Midterms (Part IV)

Michelle was driving her car on the way to school when my body suddenly trembled in distress. It was already the fourth day of midterms week, and so far all the work has not been smooth-sailing.

Beating the deadline is not as easy as it looks. I have had my fair share of sleepless nights finishing every one of these homeworks and projects.

Last night, some meticulous revisions were made on the philosophy essay. It took me all the way past midnight to finish this assignment, and by the time I was riding with Michelle, my eyes were bloodshot red.

Extremely concerned of my well-being, Michelle immediately parked her car near the sidewalk and paid close attention towards me.

"Christine, you don't look so good," she anxiously commented.

"Michelle, don't worry about me," I promptly assured her. "There's nothing wrong with my body."

"You're not okay, Christine," Michelle replied with a worried expression on her face. "Better take a nap first, then I'll carry you to Ella's place to rest."

Just then, I fell unconscious which prompted a concerned Michelle to restart her car. After arriving at the gym, she carried my limp body straight to Ella's unit.

A few hours later, I woke up yawning, and the first thing my eyes noticed was Ella editing pieces of the music video. With a cup of coffee beside her laptop, she took some time placing each shot one by one.

But media ethics class was drawing near and the deadline for the essay was today.

"Ella, we should go to class now," I advised her. "We must submit the essay papers for media class immediately."

Ella closed her laptop, and we hurriedly walked down to a computer shop. Unfortunately, a long line of students greeted us.

Several minutes later, Ella and I were finally able to print copies of the essay. Michelle was a few steps behind us, and we patiently waited for her turn.

By the time the three of us arrived for class, it had been already 9:45 in the morning. We were five minutes late.

But the professor was feeling a little more generous that day. So he gratefully accepted our essays anyway.

When class ended, Michelle, Ella and I proceeded directly to the television studio. By the time we arrived, the set was already assembled and the cameras fixed into their proper positions.

Unfortunately, our stomachs were empty. As a result Michelle went downstairs and bought some food while Ella and I positioned ourselves at the production room.

After a quick lunch, the three of us immediately went to work. That day's class for television production also served as our midterm exercise, so we patiently waited for the guest to arrive and open the talk show.

But as the clock struck 3:00 p.m. and the professor already in attendance, Bianca was still nowhere to be found.

"Where is Bianca?" Debbie questioned as she walked back and forth at the production room. "We couldn't start the talk show without her."

Suddenly, Debbie's phone rang and hurriedly went back to the studio. Minutes later, she promptly informed us that Bianca had arrived in school.

One of our classmates escorted Bianca and her parents upstairs. Upon entering the studio, she calmly sat down and touched herself up with makeup.

At that point, Michelle sat down and approached me.

"Just pretend that Bianca's not here today," she cautioned. "Focus on the task at hand and cease your fears and concerns against her."

After nodding approvingly at Michelle, I positioned myself on the production room and promptly began pushing a few of the buttons. Meanwhile, the studio team prepared themselves for the broadcast.

"Lights, camera, action!!!"

The cameras began rolling for the talk show. As Debbie inquired Bianca about her personal and professional life, I sat down the production room trying to determine the abilities of each button.

It was extremely burdensome navigating such a complicated booth with so many screens operating at once. But I soon got the hang of it; after all I grew up in the shadow of my dear mother Charissa.

When the talk show ended, Bianca shook hands with Debbie and she quietly left the studio with her parents. Relief and calm etched my youthful face as Michelle promptly handed me a bottle of water.

"You were fortunate Bianca didn't mention your name," she smiled charmingly while sitting down beside me. "Otherwise it would have been chaos all over."

"Her admirable poise during that interview was somewhat surprising," Ella happily commented. "Bianca did not react adversely when Debbie asked rhetorically about some of the most unpleasant moments in her life. She calmly nailed it like a boss."

Just then, the professor summoned us to the studio. She sat down a folding chair as the whole class perched on the floor.

"Class, you did a superior job on the live midterms exercise," the professor commented favorably. "Other than a few errors I discovered on the production, the show went along smoothly."

"I'm proud of all of you," she joyfully concluded.

After a short round of applause, the professor resumed speaking and called out Michelle.

"On the following class, you must submit the evaluation report and the DVD copy of the talk show," she informed her. "Do you understand?"

"I do, madam," Michelle confidently nodded.

"Okay then Michelle," the professor replied affirmatively. "Place it on the desk next week."

And with that, television production class drew to a close. Luckily for Michelle, Ella and myself, there was no class for video production that day.

But there was no time to spend the whole evening worth of freedom. So the three of us immediately walked to Ella's unit and helped her edit the video.

At around 7:00 p.m., Jamie and Jaime arrived at the place and started lending a hand on Ella's work. Just then, Michelle and I had to head home.

"Don't worry about us," Ella confidently assured as we bid farewell. "At least you did your part. Now it's Jamie and Jaime's turn. You're free to go."

"Thanks Ella," Michelle responded appropriately. "Go take care of the rest with these boys."

As Michelle and I returned home, our thoughts were on the possible fate of these midterm projects. For now, though, we were undoubtedly in dire need of sleep and recreation after a week-long grind.