Board Exam Preparation

Weeks later.

The transition from graduation celebrations to the reality of the board exam preparations was swift and unforgiving. The joy of tossing their caps in the air at the Philippine International Convention Center was now a distant memory as Matthew, Samantha, Saimon, and Leo buried themselves in their review materials.

Matthew sat at the wooden desk in his small apartment, a stack of thick engineering review books open in front of him. His room, usually neat, now resembled a chaotic warzone of papers, sticky notes, and used coffee cups. The faint buzz of his desk lamp filled the otherwise silent space.

His phone buzzed, breaking his focus. It was a message from Samantha.

Samantha: Group study tomorrow? My place at 9. We need to hit Thermodynamics hard.

Matthew leaned back, rubbing his temples. The thought of another day of intense review made him groan, but he quickly replied.

Matthew: On it. Let's make it count.

The following morning, Matthew arrived at Samantha's house, his review books weighing down his bag. Her living room was already set up—whiteboards filled with equations, stacks of snacks on the table, and a big pot of coffee brewing in the corner.

"Morning, Mr. Valedictorian," Samantha greeted, handing him a mug.

"Morning," Matthew replied with a small grin. "Ready to tackle entropy and psychrometrics?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," Samantha sighed, motioning for him to sit.

Leo and Saimon arrived shortly after, Leo lugging a portable whiteboard and Saimon carrying more snacks than seemed humanly necessary.

"Alright," Samantha began, clapping her hands to get everyone's attention. "We've got two months until the board exams. That's eight weeks of pure grind. No distractions."

Leo groaned as he slumped into the couch. "You sound like my mom."

"Well, someone has to keep you in line," Samantha shot back, smirking.

The group quickly got to work, breaking down complex topics and quizzing each other. Samantha took the lead on Thermodynamics, writing equations and diagrams on the whiteboard with precision.

"Okay, let's do a quick question," she said, pointing to a problem she'd written. "If a Carnot engine operates between two reservoirs at temperatures of 500 Kelvin and 300 Kelvin, what's the efficiency?"

Leo frowned, scribbling calculations in his notebook. "Ugh, I forgot the formula. Isn't it… 1 minus T_low over T_high?"

"Exactly," Matthew said, leaning over to check Leo's work. "Now just plug in the values."

The hours stretched into the afternoon, the room filled with the sounds of scribbling, the click of calculators, and the occasional groans of frustration.

The hours stretched into the afternoon, the room filled with the sounds of scribbling, the click of calculators, and the occasional groans of frustration.

By lunchtime, they took a well-deserved break. Saimon had raided Samantha's fridge, emerging with a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter.

"This is the fuel of champions," he declared, slathering a thick layer onto a slice.

Matthew chuckled, taking a bite of his own sandwich. "Whatever works, I guess."

Samantha sat cross-legged on the floor, flipping through her notes even as she ate. "Do you think it'll be enough? Two months feels like so little time for everything we need to cover."

"We'll make it enough," Matthew said firmly. "We've come this far. We're not about to let the board exams stop us now."

As the weeks passed, their routine became almost robotic. Mornings were spent in group study sessions, while afternoons were reserved for individual reviews. They attended review center classes on weekends, their schedules packed to the brim.

The stress began to show—dark circles under their eyes, frayed tempers, and an endless supply of caffeine coursing through their veins. But despite it all, they kept pushing.

One evening, Matthew found himself alone in his apartment, staring at a particularly challenging problem set on machine design. The weight of the exam bore down on him, the pressure to succeed threatening to crush his resolve. It's easy if he could just take that pill and enhance his cognitive function but that would be cheating. He wanted to prove that even without that pill, he could still pass the board exam, and he would have pride calling himself a true engineer.

His phone buzzed again, breaking the silence. It was another message from Samantha.

Samantha: Hang in there, Matt. You've got this. Let me know if you need to talk or review together.

He stared at the message for a moment before replying.

Matthew: Thanks, Sam. I needed that. Let's tackle Strength of Materials tomorrow.

The small exchange lifted his spirits, reminding him that he wasn't alone in this battle.

By the time the final week before the exam arrived, the group was running on sheer determination. They'd covered every topic multiple times, drilled practice exams, and even devised mnemonics to remember tricky concepts.

The night before the exam, they met at Samantha's house one last time for a final review session.

"Alright, everyone," Samantha said, standing at the whiteboard. "This is it. One more run-through, and then we all need to get some sleep."

Leo groaned. "Sleep? What's that?"

Saimon laughed. "You'll have plenty of time to sleep after we pass."

They spent the next few hours going over key topics, quizzing each other, and sharing last-minute tips.

As the clock struck midnight, Samantha clapped her hands, signaling the end of their session.

"That's it. No more. We've done everything we can," she said firmly.

Matthew stood, stretching his arms. "Thanks for putting up with me, guys. I know I can be a bit intense."

"Hey, you kept us on track," Saimon said with a grin. "Couldn't have done this without you."

They parted ways with wishes of good luck, each heading home to rest before the big day.

The morning of the exam arrived, the air thick with anticipation as the group gathered outside the testing center. They exchanged nervous smiles, their review materials left behind for the first time in months.

"This is it," Matthew said, his voice steady despite the nervous energy coursing through him. "We've got this."

"Yeah," Leo said, taking a deep breath. "Let's do this."

They walked into the testing center together, ready to face the challenge ahead. The months of preparation, sleepless nights, and endless study sessions had led them to this moment.

Whatever the outcome, they knew they'd given it their all—and that was something to be proud of.