“Midterm exams,” he said solemnly. “Two words guaranteed to strike fear into the heart of any student.”

I glanced at Trip and rolled my eyes at Joska’s melodrama.

“I see that some of you are panicked,” Joska continued. “And rightfully so. But some of you seem to enjoy a sanguine self-confidence that scares me, frankly,” he said.

With a start, I realized that he was looking at me.

“Make no mistake,” he said, still looking at me, “some of you will not pass this exam.”

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argh. scaring and panicing ppl, esp children = bad, why is it normal, accepted? why is teacher allowed to pick individual students to intimidate?