. She was a very nice woman. I liked her.”

“And you remember her husband, Jeff, right?”

“Oh, right. I remember he couldn’t keep his hands off the booze.” David chuckled.

An expression of despair slowly appeared on Abby’s face. “When I received the call about her death a year ago, I lost it. I will never forget Jeff’s words.”

David looked at her with concern. “Abby, I remember you told me that she died in her sleep last year. What did the autopsy say?”

Abby bewilderingly shook her head. “It was very odd. The autopsy didn’t find anything. There was no foul play. She did not commit suicide. She did not have drugs or alcohol in her system. They did not detect anything that caused her death. She was healthy. She just died silently in her sleep with no apparent cause.”

“Makes you afraid to go asleep.”

Abby closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”

“That’s fine.”

Mikey entered the kitchen with his 5-year-old sister, Allison. The two children were wearing backpacks filled with clothes and toys.

“Dad!” Mikey gleefully screamed.

David turned around to see the two children. He rushed away from the table to embrace the children. “I missed you guys.”

“It has only been a week, dad.”

Allison pouted as she shyly looked away from David. “I don’t want to leave mommy.”

“I know, sweetheart. You’ll see mommy again Sunday evening.”

“Dad, is the pool ready now?” Mikey asked.

“In a few weeks. When school is over, the pool will be ready for you guys.”

“Have a fun weekend with daddy, kids,” Abby calmly said.

Mikey and Allison approached their mother to give her hugs and kisses.

“We will. Bye mommy,” Mikey said.

“Bye,” Allison softly said with a gloomy face.

David looked at his watch. “I went grocery shopping this morning. Can you believe people are fighting over toilet paper? Toilet paper. I wonder what they will fight over next in 2021.”

Abby shrugged. “It’s crazy.”

“By the way, I signed the papers and left them on the coffee table.”

“Okay, thanks.” Abby unleashed a small yawn. “I’m so tired. I guess I need to get my sleep.”

“Come on, kids. Let’s get going.”

Abby escorted David and the kids out of the house. “Be careful.”

“We will.”

After Abby watched them enter David’s vehicle, she walked upstairs to get to her bedroom.

HOURS LATER

The loud sounds of Nathan K5LA horns blared.

Abby abruptly opened her eyes. The right side of her head was leaned against a window. As she was sitting up, she realized that she was in a moving vehicle. She stood up and turned out.

There was a long aisle with empty seats. The windows on both sides revealed the beautiful scenery of dark gray mountains and medium blue sky. There was no view of the land, and there was no indication of the exact location.

“A train?” Abby thought to herself. She was perplexed. She could not comprehend why she was on a moving train and why she was all alone. Moments ago, she was just resting on her bed. Did she fall asleep and enter into a weird dream?

“Strange, isn’t it?” A strange male’s voice startled her from behind.

After Abby gasped, she quickly turned around to see a man sitting across from her. She slowly lowered herself into her original seat and cautiously observed the person in front of her.

The man appeared to be in his late 30s. He had a blonde crew cut and no facial hair. His eyes were grayish blue behind a pair of rectangle-shaped eyeglasses. He was wearing a brown classic fit two-piece suit with a matching tie. He had on a pair of black loafers. What scared Abby the most was his ghastly appearance.

Abby could not recognize the individual. “Who are you?”

The man laughed obnoxiously in her face. “I have been waiting twenty years to see you again, Abigail. Or Abby.”

Abby became fidgety as she nervously responded. “Did you say twenty years?” She slowly turned to the man’s wrist. She noticed the golden G-clef cufflinks attached to his white shirt underneath his two-piece suit. She became speechless as she realized his identity.

“Now, do you remember, Abby?”

“Mr. Porter,” Abby responded with horror.

Mr. Porter proudly applauded. “You always knew your history, Abby.”

“But you’re dead.”

“Indeed, I am.”

“Then, this has to be a dream. I’m dreaming, am I?” Abby witnessed a grin slowly materialize on her deceased teacher’s face. “I’m not dead, am I?”

Mr. Porter cleared his throat. “Allow me to fill you in on what is going on, Abby. Your soul is here with me. Maybe for now. Or maybe forever. That depends on you. The truth is you are here on this train to take the lost exam.”

“The last exam?”

“No,” Mr. Porter chortled. “The LOST exam.”

“The lost exam?” Abby questioned with sheer mystification.

“Yes. I’m talking about the final exam that you were supposed to take in my history class. I called it the lost exam because no one could find them after my death. After all, the papers were burned up in my car when the train hit me. You would not be in this predicament if it were not for some of your heinous classmates.”

