Mid-term exams

In the brave new world of junior high, it’s time for mid-term exams. The schools have them at slightly different times, but Ruby’s exams are this Thursday and Friday. She’s been studying quite hard; in fact, I’ve never seen her study before really, since Year 6 in fun-lovin’ Australia was just an endless blur of building models and shooting videos of one another and going on camp.

In the very first week of junior high school they had introductory tests. Ruby did rather well on Maths, even outscoring her contemporaries (her father’s genes there, obviously) but struck out on Japanese (too many weird characters), Science (too many unfamiliar scientific terms) and Social Studies (zero knowledge of Japanese history at this stage). So the objective is to get a semi-reasonable score this time around, and to her credit young Ruby has applied herself admirably to the task. To make it easier (and harder for everyone else) the school has introduced English for the mid-term exams. If she doesn’t get 100% on that she’s going straight to bed without supper.

The school is so serious about the mid-term exams that they’ve even CANCELLED AFTER-SCHOOL CLUB ACTIVITIES for the whole past week. You know, the one that you do every day until five-thirty every day plus Saturdays and sometimes Sundays too. (And apparently the sporty clubs — i.e. everything other than brass band — also work out in the mornings before school. Just in case they had some time to themselves in the morning. All I can say is: thank heavens she chose band.)

So instead of club activities the students have to stay behind for an extra half an hour of study after school, just for a bit of a change, seeing as they’ve been studying all day with no recess and about 10 minutes for lunchtime. (Me? Cynical?) But this does mean that Ruby is home at the very reasonable hour of about four-thirty to raid the fridge before opening her textbooks for the evening session.

Apparently the school has instructed the students in no uncertain terms that they are not permitted to leave the house during this unprecedented parcel of free time. They are expected to study for their exams (fair enough). But what happens if we want to go out for a quick bite of okonomiyaki? We’ll have to hide Ruby under a blanket in the back seat.

An epic precedent was set today at Mihara No. 4 Junior High School, when Ruby was excused from doing English homework after school like the rest of the class. Yes! She was actually permitted to cram for her Social Studies IN CONTRAST TO EVERYBODY ELSE. I tell you, it’s the thin end of the wedge; at this rate they’ll be letting her off English classes altogether by the end of the year, and from there it’s just a short plunge into TOTAL ANARCHY in the classroom. I’ll have to have a word to the Principal.

Meanwhile, one of the Group of Three Friends-Turned-Tormentors, having been summarily ousted by the other two for reasons unknown, has turned full circle and asked to be friends with Ruby again. She even went so far as to apologise for having being mean (“I only did it ’cause they told me to” — you sheep). Still, every ally counts up at Lord of the Flies in the mountains.

And after the exams finish it’s a big weekend in sport, with back-to-back games for Ruby on Saturday and Sunday (including a 6 am start on Saturday to get her on the purple bus), plus the annual Sports Day at Sunami Primary School for Felix on the Sunday. Sunday also marks the debut of the Old Man and His Bass at the brass band. Yes, despite an plethora of advice to the contrary (thanks Malcolm) I’m going to go ahead and give it a shot. Mind you, it’s meant to be a junior band — the flyer clearly says ages 13 to 22 — so I can only assume that they’re so desperate for a bass player that they’ve relaxed the criteria. They may live to regret that decision.

Next week the Fun ‘n’ Excitement level goes up as we host my two sisters and mother for a visit that will include Ruby’s birthday and her official induction into teenager-hood. Now she will be able to sneer and roll her eyes with legitimacy. Anyway since we’ve got most of the family here we’re planning a day of wild celebrations; I’m just working myself up to making the phone call to school to ask for the day off.