The Chemistry Exam

   Dream Journal

I AM AT HOME WITH MY PARENTS. I am in a room with bare electric wires running across the floor. I feel a buzzing sensation. Then I am electrocuted.

I am at school, but I am in my 50s. I am looking for the chemistry room. Eventually I find it and sit down at a desk with my name on it. I am about to take my chemistry exam. The teacher takes my bike and a vintage Rolleiflex camera off me. She says I can have them back after the exam.

The exam questions are stupid. The first question is, “What would you do if your camera didn’t work?” It’s impossible to know the right answer. I know I’ve failed. I finish the exam and sit waiting to go home. I am wearing a blue suit. The other pupils comment on it. They think I look rich. A boy does a backflip across the desks. 

The teacher says we can go home. I ask her where my bike is but she doesn’t know. I tell her it’s a Google bike worth £300 or £400, maybe even £1500. I walk around the school looking for my bike but can’t find it. Someone suggests I ask at reception. 

I walk into reception. The receptionist is on the phone. I sit down in a brown armchair and wait for her to finish her call. There are lots of items around the room including a number of bikes and cameras. I see my bike in a corner. Then I spot my camera on a table.