That Time in High School

“When is your next test?” Saanvi’s mother asked. She was leaning on the end of the opened door that led into her daughter’s room. Her arms crossed in front of her when Saanvi answered with “mhm”, and she stood silently in the sound of the sharp clicks coming from Saanvi’s laptop keyboard. “Are you listening?” her mother persisted. 

“Yes, yes, what? I’m doing something,” Saanvi responded, her face covered by the silver back of her computer screen. 

“You’re always doing something. Can’t I talk to you?” her mother said as she placed her hand on the top of Saanvi’s screen and gently pushed it down. 

“Hey! What?” her daughter said, innocently lifting the screen back up. 

“When is your next test? You know…the SAT.” 

“I don’t know…like…June.” 

“It’s ‘like’? Are you even prepared?” 

“Yeah…well, I don’t know if I need to take it again.” 

“Really?” her mother asked sarcastically. 

Saanvi turned quiet, her face hidden behind her screen again, her black hair only visible in blue light. The silence was absorbed by her fingers moving across the keyboard. Click click clack, her search engine filled with incoherent words. 

“So you think a 1450 is good enough?” her mother said rhetorically 

“Well…I mean… I can do test-optional for the harder schools,” Saanvi responded quietly. Click click clack. 

Her mother’s eyebrow twitched, and she let out a deep sigh. “You can, but you shouldn't.” 

Click click clack. Saanvi made another small “mhm” as she kept typing. With every sharp tap of Saanvi’s fingers on her keyboard, her mother grew even more impatient. “Hmph,” her mother started, “do you really think you’ll get accepted anywhere good on test-optional?” she crossed her arms once more. “Colleges want to see scores. They want to see 1500s. And a 1600? That would be almost a guarantee.” 

“I know, I know, but the SAT isn’t everything,” Saanvi revealed herself from behind the screen. 

“You’re right, it’s almost everything.” Her mother knew the conversation was going nowhere—they both did—so she left the room and closed the door behind her. As she left, Saanvi began deleting the jumble of words and letters in the search engine, feeling relieved that she had dodged another bullet. Only she had more delayed it than dodged. In the back of her mind she was telling herself that her mother was right, but she wanted to believe that she still had a chance with the rest of the applicants going in as test-optional. Now her mind was set on thoughts about college and her keyboard resumed its click click clack as she searched for virtual tours for her top colleges. 

*** 

The window peered into the dark yard and the deep navy sky by the time Saanvi’s mother called her down for dinner. Saanvi was sitting on her bed with her laptop on her legs. The walls of the room echoed the blue colors of light that emanated from her computer. Ping!…

Ping!… The phone next to her lit up excitedly, and she reached to check the screen. The notification was from Maya, Saanvi’s friend. The text message read: 

Maya: Hey 

How’s it going? 

Saanvi: Good nothing much 

It’s just my mom 

She was talking about the SAT again 

Maya: Yeah 

I’m taking the next one in June 

You gonna be there? 

Saanvi: I Don’t know 

It’s just that it feels kinda early 

Because of my 9th grade year 

It was all virtual 

I feel like that entire year didn’t even happen 

I should really be a sophomore this year not a junior 

Maya: Yeah I get it 

But still gotta keep going 

I started my essays already 

My dad’s kinda pestering me about it 

You? 

Saanvi: Haha 

Mine too 

Everything feels too soon 

“Saanvi! Dinner is ready. Are you coming?” Saanvi’s mother called from the kitchen. “Yes! Sorry, I’m coming!” she responded and hurriedly closed her phone and shut her computer screen. She leapt out of her bed and rushed downstairs, leaving the door closed, and her room shut in darkness. 

“Hey, is dad home?” 

“Yep,” her mother gestured to the dining room, ”just arrived.” 

Saanvi popped a strawberry in her mouth that her mother had left on the kitchen counter, and she hopped to the dining room where her father sat. The table was dressed with plates filled with carrots and cucumbers and bowls of salad. The main course was aloo gobi partnered with rice and roti. 

“Hey, how’s it going?” her father asked cheerfully. 

“Good, nothing much,” she replied, sitting in the chair across from him where an empty plate was placed for her. 

“So, I heard you’re taking the SAT in June.”