The bell, a shrill and final sound, released them.
Kofi took a slow breath and began packing his bag, his movements deliberate and unhurried. He placed his notebook inside, followed by his pen.
'That was… a lot. But it wasn't a mistake. It was just… what happens next, I guess.'
He was aware of her standing up from her desk, the quiet scrape of her chair against the floor. He felt her approach, a silent presence stopping beside him. He finished closing his bag before looking up.
Nina was standing there, her arms crossed, her gaze fixed on a travel poster on the wall just over his head. She wasn't looking at him.
"You ready?" she asked the poster.
"Yeah," he said, slinging his bag over his shoulder and standing up.
They fell into step, walking out of the classroom and into the stream of students in the hallway. The silence between them wasn't awkward. It was… charged. A quiet space full of things that had been left unsaid.
He was the one who broke it.
"Hey."