Abby slightly jolted her head back. “I don’t understand.”

“A few of your classmates decided to band together to murder me. I was driving one night. They appeared and drove me off the road. My car ended up on the train tracks. A train was coming, but it was too late for me to get out of my car.”

“I’m so sorry that happened to you, Mr. Porter,” Abby said with compassion.

“Thank you. I saw the students in the other car, and I recognized them. They were the same idiots who were failing my class. They were the ones who sat in the back and would not stop talking and would not stop goofing around. I gave those morons detention almost every week. I knew they despised me.”

“I think I know who you are talking about. They were a bunch of bullies. I hope they did not get away with your murder, Mr. Porter.” Abby looked away. “I wonder what they are up to now.”

“Right now?” Mr. Porter confidently smiled at her. “They are sitting in my classroom waiting for more of my history lessons.”

Abby wrinkled her eyebrows as she turned to Mr. Porter. She was obviously bemused when she heard his answer. “I beg your pardon?”

“It is the anniversary of my death. Every year on my anniversary, I randomly select one of my students from history class to take the lost exam. You guys did not take the final exam twenty years ago, so this is your opportunity. You have to answer all twenty questions correctly to pass. If you get one wrong answer, you fail.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“Abby, you were in my class long enough to know that I was always serious. If you pass the exam, you get to go back to your physical world and live your life. But if you fail my exam, your soul belongs to me. Your soul will be trapped in my classroom, and you will have to listen to my history lesson for eternity. Oh, did I mention that you will be physically attached to your chair desk? I have been doing this for the past twenty years. You know… ever since I died. Unfortunately, I was not able to get to all of the students. Two were killed. One died of a drug overdose. Fortunately, you are my last one.” Mr. Porter gave her a devilish smile. “I’m saving the best for last.” He winked at her. “After all, you were my best student. Therefore, you should not have any issue with this.”

Abby had a disturbing thought. “Tracy. It is the anniversary of her death. You did this to her.”

“I knew the both of you were close friends. I had no issues with Tracy. Sadly, she was such a confused girl. It was painful to watch her struggle in my class. However, I was impressed when she took the lost exam. She was doing good until she got to question number thirteen. Her answer was incorrect.”

Abby tried to control her emotions. “She didn’t deserve this. Now, her young daughters are motherless. Her sister is going through depression, and her husband is now an uncontrollable alcoholic. The daughters were taken away from him. You have no idea how much pain her family is going through.”

“We all know that life is not fair. Do you think that life treated me fairly when I was doing my job as a teacher until those kids had me killed? I took pride in my work. I loved my career. I had passion. History was my passion. All I wanted to do was fill all of your minds with American History, World History, European History – hell, even Music History. Sure, my lessons were so advanced. But they were essential. I know you and Tracy had nothing to do with my death. Therefore, both of you do not deserve to be trapped in my classroom for eternity. However, you need to take the lost exam.”

Abby wiped her tears and took a deep breath. “How many passed the lost exam?”

“If you pass this exam, you would be the first and only one.”

Abby uneasily stared at Mr. Porter.

“Don’t tell me you don’t remember what I taught you. I know it has been twenty years, and you may have forgotten some parts of it. At least you don’t have to write an essay.”

Abby felt hopeless. She stared out of the window as more tears ran down her face. “Mikey, Allison… I’m so sorry,” she whispered.

Mr. Porter curled up the corner of his lips. “Are they your kids?”

“Yes.”

“How old?”

“Mikey is seven, and Allison is five.”

“You and your husband must be lucky.”

Abby rolled her eyes and turned to him. “We’re getting a divorce.”

“Why?”

“Our relationship went downhill shortly after Allison turned two. We just couldn’t get along.” Abby shrugged. “We tried.”

“So, you’re around my age now. Once you die, you stay the same age forever.” Mr. Porter revealed an enticing smile. “You look really good now that you are older.” He licked his lips.

Abby became aware that he was flirting with her. This side of him made her cringe. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Come on, Abby. It’s not like you’re still sixteen years old. Look at you. You’re all grown up. I have a confession. I’m hoping that you fail this exam. It would be nice to see you in my classroom for eternity. You don’t have to be attached to your seat forever.” Mr. Porter gently placed his hands on Abby’s knees. “You can be the teacher’s pet.”

Abby aggressively pushed his hands off her knees. “Don’t touch me!”

Mr. Porter quickly ended the naughtiness. He was determined to initiate the exam and cleared his throat. “Okay, let’s get this exam started. Are you ready?”

Abby closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I guess.” She opened her eyes and looked at him.

