THE ULTIMATE TEST There are times when I find myself helping others too much and myself too little. This was one of those times. I had just failed a big test at school (I got a lower mark than Serena) and was going crazy with worry about what I was going to do about it. As I pondered the test in comparison with my notes, I realized that my answers were way off. "What's the capital of Canada?" I knew it was Ottawa but I had written Toronto on my paper. Keep it up this way, I thought, and you'll flunk the whole course. Fortunately, I knew someone that would help me out of this deep grade slump. I ran over to her place and practically broke the door down with my knocking. "Amy!" I yelled thinking of a certain play with a streetcar named desire in it. "Yes? What is it?" she asked in her soothing, calming voice. Just once, I'd like to see her lose it. "I need your help. I flunked my geography exam. If I don't get help, I'll fail the whole year." I said desparately. "Yes, I know. Ms. Haruna mentioned it to me and asked if I would mind tutoring you. Of course, I accepted." "That's great. We'll start tomorrow and..." "Oh, no you don't! We start tonight. You'll have to get a lot of studying in if you want to pass the final exam." "B-but I have a date with Lita tonight. She'll be upset that I cancelled on her at the last minute." I said hoping to convince Amy. I should have known better. "That's no excuse. I've already taken care of it. Lita was there with me when Ms. H asked me. Nice try." she said with a touch of humour in her voice. It's difficult to detect any sign of fun in Amy, but there are times when it can be done. Yet, even then, it's reserved and cool; much like Amy herself. "Come on in and we'll get started." It was only two days away from the final and if I didn't pass, I'd fail the whole year. Amy had me study like never before. It was surprising, but Amy could teach anything. She didn't use the standard nose-in-a-book method. Instead she had me create mnemonic devices for various subjects. For example, she had me memorize all of "Wakko's America" so I wouldn't forget state capitals and various other songs to help as well. We had fun while we studied and grew closer together as friends, just friends. The second day came, I'd stayed over at the Anderson mansion, and the two of us went to pick up Serena. As we got to the Tsukino place, we noticed that Serena was slowly walking out the door with a happy smile on her face. This was unusual because she usually ran out the door at top speed about ten minutes before class was about to start. "Luna must have done something right this morning." said Amy as Luna was came walking up to us. Luna was Serena's guardian cat. She was to protect and help Serena to realize her destiny to be the Moon Princess and Sailor Moon. She was black with a crescent moon on her forehead; much like Artemis, Mina's guardian cat. "I didn't do anything. She got up all by herself. Maybe she's finally maturing." said Luna somewhat specutively. "Hey, whatever works." I said and laughed. Luna and Amy joined in until we had to go. Fortunately for me, Ms. Haruna was giving out a sheet that said what we could expect on the exam. It would be a "Jeopardy"-type test. The list included subjects like state capitals and states, countries of the world and other such topics, most of which I had already studied. "Good" I thought. I won't have to study with Amy tonight and I can take Lita out. Yahoo!!" Much to my surprise, it never happened that way. "Hey, Lita!" I called. "Guess what? I've done all my studying and we can go out tonight." "No, we can't. Amy said you were still a little rusty and she wants you to study with her again tonight." she said, concerned. "By the way," she said a little more sternly, "I hope that nothing is going on between you two. You know very well what happened to the last guy who cheated on me." "Lita, you've got absolutely no reason to worry. Just like Raye, Serena and Mina are nothing but good friends, Amy is the same way. You are the only one that I love." I said giving her a hug. "And don't you forget it," she said returning my hug. "Cause if you don't..." "I know, I know. My nose will be stapled to the back of my skull." I said and laughed. She laughed and gave me a big bear hug. "See you after the test tomorrow. Then we can party." she said as she left to do her own studying. It's a good thing I didn't decide to study with Lita. She's an excellent student but also a major distraction. I'd never get half the stuff I'd need if I studied with Lita. Amy came up behind me and said it was time to go. She informed me that she thought we got a little too close last night so Serena would be joining us this evening. I said that was cool. As long as I passed my test, I didn't care if Queen Beryl came to study with us. She laughed at that and we went to get some dinner before settling in for a long night of studying and whining on Serena's part. At about 3:00 in the morning I noticed that both Amy and Serena had fallen asleep. I found it odd that Amy sacked out before me because she was the type that could, if necessary, stay up all night long. As I wrapped up the girls with blankets, I started to recall everything Amy had taught me. It was an incredible rush of information and I almost fell over due to its impact on my brain. This was cool. There was no way I'd fail that test now. I decided to hit the hay myself, and think about the test. Even in my dreams, I had conquered this exam. The exam was a Negamonster and I was Sailor Heart. "Heart! Information! Attack!" I released a wave of energy which zapped that test/monster but good. I had triumphed and vanquished. I just wish I could get that ringing out of my ear... Oh, stupid alarm clock. I guess it's time to get up. After my shower and dressing, I went downstairs to find Serena eating like there was no tomorrow and Amy, as usual, with her nose in a book. "Are you ready for your test?" asked Amy, ever inquisitive. "I'll let you know when it's over." I said and laughed. "You should do really well. You were studying all night for the past two days." said Amy. "Plus, you've had the experience of the world's greatest teacher, Amy Anderson!" said Serena between mouthfuls of corn flakes. "Say, we better get moving. It's 7:30." I said. "We don't want to be late, do we?" "Of course not. Let's go. Come on Serena!" "Just on more mouthful..." We got to school at a reasonable time and I felt totally calm. Gone were the pre-test fears and frustrations. I answered every question to the best of my ability, and realized that I was answering most of them right. Some of the questions, I knew, I never would have gotten on my own. I'll have to thank Amy in a special way. The end of the test came and we were told to wait while Ms. Haruna marked them. As she handed them back to us, she was quite surprised. "I am very pleased with some of the marks in this class. I am even more pleased and surprised about two certain grades. Serena scored a 75%. That's very good, especially for Serena." We all laughed and applauded Serena for her mark. Serena may not be the brightest student but she tries and deserves a little recognition. "And the second surprise mark," she continued "goes to Adrien with the same score." After school, we met up with Lita, Raye and Mina and the guardians. We explained what happened in school and congratulated Serena again. "See, I knew that head of yours was good for more than just holding up your meatballs." said Raye with a smile. "Say, why son't we go to the pizza place and celebrate?" asked Lita. "Sounds like a good idea to me." said Serena. "What are we waiting for?" asked Mina. At the restaurant, we got to talking about school and stuff. I still wanted to do something special for Amy, so I quieted the others and raised my glass. "I'd like to make a toast. To Amy, without whose help I'd have a failing grade on that test. She also helped me to buckle down and do some serious studying; although I must admit that Lita helped in that matter too." We all laughed as Lita blushed. "To Amy!" We all clinked our glasses and drank. I put my arm around Lita. "Hope I didn't embarrass you too much." "No, but if you ever do that again..." Same old Lita. Amy was unusually quiet. She went to the bathroom and as she was coming back I stood up and gave her a big hug. "Thanks a lot, Amy. You really are the greatest tutor in the world." She smiled that warm smile again.