Chapter 9: The Assessment Sheet

'You'll fail the assessment before you touch a single station,' Curtis told me.

The school staff member stepped between us.

'Your opinion has no place in this assessment, Dr. Ainsley.'

Curtis looked at her. 'I'm her husband. I know what she has forgotten.'

'You are waiting in the hallway. She is taking the assessment.'

He stopped speaking while she watched me enter the room.

I had asked to be judged on my work. Curtis had turned even that into a public test of my nerve.

The staff member opened the assessment-room door.

'You can go in now, Maureen.'

The sheet in my hand creased beneath my grip.

His words had reached me before the test began. My thumb pressed a dark mark into the paper.

Rosalind stood beside Curtis. She did not tell him to stop.

I flattened the sheet against the counter and checked the crease.

It was still readable.

Then I walked into the assessment room alone.

Curtis stayed in the hallway. Rosalind stayed with him.

The staff member closed the door behind me.

The assessor pointed out the first station and read the instructions.

I set the supplies in order before I began.

At the next station, I checked each instruction before moving on.

I had taught myself to catch what others missed. I used that habit now, with Curtis's prediction still in my head.

The assessor watched without offering help.

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