“Oh, I forgot to mention.” Mr. Porter looked out the window and pointed. “Do you see that black mountain where we are heading to?”

Abby looked out the window. She saw the black mountain that he was referring to. “Yes. It’s far away.”

“This train is going right to that mountain. You have until we get to that mountain to answer all twenty questions. That should give you plenty of time. The mountain has a tunnel. In the tunnel is my car.”

Abby became wordless.

Mr. Porter chuckled. “We probably shouldn’t waste any more time. Question one. When did Italy, France, and the United Kingdom form the Stresa Front? Just say the month and year.

“Umm,” Abby pondered as she closed her eyes. “April 1935?”

“Are you asking me or are you telling me?”

Abby nervously stuttered, “I’m, I’m, I’m telling you.”

“You are correct. Question two. Who was the British Commander-in-Chief in 1776?”

“Sir William Howe.”

“Great job. Question three. Who was the first president of Mexico?”

“Guadalupe Victoria,” Abby quickly answered.

“Question four. Who did he fight against for independence in the Mexican War of Independence?”

“The Spanish Empire.”

Mr. Porter snickered. “I’m glad you paid attention on the week of Cinco de Mayo. Oh, and speaking of Cinco de Mayo, let us jump to question five. What was the event that Mexico became victorious in 1862?”

“The Battle of Puebla.”

“Very good. Question si-“

“Does it have to be twenty questions?” Abby frantically interrupted.

“Abby, if you want to get off this train and go back home, you will have to answer all twenty questions correctly. As long as your soul is here with me, you will follow my rules. Question six. What was the longest ruling dynasty in China?”

Abby timidly answered, “I think the Zhou Dynasty.”

“You think?”

Abby rapidly nodded. “I know it’s the Zhou Dynasty.”

“Correct. Now, that leads me to question seven. There were three major Chinese philosophies during the Zhou Dynasty. What were they?”

“Taoism, Confucianism, and…” Abby paused to contemplate.

“A brief reminder. This train is moving fast.”

“Legalism.” Abby proudly repeated her answer. “Taoism, Confucianism, and Legalism.”

“You got it. Question eight. What peace treaty ended the Third Anglo-Dutch War?”

“It was the Treaty of Westminster.”

“Yes. Question nine. What year was that treaty signed?”

“1674.”

“Good. Question ten. Who led the Senones during the Battle of the Allia in 387 BC?”

Abby hopelessly sighed. “Oh God.”

“Is that your final answer?”

Abby was taken aback by his question. “Of course, not. I know this answer.”

“I know you do. Surprisingly, Tracy knew the answer too.”

“Wait… Brennus.”

“Very good. See? You’re halfway done.”

“May I please take a break, Mr. Porter?” Abby humbly asked.

“I don’t think you have time for a break, Abby. After all, this train is still running. It is getting closer and closer to that mountain. Right now, the best thing to do is to get through the last ten questions.”

“Okay. I’ll get this over with.”

“Question eleven. What was fought in June 1778 during the American Revolutionary War?”

“The Battle of Monmouth.”

“Yes. Question twelve. What dynasty was Cleopatra a member of?”

“The Ptolemaic Dynasty.”

“Good job. Now, here is the question that your friend answered incorrectly. Question thirteen. How many people signed the United States Constitution?”

“Umm, thirty-nine.”

“Excellent. Her answer was fifty-six. I guess she had it mixed up with the Declaration of Independence.”

Abby closed her eyes as she drowned herself in grief. “No.”

“Are you ready for question fourteen?”

Abby took a deep breath and opened her eyes. “Yes.”

“What were the two battles that Russia fought in by early 1915?”

“They were the Battle of Tannenberg and the Battle of the Masurian Lakes.”

“Excellent, my darling. You were always my number one student. No one made it this far in the exam until now. Question fifteen. What was the Japanese war between an uncle and a nephew in the year 672?”

“The Jinshin War.”

“You are correct. I have always wanted to go to Japan. In fact, I was supposed to take a trip down to Tokyo that summer. But we all know why I couldn’t make that trip.” Mr. Porter shook his head out of pity. “Anyway, question sixteen. What was one of the first civilian scientific expeditions to explore the southwestern part of the United States?”

Abby nervously looked out the window to see how close they were to the mountain. She turned to her deceased teacher and answered, “the Red River Expedition.”

“You are doing a magnificent job. Question seventeen. Who fought during the First Punic War from the year 264 to 241 BC?”

“Rome and Carthage.”

Mr. Porter smirked at her. “I am very impressed. You have three more questions to go. Do not mess it up if you want to see your family again. Question eighteen. Who became King of Macedonia in 336 BC?”

