The Study Break

It's late. Real late. Unfortunately for Jacob, this isn't, and won't be for a long while (he thinks), bedtime. He stares down at the tiny text that lay in front of him. Things are starting to blend into one incomprehensible jumble of letters. Formulas, main thesis of passage, enzymes...it's all a mess.

With nothing but the slight buzzing of his room lamp, the silence is again broken with the closing of his book. Jacob isn't content with how he's been scoring. Too inconsistent. I'm still making really stupid mistakes. The test is staring me in the face, why can't I get this down? Jacob's frustration comes with good reason. This test will literally decide his future.

He turns away from his book. He picks ups the cans of energy drinks that litter the floor of his room, and after throwing them away, Jacob can't stop pacing back and forth. Perhaps my mind is too cluttered to study right now. Looking at his online buddies list, he chuckles to himself, realizing no one is on at this hour. Well that plan fell flat on its face.

He's trapped, Jacob is; if he tries to continue to study, the effectiveness of his stressed mind dwindles like a flickering flame in the wind. On the other hand, if he tries to do anything other than study, he feels guilty in not "trying his hardest." What if that one mini-review was what got me that extra point in Physics? Jacob can't stop psyching himself out.

I'm not normally like this; this is probably a testament to how important this test is, compared to whatever other exam I've taken before. Jacob breathes in deeply a few times, and looks out the window. The sun is rising, and an incoming chat comes in: "Boy, you should go to sleep soon." Words of wisdom. Jacob takes another glance at his stack of books, shaking his head, he turns off the light and pulls the covers over his head, knowing that the stack of books will still be there when he awakens.