I had my tea now and grieved about the exam. Leaving a whole essay question unanswered! How could I expect to get better than a C?
This passage gives a peek into the mind of the narrator, and it shows that she has been suppressing her mourning by creating an almost obsessive normality. As you read, she discloses the death of her parents, as if the fact were trivial and had no more importance than her exam or her cup of tea. The simplicities of her life bury her as though she is the one who is deceased. This is most likely her coping mechanism that she subconsciously uses to create a bubble of normalcy around her.
This character resonates with me for she also ignores her feelings to take care of things of seemingly more importance. Schoolwork takes up enough time just to keep her from rehashing painful memories though some do manage to slip through. She believes she is already past her mourning but all she’s doing is pushing it deep down for another time. Essentially, she is like many people in our society. We don’t have the time, energy, or patience to deal with our feelings on a daily basis. We prefer to focus on the tasks we can handle quickly, moving on to the next task at hand without much thought about our happiness.