“Alexander the Great.”

“Correct. Two more questions to go. Question nineteen. Who did he fight during the Battle of the Hydaspes in 326 BC?”

“Umm, Porus.”

“Just Porus?”

“I meant King Porus. He fought King Porus.”

“Fantastic! Now, you are down to the final question. Are you ready for the final question, Abby?”

Abby anxiously looked out the window. Her heart was beating rapidly as she saw the distance was quickly getting shorter. She could tell that the train was going to reach the mountain in less than a minute. She swiftly turned to Mr. Porter. “Yes!”

“A bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth, general or particular, and what no just government should refuse.” Mr. Porter cleared his throat. “Who said that and on what exact date?”

Abby froze as she was trying to come up with the correct answer. “Oh my. I’m sure it was Thomas Jefferson. I believe the year was 1787.”

“Give me the full date.”

Abby hurriedly peeked out the window to see the mountain. “Thomas Jefferson. December… December…” She desperately pondered.

“December what? We’ll be at the mountain in less than ten seconds.”

“Twentieth. Thomas Jefferson. December 20, 1787,” Abby quickly responded.

The train slowed down and finally stopped. It reached the mountain, but there was no collision.

Even though Abby knew that the train did not collide with Mr. Porter’s car in the tunnel, she still was not sure if she answered the last question correctly. She waited for feedback, and the suspense was killing her.

Mr. Porter chuckled. “You were just guessing, weren’t you?”

“I was not sure the exact date,” Abby shamefully admitted. “I knew it was in December 1787.”

“Well, you guessed right.”

Abby sighed out of relief as she placed her hand on her heart.

“Congratulations on acing the lost exam.”

“Thank you. Now, can I go back home?”

“First, let me ask you this. Would you like to answer a bonus question?”

Abby arched her eyebrows. “A bonus question?”

“Yes. Don’t worry. You are still free to go whether you get this right or wrong. This is for the students who are with me. If you answer correctly, I will release their souls, and they can go to heaven or hell or whatever afterlife they belong to. If you get the wrong answer, I still keep their souls. As for the ones who got me killed, their souls will stay with me either way.”

“So, if I get this question right, you will let the rest of them go?”

“Absolutely, and that includes Tracy. Interested? You have nothing to lose. If you get this wrong, you will still walk away with your soul.”

“I’ll go for it.”

“Very good. Bonus question. On the first day of class, I played a classical piece. I mentioned the name before I started the lesson. What was the name of the piece?”

Abby widened her eyes as she tried to recollect the day. She could hear the music playing in her head, but she was unable to remember the title. She struggled to come up with the answer.

“Give up, Abby?”

“No!” Abby abruptly answered. “I went to a Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert with my soon-to-be ex a few years ago. They were playing the Christmas version of it. I read that program too.”

“Yeah and?”

“Christmas Canon.” Abby paused to ruminate. “No, that was Trans-Siberian’s version. The original title was Canon in D.”

“Great. Now, who was the composer? Remember, I mentioned his name a few times in class.”

Abby closed her eyes and tried to recall the composer’s name. She gradually opened them and turned her attention to the back of Mr. Porter’s left hand. She noticed that he had a small tattoo with the initials ‘J.P.’ on it. She knew that Jonathan Porter was his full name, but the initials also gave her a hint.

Mr. Porter unexpectedly lost his patience. “Okay, time’s up.”

“Johann Pachelbel,” Abby hurriedly replied.

SECONDS LATER

Abby abruptly sat up on her bed. She looked around and felt relieved that she was in her own bedroom. She was starting to believe that it was all a nightmare. The exam with Mr. Porter on the train was not real at all – or so she thought. However, something inside told her to direct her attention to her lap.

There was a two-page paper with her name on it. Above her name, ‘A+’ was written in red. There were questions listed, and they were the same questions that Mr. Porter asked her on the train. The answers to the questions appeared to be handwritten – similar to her own handwriting. She flipped to the second page and read the written note at the bottom which was also in red.

“Excellent job, Abby! It was nice to see you on my train. Yours truly, Mr. Porter.”

Abby froze as the exam fell from her hands. She could not wrap her head around the disturbing, horrifying experience she had to endure with her deceased teacher.

“Thank you, Abby,” a whimsical female voice emerged from the doorway.

Abby turned to the voice and saw a female apparition smiling at her. She recognized her and smiled back. It was the same woman who was in the pictures on her iPhone. “Tracy…”

The apparition of Tracy slowly faded away along with the exam that Abby just observed.