Rambling my eyelids are heavy,
i feel my neck ache,
i swallow and blink to the screen,
scrolling down,
i see the words ‘missing’ in the familiar red.

i feel like bursting into tears,
when my teacher hands in my grade,
“your grades do not define you, do not degrade yourself.”
i whisper as i wipe my tears, swallow water and continue typing.

i can barely see the answer i typed in my calculator,
i look at the time,
yet again i pulled an all-nighter.
“it will pay off in the end” i mutter, flipping through my messy handwriting.

“your grades do not define you” i think as my parents, in disgust, look at my grades.

“your grades do not define you” i sob as the the computer screen light my room with a mere ‘pass’ superimposed across the screen.