Roll out of bed, fall on my feet, confused. It's dark. Something's vibrating. It's the alarm, shoot, the volume was turned down. 4 AM; I'm late for work. Feel around in the blackness for a pair of jeans and car keys. 4:17 AM; clock in and drag my lead feet to each bathroom and scrub toilet after toilet. A urinal splashes me. Time passes tiredly, it was up at 4AM too. 7 AM, clock out. Home. Bed.
Awake again. Light outside. Finals today. Throw legs off mattress. Stand, pause, wait for the walls to stop spinning. Too many sleepless nights. *sniffle sniffle. cough.* Get cleaned up. Sit down to write a paper. Mind cloudy, cutting through the fog, searching for intelligent thoughts. Locate them, force them to my fingertips. *click click click* Done. Study for Middle East Test. Dry eyes review readings, outlines, and notes. Forget to blink. No time. To the testing center. Insurmountable distance. The ache of 4 AM pushing on tired joints, make way across campus. Heat. Beads of sweat line underarms. Pencil in hand, arms swinging slowly. Climb the stairs. One deliberate step at a time. Staring out the giant window at those who are already free. One more test to join them. The line is short. Sit down. When was Israel made a state? 1948. Filling in tiny bubbles, funny how important this is. Final question, finished. Stand slowly, checking and rechecking. Is it really over? One thing left to do. Wait for my score to show on the life giving score board. 91% Great Job! Thank you scoreboard. Now I must go home. Freedom, exhausted freedom.
Finals week is OVER!
