The Test
Friday morning. The maths test.
Bo sat at his desk. The paper in front of him had ten questions.
Question 1: counting up. Easy. Tick.
Question 2: counting down. Easy. Tick.
Question 3: adding two single numbers. Bo used his fingers under the desk. Tick.
Question 4: take-aways. Bo took a deep breath. *Eight minus three.* He used his fingers. Started at eight, took away three. Five. Tick.
Question 5: which number is bigger. Easy. Tick.
Question 6: easy.
Question 7: time. *Half past four.* Bo drew the clock hands. Half past meant the long hand on the six. Tick.
Question 8: easy.
Question 9: money. Two ten-cent coins and a five-cent coin. Bo added them up. Twenty-five cents. Tick.
Question 10: a tricky one Bo wasn't sure about. A puzzle. He thought. He wasn't sure. He guessed.
When the test was over, he handed it in. He wasn't sure if he'd got it all right. But he had answered every question. He had not panicked. He had not skipped any.
When Mr Halpern returned the tests on Monday, Bo had got nine right.
Nine out of ten.
"Bo," said Mr Halpern, "this is excellent."
Bo smiled. He showed Sven that evening. Sven made him a small certificate that said *BOSS DEFEATED, Level 4*.
Bo pinned it on his wall.
He still did not love maths. But he had a strategy now. And the strategy worked.