~~~~
Adrian took a deep breath as we
walked into the testing center, the decade-old automatic doors welcoming him
in. Part of him didn’t want to be here, he hated going to unfamiliar places.
However, this was the only place nearby that offered the Cyberplus
certification exam. Actually, that wasn’t true, there were plenty of places
closer. But, they wouldn’t reopen until the fall, and it was to his greater
benefit to get this done now. Adrian was sick of being canceled on by those
larger testing centers that kept pushing their opening date back. He had no
choice but to go with the much smaller one.
He hadn’t even heard of this place
before. Still, they were officially licensed to handle Cyberplus certification
exams, so they had to be legit. He wasn’t the biggest fan of the location, it
strayed fairly close to the city, and he hated being there. Plus, it was in an
unfamiliar neighborhood that no one in his family had heard of, so he didn’t
know what to expect. The area seemed fine, plenty of small businesses, but most
of them looked a little rundown. Not sketchy, just old.
Adrian couldn’t remember the last
time he saw an old brick building like this. Most of them were knocked down in
the 2070s to make way for those “Ultra Wave” plastic buildings everyone was
raving about. Must have been a cheap property, which makes sense for such a
small business. Although, it felt a little strange to earn certification for
such a cutting edge tech in such a low tech environment.
As he pushed on the door to the
lobby, Adrian came to a startling realization; the door was locked. Again, not
surprising since they obviously didn’t want any random guy to wander in, but
that didn’t make Adrian feel any better. A quick phone call to the testing
center got him assurance they were sending someone down to open the door.
Adrian breathed a sigh of relief and waited patiently.
Five minutes passed, and he began to
grow uneasy. He’d spent a month and a half studying for this test, and now he
was afraid he miss it over something out of his control. Perhaps he was
panicking too soon, his starting time wasn’t for another five minutes, but
Adrian couldn’t help his concern.
The whole month had been one of anxious
build-up, and perhaps one of the most critical months in his future career. He
had an interview with a major company, a summer class, this exam, and the
promise of a job in the fall. If he could pass through all this, his life was
set for the near future.
The interview went well enough, and
he was confident he would get the job, it was the exam he was worried about. It
cost quite a bit of money to take these exams, and failure meant spending the
same amount for another chance. Adrian was in no mood to lose so much money
over his own mistakes. He was glad that his potential new job offered to pay
for any future certification exams.
As time slipped by, Adrian wondered
if he was on the right side of the building. Was the guy coming down to get him
going to that other door he saw in the back? Was there another entrance he
wasn’t aware of? These anxious thoughts of what if gnawed at his nerves until
suddenly a man came down and opened the door. The man asked if he was here for
the certification test. Adrian wasted no time confirming and quickly followed
him inside.
~--~
Adrian breathed a sigh of relief; he
had passed the Cyberplus exam and was officially certified. Okay, so maybe he
only passed by the skin of his teeth. However, this wasn’t school, passing was
all that mattered, not a perfect grade. All the worries and anxieties over
failure and waiting had slipped away. He was still a little frazzled from the
experience, stress doesn’t leave without making an impact, but even that would
fade in time.
Adrian strode out back towards the
street, confident in his future. Now that he didn’t have to study as much, he’d
have a lot more free time in the near future. Does this call for a celebration?
Maybe he should just enjoy his free time until his job starts in the fall?
Adrian decided he’d figure that out later, right now he’d grab some lunch and
enjoy the rest of his day.
~~~~
Sometimes its not the test that you struggle with, but everything around it.Based on a true story.
Until next time, Read, Comment and Enjoy
~~~~
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