It was a Thursday when Susan found out that she had failed the evaluation test.
The moment she received the news, she was so desperate that she rushed to see the teachers in school instead of informing Vivian and the others.
“Ms. Ericsson, can I check which part of my test I failed? Can you explain it to mê’?”
“Oh, it’s you. It was terrible. Whatever you have learned is too different from what we teach here. Susan, I would suggest that you go to a different school. In fact, ГІІ refer you to Flinders.”
The moment the teacher saw her, she actually suggested that Susan transfer someplace else.
How can I do that? I painstakingly fought for a place in my school back home to come here as an exchange student. If I don’t get to study here, what’s the whole point of all this?
Filled with desperation, Susan pleaded with the teacher, “Ms. Ericsson, I don’t want to go to another school. Why don’t you tell me what my mistakes are so that I can work on them and retake the test?”
Despite her pleas, the teacher was unmoved. In the end, she gave Susan a card for Flinders before dismissing her.
Susan’s heart sank in despair.
What am I going to do?
She walked out of the school office with a listless expression.
“Oh? Ms. Susan, what’s wrong? Why do you look so glum?”
The moment she came out, she ran into Sigrun.
Suddenly, she felt as if the latter was her last hope. “Ms. Lightburn, the teacher just told me that I have failed my test and wants me to go to Flinders University instead. What should I do?”
“Huh?”
A concerned expression descended on Sigrun’s face when she heard the news.
“That’s unacceptable as you’re unfamiliar with the school. Why don’t I talk to the teacher for you? After all, I know her better than you do.”
“Okay.”
Susan was extremely grateful.
Unfortunately, Sigrun’s meeting with the teacher was futile, as the latter refused to budge from her decision not to accept Susan.
“I’m sorry. I strongly feel that a student must go to a school that is compatible with them. This is also for her own good.”
“But-”
“Enough. I have classes to teach. That’s all for today.”
After outright rejecting both of them, the teacher picked up her books and left for her classes.
With that, the glimmer of hope Susan held just a moment ago dissipated just as quickly as it came.
Sigrun was equally speechless.
After a while, she tried to persuade Susan, “Erm… why don’t you go to that university instead? It’s not that far from here. If you take a bus, it will be a two- hour ride.”
Two hours? How is that not far?
Susan would never accept such an arrangement.
After returning to the apartment, she lingered in her room for a while before turning on her laptop and looking up local accounting information and test paper questions.
She hoped to work hard and sit for the test again.
As a result, she stayed home that weekend to study in her room. When Vivian and the rest asked her about it, she only told them that she was revising her lessons and nothing else, for she didn’t want them to worry.
In fact, she didn’t even dare imagine how Ian might react once he found out about it.
Would he be happy? Or would he help me? I can’t take that risk. No matter what, I must seize this opportunity to stay by his side.
After studying hard for a few days, she went back to school on Monday to see the teacher again.
“Ms. Ericsson, excuse me, but I would like to appeal for another opportunity to take the test. If I fail again, you can rest assured that I’ll go back to my own school.”
Just to get the teacher’s agreement, Susan was willing to make a bold promise.
After staring at her briefly, the teacher finally agreed due to what Susan had said.
Susan was ecstatic over the response.
Subsequently, she took the test paper and gave it another shot. This time, she utilized all the knowledge that she had crammed into her head over the last few days.
When she was done, she handed in the paper confidently.
Unfortunately, she was shocked to learn that she had failed again.
“You can return to your country now as your results do not meet our school’s standards.” The teacher handed her the results heartlessly.
Susan was stunned.
This is impossible. Considering how much effort I had put in, how can I still fail? Even if I have not studied here before, accountancy is a universal concept. How can it vary so much in different places?
At that moment, Susan began to suspect that the teacher had something against her.
“Ms. Ericsson, are you sure that the problem lies with my test paper?”
“Of course,” the teacher answered with conviction.
In response to her answer, Susan took back her test paper without another word.
“All right. In that case, I’ll let someone else check it. If the mistakes are mine, I’ll keep my promise.” With that, she left with the paper, causing the teacher to panic.
