The AP English test sat on my desk like a dead body I was being asked to identify.
Ms. Vance walked between the rows distributing packets with the kind of reverence usually reserved for handing out indictments. Her heels clicked against the floor in perfect rhythm. Click. Click. Click. The sound of my impending doom arriving in three-inch intervals.
"You have ninety minutes," she announced, her voice carrying that specific teacher quality that made even breathing feel like a crime. "Begin when I say."
I looked down at the essay prompt.
Analyze the use of symbolism in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, with particular focus on how physical objects represent abstract concepts. Use specific textual evidence to support your thesis.
Perfect. A question I could answer in my sleep two weeks ago.
Except right now, my brain felt like someone had replaced it with cotton balls and regret.
"Begin."
