Chapter 1: Before the Test

No alarm clock. My head sprung up from a night full of bewildering dreams, some pleasant, some horrific. It's 6 AM. It's the day of the 2016 AMC 10A. I felt my feet, which were ice cold. I keep on telling myself the test isn't a big deal, and that in the grand scheme it won't alter my passion for math. But playing the devil's advocate this was the reason why I devoted 1 entire year of intense prep. Is today going to end up the same as last year's horrific experience? Will the panic attack, the emotional roller coaster, the health effects all return? Countless "what if's" ran through my head.

Soon enough, I gulped down 2 sausages, 2 pieces of bacon, and 2 eggs, and was on my way to the testing center.

The testing center was full of people. I felt like an ant in the never-ending swarm of test-takers, most of which are locals who speak Chinese. The atmosphere was extremely terse, and the mood of placidity which I spent days nourishing began to break down. I slowly walked into the testing center, and I realized my worst nightmare was true.

No heater.

No clock on the wall.

Tiny desk.

The clothes that I was wearing began to freeze. I told myself, "it's going to be ok. Once the test starts, you'll unfreeze."

"Begin filling in your answer sheet. Name, test, address, school code. All must be filled in!"

The atmosphere was so tense I barely had the courage to call the teacher when I ran into a problem. Do I fill in the code for this testing center or my regular school? Judging by the english on the answer sheet it should be my regular school. "Hello, I don't know the school code." The proctor, dazed as I was, promptly told me to fill in a random code that looks suspiciously like the postal code. "But, the English here says it's the school code." The proctor glanced as me suspiciously. All the other Chinese students looked up.

I bet they were thinking, "Ah! An English-speaking foreigner, what's he doing here?" I felt an air of hostility. The proctor ignored me.

I told myself to not get distracted, and got out all my materials, only to realize there's no way I can put them all on the laptop-sized desk in front of me. The paper all scattered across my desk, I can't even move my seat without making a shrieking voice across the marble floor and earning the suspicious glances of others. I soon realized this Chinese testing center is as haunted as my nightmares. Thankfully, I brought my own clock though.

To make it worse, the proctor passed the entire row which I sat in AMC 12 pamphlets. Only when it reached me did I speak up. That's right. Everyone in the same row as me was too timid to even speak up. Rather than judging them, I slowly calmed myself down.

The worst part was, I suddenly began noticing a person behind me beginning to work on the problems? My clock shows 10: 03. Did the test already start? The proctor, having no idea what's going on, left the classroom. But...but... some people are still filling out the back of the answer sheet! In a mood of confusion, I began working on the problems. This is going to be a long test, I thought.