"Psst... what's number 3?"
Why every exam hall has that one villain.
What’s up guyyyy?
Unless your father is the VC of your school or you have a superpower of some sort, exams are already stressful on their own.
Your brain is under pressure.
Your memory is doing gymnastics.
Your future is lowkey flashing before your eyes.
Now imagine adding… people.
Because somehow-somehow, every exam hall has at least one person whose mission is to make the experience worse.
Let’s identify them, and before you judge…they're sometimes you!
1. The Loud Whisperer
This one believes whispering is a suggestion, not a rule.
“Psst… what’s number 3?”
“Is it A or C?”
They’re not even whispering. They’re announcing.
Now the invigilator is looking around.
Everybody is tense.
Your concentration? Gone.
2. The Desk Drummer
You’re trying to think.
Suddenly: tap tap tap tap tap
Someone is using their pen like they’re auditioning for a band.
You look up.
They’re not even aware.
Now your brain is calculating beats instead of answers.
3. The Panic Distributor
This one is dangerous.
Halfway through the exam, they sigh loudly.
Shake their head.
Flip pages aggressively.
You start panicking: “Is the paper hard?”
“Am I missing something?”
“Why are they stressed??”
All of a sudden, anxiety has been transferred.
4. The Early Finisher
They submit their script 20 minutes in.
TWENTY.
Now everybody is uncomfortable.
You’re on question 2.
They’re already leaving confidently.
You start questioning your entire existence: “What do they know that I don’t know?” "Is the time rushing and I didn't realize?"
Peace of mind? Destroyed.
5. The Question-Asker
If given the permission, every five minutes, they'd ask: “Sir, what do you mean by number 4?”
“Sir, is this compulsory?”
“Sir, can we answer two questions here?”
At some point, it feels like a live tutorial.
Meanwhile, you’re just trying to focus and remember what you crammed at 2am.
6. The Chair Shifter
Constant movement.
Chair dragging.
Table adjusting.
Every 30 seconds, there’s a new sound.
You’re writing, but also monitoring furniture activity.
7. The “Borrow Me Something” Person
In the middle of an exam: “Please, do you have extra pen?”
“Eraser?”
“Ruler?”
You now have to decide: Help them and lose focus?
Or ignore them and feel like a bad person?
Moral dilemma in the exam hall.
8. The Suspiciously Confident One
They’re writing non-stop.
No pauses.
No thinking.
Just vibes and speed. Sometimes they even ask for extra sheet.
You don’t know if they’re a genius or just writing nonsense with confidence.
Either way, it’s intimidating.
At the end of the day,
Exams bring out different personalities.
Stress makes people restless, anxious, loud and unpredictable
And because all of it happens in one room at the same time, after all you studied, this will test your focus, your patience and your ability to ignore chaos.
Because no matter how prepared you are, there will always be one villain in the room.
Or worse…
you are the villain. 😭
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Catch up with previous publications on What's Up by 10.8.8 Africa.
Until next gist,
Gbemi from 10.8.8 Africa. ✨