Footprints

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Her ears stubbornly tuned out everything else but the needle of the second hand of the clock in the room, as she tried to focus on the words swimming in front of her eyes. It wasn't her first rodeo, but it was different for two reasons. The first was that this would be the first exam she had been in for five long years in academia. The second was that she was on the other side of the table for the first time. She was the ‘adult’ here. There are not many rules for writing a final exam in any college — bring your hall ticket, keep your phone on silent and in your bag, and rid your pockets of any materials (including but not limited to bus passes, receipts, random notes). This was for the students. For the professors, however, only the second rule was common. Apart from that, they had to be vigilant, take regular walking rounds, never sit/stand for too long in the same place and report any case of misconduct or unethical practices to the exam section. So, she h...