The rest of the week passed as quickly as butter melting on the stove. Anna spent so much time studying with her mom that she kept having nightmares about her math test. First, she dreamt she got a -32, with every single problem covered in angry red corrections. Then, she dreamt her test burst into flames right before she could hand it in, leaving her with nothing but a handful of ashes and the inexplicable stench of burning chocolate. Lastly, Eliza got to compete on Sliced because she got a higher grade than Anna, and she got last place because Ivan's vulture laid an egg in her oven and pecked her fingers every time she tried to use it.

Anna knew she at least didn't have to worry about anything that crazy happening in Mr. Sanderson's class, but that didn't stop her heart from hammering the instant she stepped into his room. Normally the minutes before class started would be filled with chatter about everyone's weekend plans or the newest video game, but today only a sheep's anxious bleating and a deer snorting as it stomped its hoof against the linoleum broke through the silence.

At last, the bell announced the start of class. "Alright, everyone, you know the drill." Mr. Sanderson tapped the stack of tests against his desk. "Headphones on, and eyes on your own desk. Nobody starts until everybody's got their test. If you so much as peek, that's a zero. Got it?"

"Yes, Mr. Sanderson," the class said in unison. They all donned the noise-canceling headphones they wore whenever they had a quiz or test, guaranteed to keep even the loudest companion from distracting them too much or helping them cheat.

Mr. Sanderson nodded. He marched down the rows of desks, depositing each test face down. His heron tiptoed behind him on long, spindly legs, constantly turning its head to make sure nobody started early.

Not for the first time, Anna silently cursed her spot near the front of the class. She was one of the first to receive her test, leaving her staring at nothing but whiteness as she waited for the signal to start.

Everyone was counting on her to get at least an 85 so she could compete on Sliced. If she didn't, Sweet Surprise was doomed.

At last, Mr. Sanderson's heavy footsteps returned to the front of the classroom. The noise-canceling headphones blocked out his words, but his heron's frantic flapping was the only signal they needed.

A chorus of rustling papers filled the room as everyone flipped their tests over. Anna was immediately greeted with rows of math problems. A sea of numbers swam in front of her eyes as her bees swarmed above her in a chaotic cloud.

What was that saying she was supposed to remember? Pink Doughnuts Make... no. Maple Sugar Doughnuts... that wasn't right either. All this thinking about doughnuts just made her hungry and frustrated and scared she'd let everyone down.

She couldn't let herself think like that.

Anna took a deep breath and silently counted to ten. Her bees slowed their frenzied flight until they came to a stop on her desk, silently twitching their wings. She could do this. She just had to remember what Jack said. Whatever it was had been really silly.

Pigs Eagerly Munch Dill And Spaghetti!

Anna swallowed a giggle as she jotted that along the margin of her test. That was it. She could never forget something that ridiculous. Now she just had to tackle the actual problems.

The first ones were the hardest. Equations didn't tell her why the numbers mattered, and unlike word problems that let her round to the nearest whole number or gave her multiple answers to choose from, these had to use decimals.

Just because the problems didn't give her much to work with didn't mean she couldn't help herself think of them in a way that made more sense. Like in her practice problems, Xs became ingredients like flour and eggs, and Ys transformed into finished desserts. Now this was something she could understand.

Before she knew it, Anna had moved on to the word problems and multiple-choice questions. At last, she no longer had to dissect rows of numbers. Sure she still had to turn the other problems into equations anyway, but for these, she'd at least be working with pieces she understood right from the beginning.

The rest of the test passed in a blur of pencil lead and eraser shavings. Anna flipped to the last page. All she had to do now was finish answering the bonus question and double-check—

The bell rang.

"Alright, everyone, pencils down." Mr. Sanderson shook his head at the groans that came from the kids who still hadn't finished yet as everyone took off their noise-canceling headphones. "Bunch of party poopers. Show some enthusiasm. It's the weekend!"

Cheers broke out as kids and their companions stampeded out of the classroom. Anna trailed behind everyone else, her backpack and worries weighing heavily on her shoulders as she handed in her test.

"Is everything okay?" Mr. Sanderson said as his heron cocked its head, silently observing her with unblinking yellow eyes. "You seem stressed, more than everyone usually is after a test."

"My parents won't let me be on Sliced if I don't get at least an 85." Now that she'd set it out loud, Anna's anxiety returned with all the force of an angry alligator. Everything depended on this one grade.

"I'd better take care of this right away, then," he said. "Wouldn't want you to be stuck worrying about this all weekend."

He pushed up his glasses and grabbed a red pen. His heron clacked its beak together as he scribbled down corrections. "You know, you're the second student today to use that pneumonic for PEMDAS. I'm beginning to think pigs enjoy pasta as much as I do."

Anna couldn't muster even the tiniest chuckle. She was too busy biting her lip as her bees buzzed in her ears. She wouldn't cry. Even if she didn't do well, she promised herself she wouldn't cry.

Mr. Sanderson flipped through the test, occasionally marking errors and inefficient problem-solving. At last, he reached the last page, narrowing his eyes as he twirled his pen between his fingers. "What happened here?"

Anna followed his gaze to the bonus question she'd only just started answering. "I ran out of time."

Mr. Sanderson hummed. "Only would've taken a few more seconds. Tell me, how could you apply what you've learned about solving for variables to your daily life?"

"My family does that sort of thing all the time at our bakery," Anna said, the words flowing as smoothly as buttercream. "We only have so much of each ingredient, so we always have to think about how much of different things we can make with what we've got."

"Good answer." Mr. Sanderson jotted +3 next to the bonus question before flipping back to the first page and adding her grade. "A great improvement over your last quiz. Nice work."

Anna cheered at the sight of the bright red 87 next to her name. She was going to be on Sliced!