homas ran the last few yards across the quadrangle as the last of the nine bells sounded its sonorous chime. The air was filled with an after sound that hung on the cusp of hearing for seconds after the bell had tolled, like the sensation of a fine wine on the palette. He hurried along to the Announcing Hall for the calling of the results, a ceremony he dare not miss, not again. Entering the Hall by the side door, he could see that most of the others were already there, waiting for the pronouncement of the Dean of the college. He took a seat near to the door and looked around.

He saw a sea of nervous faces, each one twisted into a grimace of anticipation, waiting to see if they had passed their exams.

The Nine Bells was a ceremony as old as the University itself. The college had stood on this ground for over six hundred years, and records showed that the first ceremony of the Nine Bells had been held a few years after it had begun taking students. The nine bells tolled out on the last day of each term, in this instance, just before the Summer break, when the results of the assessment examinations were announced to the students. The college prided itself on its unique system of assessment. Most others had examinations at the end of each year, and some even allowed for students to be evaluated as their course progressed, but not Camber College. Here students were evaluated after each term and when the bells tolled they would come scurrying from their libraries and laboratories and lecture halls to hear the announcement by the Dean.

Thomas had missed it last year. He had slept through the bells and he had missed his results, having been to a wild and dangerous party the night before. The Dean had been ready to fail him for this, except for the intervention of Professor Caldwell, he would not have been here now for this result ceremony. He sat back, as nervous as the next man or woman.

The door at the back of the stage opened and the Dean walked out onto the stage and laid his notes on the lectern. He was a thin man, almost skeletal thin. Many thought that he must be suffering from cancer or some similar disease that wasted the body, so thin was he. But the truth was he was in fine health for his age. He deliberately did not make eye contact with any of the gathered students or professors, but kept his eyes down on his notes and shuffled papers as if despite the hours he had spent preparing them, some fool had rearranged them for him out of order. Once he seemed satisfied that things were as they should be, he looked up at the gathered crowd with watery eyes and took a deep breath.

“Good morning to you all and welcome. We are gathered here today for the five hundred and eighty sixth ceremony of the Nine Bells at Camber College, in the University of London and Other Regions. Today we shall announce the results of the term assessment examinations that you finished recently. I need not remind you all of the gravity of the situation. If you fail an assessment examination, then your time here at Camber is over. We pride ourselves on academic excellence at Camber and nothing but the very highest standards will be tolerated. But you know this already.”

He took a sip of water from the glass on the table beside the lectern and cleared his throat to continue. Thomas looked around the room to see if there were any panic stricken faces. It was easy to tell those who knew they had failed, they were the ones with the haunted look about them, but all seemed to be wearing bright masks of quiet confidence, however false. Thomas wondered how many of them would soon find out that their confidence was misjudged. The Dean continued.

“This year, we have had a record number of major achievements accomplished by the students and staff of the college. I will mention just a few here.” He took another drink of water and continued. “Mister Brown of the Bio Engineering faculty for his work on assimilation of living cell tissue with polymers. Professor Tewks and Messrs. Cunningham, Proud and Trent for their paper on “The Extraction and Elimination of Heavy Metals from Contaminated Soil in the Former German Democratic Republic.” This was a remarkable achievement that has brought much kudos to this college. Well done gentlemen.” He looked over the top of his half-moon glasses to flash a brief cold smile to the people he had named.

“I will not take up your time with a list of all the incredible achievements that this college has made this year, but I will remind you all of why you were chosen by this college. You were chosen because you are the best of the best, only those who meet our very high entrance standards are taken on here. However, there can be no room for slackness and malingering. We will not tolerate students who do not give us one hundred percent effort. That is why we have the term assessments. That is why you are here now, to find out which of you have not managed to live up to the promise you showed us when we accepted you.” Now there was a ripple of unease in the room, here it was, the crunch time.

The Dean continued. “We will first have a prayer read by the College Chaplain and then we shall take the cup.”

Taking the cup was a part of the ceremony. The college had hundreds of obscure ceremonies associated with it, the reason for many of them had been lost in the mists of time, but as with most things English, there was a great deal of importance placed on tradition, and Camber College was nothing if not traditional. Thomas looked sideways and saw the college porters begin to file into the hall, carrying trays of silver cups filled with wine. There were dozens of them and they stood, one at each end of the rows of hard wooden chairs. The Chaplain took the stage and lowering his head he began his prayer.

“Oh Lord, we ask you to help guide us in our endeavours for the pursuit of excellence and for discipline to achieve this. We ask you took look over us all and to help us when we falter, and to show us the true path to knowledge and so to find peace with ourselves and with you. Amen.” The gathered students intoned the prayer ending Amen in ragged unison and the porters stepped forward to dispense the cups.

Each person took a cup from the tray and passed it along the line to the next one, each taking a cup until everyone held a small silver cup of pungent red wine in their hand. The empty trays were sent back along the line to the porters, who took a step back and stood against the wall.

The Dean raised his cup and all gathered stood to take the toast.

“To the pursuit of perfection and excellence in academia,” he said, and as with the prayer, all gathered repeated the toast and then drained the silver cup to the last dregs.

The porters stepped forward and began to work their way along the lines of chairs, taking back the empty cups and at the same time ensuring that they had indeed been drained of their contents. Placing them on the trays, they again retreated to the walls and stood there impassively.

The Dean took up a large leather bound ledger from the lectern and opened it.

“I will now read the list of names. When your name is read out, come to the stage and stand on the yellow line. Bow once to me and the Chaplain and once to the college crest to the left and await my pronouncement on your performance.” He cleared his throat and began to read names from the ledger.

“Aubrey, Robert,” he said with due solemnity and Aubrey, Robert stood and walked to the front of the stage. Standing on the appointed spot, he bowed to the Dean and the Chaplain and to the college crest.

“Aubrey, Robert. Pass.”

Bob Aubrey nearly collapsed with relief. He had been sure he had failed this year. He had been borderline last year and he was sure that this year it would all end. A porter handed him another silver cup, which he drank straight down and walked away from the stage and back to his seat. The Dean continued to call names from the book and each one repeated the proscribed formula. Bow twice and await their fate.

The Dean read a list of names, each one followed by the word pass. Each was handed a second cup of wine to drink. As the number of students called forward dwindled, Thomas became more agitated.

Then it was his turn.

“Grimethorpe, Thomas.”

Thomas got up from his seat, all eyes now on him. Those of the students who had been told they had passed, watched him with a mixture of relief that it was not them and pity for him, as they knew what he must be feeling right now. He walked to the stage and took his place at the yellow line. He took a deep bow in front of the Dean and the Chaplain and then he turned to the college crest and took a second bow. He stood upright and awaited his fate.

“Grimethorpe, Thomas,” intoned the Dean in a deep rich voice.

“Failed.”

Thomas felt faint. He swayed slightly, but two porters had arrived at either side of him and they held him upright. A murmur went around the room. The first failure.

Thomas was shaking now, he wanted to throw up, but his throat was dry and his stomach had nothing in it, except for the wine he had drunk, which had now turned sour inside of him.

The Dean looked down at him with an ill-disguised look of contempt.

“Thomas, you are the first failure of this term. I doubt you will be the last, but still you are the first. You are of course fully aware of what this means?” The question was of course rhetorical. Every student knew what failure meant.

“So, Thomas, the porters will now lead you to the waiting room. There you will hand over the keys to your dormitory and your college-pass. You will then wait there until the poison you have drunk has taken effect. Your death will be painless and fairly quick. Goodbye Thomas. It is such a shame, as you showed such great promise when you came to us. Let us now continue with the announcing.”