somebody obviously graded the tests wrong

so i get up at 5:30 to be at RMS by seven. spend an hour or two focusing on both NOT being carsick and math problems. then we get there, sit around for 15 minutes, eat coffee beans, take the test (i SO need to learn how to read directions!) and have a break. after coffee (i wouldve thrown up if i had eaten) me and Pretzel went outside. Half an hour, we start walking back- and one of the alternates greets me with "Congratulations- you're going to the Nationals."

I'm like, haha very funny. He's like, no, i'm serious, you're fourth, Pretzel was fifth. I'm like, PLEASE tell me you're kidding. He's like, nope. I'm like PLEEEEEEZE. i walk up that stupid ramp, go inside, and there it is. I start majorly shaking, and i have to decide whether to do the Masters or not. I'm like, unless i change my mind, i'm NOT going too. Way too scary. and then Pretzel wouldnt have either, and then it would go to someone else. who would understand it. (not that Pretzel wouldnt have, but she didnt want to.) But i'm STILL freaking, and Hannah came with her mom to watch, and i go up to hannah and say, "tell me its ok if i dont do it!" being the helpful person she is, she says "its ok, you can do it!" excellent... i realize i would regret it forever if i didnt do it- like how i still regret messing up at the chapter countdown. with a celtic knot around my neck, i set out to do the Masters round.

i start to look at it and say, well it's chords- there was a formula somewhere bout that... but then i realize i dont need it. i just draw lines. (incorrectly, yes, but still.) then they talk about recursive formulas, which my SISTER just learned. wth? i dont get it. i skip it, go on to the one part i got right, the part i totally didnt understand, and the easy part- which i bombed. So i thought i understood it, and did an ok job explaining, but my answers sucked. so i didnt get a Masters trophy. who wants one?

the bad thing is, the top three- the rest of the team- are Asian boys who are waaaays smarter. and now i have to go to WEEKEND PRACTICES IN MANCHESTER to get ready for nationals. f***! i'm not that smart! Here my analogy: you have a box pins, with a picture of a needle on it, and you want needles. you assume that because the pins were in the needle box, they're needles. You test the one pin that happens to be sharp, and assume it's a needle. but then you try to use it as a needle- and it doesnt work. i cant do Nationals math! take Pretzel instead!

because, you see, we got the same score. but i got two easier problems where she got one harder one, so apparently that breaks the tie. Not that she wants to go either, but still. I feel like poisoning one of the boys so i can take her with me... me no wanna go!