(Sarcazm short story)

The exam session was approaching. Students were preparing as best as they could: some were trying to overcome a mountain of debts, while others watched how they did it. The observers included the professors, who received a large number of emails (as if they were aggressively trying to get admitted to Hogwarts, and they were being stubborn about it). It all resembled a theatre: lengthy sonnets and monologues.

It’s no secret that perfect attendance is as rare for students as spotting a horseback rider in the middle of a traffic jam. Such students try to compensate for their lack of attendance by showing up for exams. And, of course, among them are those self-proclaimed geniuses who are convinced they know everything, even though they didn’t attend classes.

On one such exam, Stepan, who missed almost all lessons, came with a desire to showcase his work (more precisely, a project prototype) and demonstrate his professionalism. Other students were sitting with their projects, taking a turn to organize the exam.

‘Dear students, we can begin the exam. Who would like to start?’ Mrs. Chernenko began.

‘If you allow me, I’ll start,’ Stepan responded immediately.

His project was overall commendable, as he thought, it included all the requirements and utilized all the necessary techniques from the Internet.

‘Well, your project is quite good. Perhaps your colleagues have something to say?’

A brief silence ensued. Overall, everyone agreed that the project was not so bad, though some students raised their hands.

‘I think my project is prepared with terrifying precision. Every detail and comment is simply astounding with their well-founded arguments and logic. I guess it looks fine!’ Stepan decided to break the silence and looked at their Professor.

‘Well, on the one hand, the project is indeed cohesive and meets almost all requirements. On the other hand, the project is executed in a rather unconventional manner.” Seeing so many raised hands, Mrs. Chernenko kept on, “You have managed to provoke a discussion within the group. Does anyone wish to express their thoughts?’

Stepan got an avalanche of questions. He tried to defend his project with considerable confidence. There were numerous vexed questions and thorny remarks, but Stepan boldly deflected each one, displaying the bravery of Hercules. Afterward, the Professor took the floor:

‘There’s an abundance of creativity in the project. It’s intriguing how you achieved such results without relying on precise calculations. You have creatively and skillfully bypassed all the theory we covered throughout the semester…’ Mrs. Chernenko remarked.

The student thanked his groupmates for the comments and returned to his seat, giving a challenging glance at the Professor. The middle-aged woman simply met his gaze with a smirk without no sense that she’d said something wrong.

However, after her remarks, the discussion continued. Stepan defended himself as much as he could, albeit with less enthusiasm. As he looked into the crowd of the group, he noticed his colleagues staring and poking fun at him, simply observing as he tried to save his boat (project) from total sinking.