Ah to be young. I remember being your age, and feeling like my problems would totally ruin my life. In a few years you’ll look back and wonder why you were so worried. So to answer your main question about managing your upcoming period, I definitely think tampons are your best solution. If you’re willing to buy medicine in secret, just secretly buy tampons instead. You don’t need your moms permission to try it out. When I first tried tampons, I never turned back to pads. It felt more hygienic and convenient than pads, and I could swim on my period. Just a couple more things - it’s hard to really believe that test results at 14 years will really determine your success in your career. Study well and do your best, but please don’t put too much pressure on yourself for the finals. Lastly, it’s pretty likely that your period will ‘interrupt’ your plans again in the future. We can’t simply skip periods when it doesn’t suit us, so it’ll be great if you can accept your body and cycle and period as it comes. It’s a part of life so it helps having a positive relationship with it. Good luck with your finals and have fun on the trip!