So Jenny had been writing earlier, she'd actually scribbled something down after all.
"Hey! What's that?" Maya asked, reaching for the page—only for Jenny to snap the book shut like a trap.
"It's nothing!" Jenny blurted, clearly uneasy.
"Come on! What did you write?" Maya prodded, trying to snatch the notebook from Jenny's death grip.
"I said it's nothing!"
Maya giggled, "You're totally hiding something from me!"
"Shhh! Keep it down, Mr. Jack's still in teacher mode," Jenny hissed, trying to use him as her getaway excuse.
One more tug from Maya, and boom! Mr. Jack's radar picked them up.
"Hey! you at the back!"
Maya poked her chest. "Me?"
Mr. Jack adjusted his big round glasses like he meant business.
"Nope, not you. The one next to you."
Jenny pointed to herself, wide-eyed. "Me?"
"Yes, you!"
"Since you've got the time to chit-chat, I'm sure you've got the time to enlighten us a bit too!"
Jenny's heart, stopped for a second, and then a double beat followed, followed by a series of fast beats.
Maya slapped a hand over her mouth, giggling like she was watching a romcom unfold live.
Jenny dragged herself to the front, heart pounding, legs twitching.
She pulled herself together, adjusted her glasses up the bridge of her nose like it might fix everything.
'I did not sign up for this!' she screamed inside her head, loud enough it almost slipped out.
"Based on everything I've said, explain the tyranny of standardized testing," Mr. Jack said, folding his arms like he was watching a performance.
Jenny stood frozen for a second, lips sealed.
"Yo, weirdo! Answer the dang question and get your weird face outta our way!" some jerk in the back yelled.
The room erupted in snickers and stifled laughs.
"Enough! Let her talk," Mr. Jack snapped.
Jeremy shot a cold, razor-edged glance at the guy, his fists were itching for a round or two punches.
Jenny tried to speak, but as usual, her words got stuck halfway, frozen at her throat the second she saw all those faces.
Her palms were slick with sweat, little beads of sweat forming across her forehead.
Then Maya's voice echoed in her head, swooping in like a lifeline.
Whenever you freeze up, just look at me. Pretend you're talking to me. Think about all our goofy moments. Be casual. Be bold.
The moment Jenny locked eyes with Maya, it was like someone flipped a switch, her hands dried, her spine straightened, and confidence slipped back in.
To everyone's surprise, Jenny nailed it, every word was clear, every point was sharp.
"Brilliant!" Mr. Jack beamed, motioning for her to head back to her seat like she just dropped the mic.
"Give it up for her, folks!"
Jeremy couldn't take his eyes off her watching every step she took like she was moving in slow motion.
She didn't even glance his way.
But Maya? She noticed everything.
*
*
*
Jeremy slumped deeper into his chair as the final bell blared. The room filled with chatter and foot shuffles while Mr. Jack's voice faded into the background noise.
He caught himself smiling..like a goof.
What the hell is wrong with me? he thought, giving his head a little shake.
The moment Mr. Jack said "dismissed," Jeremy shot up a little too quickly.
Some part of him just wanted one last look at Jenny before she vanished, but like a blink, she was already out the door.
She bolted the second the bell rang and weirdly, that hit harder than he thought it would.
He jammed his hands in his jacket pockets, leaned against the wall, jaw clenched, eyes glazed.
Then someone stepped into his space.