Testing Kate by Whitney Gaskell

Author:Whitney Gaskell
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9780553903096
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2006-10-31T05:00:00+00:00

“Grades are out.”

The announcement spread through the Con Law class almost immediately after Hoffman had finished his lecture. My stomach lurched, and my heart felt like it was thudding against my rib cage. This was it.

“Did you hear that?” Nick asked, turning to look at me.

I nodded slightly.

“What?” Dana asked.

“They’re saying that grades are out,” I said, jerking my head toward the back of the classroom, where, I assumed, the rumor had started when the students sitting in the last row had heard the chaos break out in the student lounge.

“Oh, good,” Dana said, standing up briskly, swinging her knapsack over her shoulder.

“You’re not nervous?” I asked.

Dana shook her head and looked surprised. “No. I don’t want to sound conceited, but I’ve always gotten good grades.”

“We all have,” Nick said. “Everyone who gets into this school was at the top of their undergrad class. We’re all A students.”

“And now some of us are going to be B or C students,” I said. My throat felt like I was trying to swallow a handful of sharply edged stones.

“Or worse,” Addison said cheerfully, also standing. “Let’s go get the verdict.”

The buzz in the room was louder, more manic than usual, as we filed out of the room.

“I heard that they give out only one A in every class,” Dutch Jackson muttered as he stacked up his books.

“No, they give out more than one A per class, but there are more Cs than As and Bs combined,” Alicia Ramirez replied.

Nick turned and rolled his eyes comically, mocking our classmates who were desperately trying to quell their own anxiety by freaking out their friends.

“I heard that Hoffman gave out three Ds this year,” Brad Sobel said.

“Aw, man, then I’m doomed,” Scott Brown replied in his thick Southern accent, grinning good-naturedly. He nodded at Nick and winked at me.

Three Ds.

I remembered the dot that Hoffman had placed on the corner of my blue book and felt queasy.

It seemed like the entire One-L class was gathered around our hanging mail folders, jostling to pluck the crisp white envelopes out. I saw a broad-shouldered black student with a shaved head whom I recognized from one of the Bar Reviews—he was the guy Jen had wanted to set Addison up with—tear his envelope open and unfold the paper within. His shoulders sagged, and at first I thought he was getting bad news, but then he turned and I saw that he was smiling, the relief etched on his face.

“Here, I got ours,” Jen said, appearing out of the crowd that she’d pushed her way into. She handed the envelopes out to Lexi, Dana, Nick, Add, and me. I looked down at mine. It felt light and insubstantial in my hand. My name was visible through a window in the envelope: BENNETT, KATE E.

Lexi started to tear at hers and then hesitated. “Let’s go outside,” she said. “I don’t want to do this in front of everyone.”

A woman I didn’t recognize burst into tears and sat down in one

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