I was feeling a little weird on an airplane today and this is the result. It's not at all transgender so I apologize right now for posting here if that annoys you but I thought someone might enjoy it. Someone might even have had a similar experience.

The Exam

He held the note in his hand. Stared at it. It was just impossible, it had to be.

The note came in the mail today, white envelope, college return address, stamped in red, “Important – Final Exam Schedule”.

Physics 102 – Monday, May 26, 10 am to 12pm
Chemistry 206 – Monday, May 26, 2 pm to 4 pm
Calculus 203 – Tuesday, May 27, 2 pm to 4 pm
German 202 – Wednesday, May 28, 8 am to 10 am
Sociology 101 – Wednesday, May 28, 2 pm to 4 pm
American Literature 205 – Thursday, May 29, 10 am to 12 pm

He read it a second time, studied it, tried hard to understand it, broke out in a cold sweat, felt his heart trying to beat its way through his sternum. It was a glitch, a computer error. He’d taken five, not six classes this semester and was doing quite well in all of them. Physics, fine although the labs were a pain. He really enjoyed his Chem class and labs. Calculus, well, it was bearable but a lot of work and he was sure he was getting an A. The Lit class studied American literature from the 40s to the 60s. A very interesting era and some really good books on the reading list.

But what was that Sociology class? He didn’t remember signing up for it although he did recall thinking about taking either it or the Lit class. Didn’t remember it on his schedule. He’d never attended any classes. It had to be a mistake.

He dug through his backpack for the class schedule he’d received at the beginning of the semester. It was a small piece of paper buried at the bottom of the book area. About the size of an airline boarding pass. Yes! It showed 5 classes in alphabetical order, American Literature through Physics. He folded the paper in half to put away again and noticed printing on the back. One single devastating line…

“Sociology 101, MWF 9:15 – 10:30, Jenkins 335”

Two weeks to finals and he was registered for a class he’d never attended. No one took attendance in college. Professors, especially in introductory classes, didn’t care whether you showed up or not. They didn’t care whether you turned in homework or took tests. They just entered scores in the computer and gave you a grade at the end. It was way beyond the drop date. Could he get some kind of waiver? Probably not, the college was pretty strict about dropping classes before the deadline. This had to be a mistake. There had to be something he could do. Could he somehow prepare for the final? Could he appeal to the professor’s mercy? He was screwed. This was going to kill his GPA. Again, the cold sweat….

“Brrrring, brrrring, brrrring.“ He sat up in bed feeling a bit confused and disoriented, then hit the button on the alarm and looked at the time – 7 am. He glanced at his wife still sleeping beside him and it all came together. How many times had he awakened from this dream? The forgotten college class. The final exam. It felt so real, so crushing. Did anyone else experience this same nightmare?

He got out of bed, pulled on a pair of shorts, and shuffled to the kitchen to start the coffee. He needed to get moving to get into work for his 9 am meeting. He’d gotten his master’s degree seven years ago. Would he ever stop having this dream?