7:43 AM – Class 1-A
The room was quiet.
Not silent like a library.
Quiet like a storm cell—heavy air, held breath, the distant rumble of something waiting to crash.
The desks were spaced apart. The board was cleared. And Mr. Brooks?
He walked in like he was about to preside over an execution.
Homeroom – Sarcasm Served Hot
He wore his usual outfit: wrinkled button-up, tie like a noose, and sunglasses still in place even indoors.
His coffee mug read: I grade with malice.
"Good morning, gladiators," he said, setting a stack of exam papers down on his desk. "The arena awaits."
Noah raised his hand. "Can we surrender before we begin?"
"Only your dignity," Brooks replied without looking up.
He tapped the board.
"Three exams today. No phones, no talking, no bathroom breaks unless you're on fire. And if anyone tries to cheat, I'll personally staple your test to your forehead."
Sofia: "Kinky."
Emma: "Sofia."
Mr. Brooks didn't blink.
"I've been waiting all year for this. Don't ruin my fun."
Exam 1 – Literature
I stared at the page.
Paragraphs blurred. Words swam.
I forced my mind to focus—on themes, motifs, metaphors.
But the quiet around me echoed with things louder than pens scratching paper.
Amaya sat two rows away—tense, focused, brows slightly furrowed.
Emma's lips moved slightly as she read—mouthing the first line of every answer before writing.
Luna drew small loops on the margin with her pencil before every paragraph, like a ritual.
Sofia was already two pages in, chewing on her pen like it owed her something.
Tyler was… not dead, somehow.
I smirked.
Then went back to work.
Break – Courtyard, 10:30 AM
We had fifteen minutes before the next test.
Everyone looked like survivors of an emotional mugging.
"Why were there so many essays?" Amaya whispered.
Tyler groaned. "I tried to write about The Odyssey but I think I just described a Fast & Furious movie."
Noah was lying in the grass face-down.
Sofia sat on the bench beside me and nudged my arm.
"How'd you do?"
"I wrote a metaphor comparing love to a vending machine."
"...That might be the most you thing I've ever heard."
Emma joined us with a bottle of water and a tired smile.
"Two down. Keep your brains warm. Math's next."
"Ugh," Sofia said. "There's nothing sexy about math."
Emma: "That explains your test scores."
Exam 2 – Math
The numbers stared back like enemies in a duel.
I cracked my knuckles.
Tried to ignore the way my mind kept drifting.
Not to the questions.
To everything else.
To the garden.
To Emma's look at the aquarium.
To Amaya's almost-confession.
To the message I hadn't deleted from my phone.
"Come home after midterms."
It ticked behind my thoughts like a time bomb.
But I finished the test.
Somehow.
Lunch – Rooftop Peace
I sat on the edge of the roof, away from the noise.
Just air. Sky. The hum of the city beyond.
Emma joined me without asking.
Sat a few feet away, opened her water bottle, and didn't say anything for a long time.
Finally—
"You really are different this week."
I looked at her.
But she was staring straight ahead.
"I can't figure it out," she continued. "It's not bad. Just… like you're saying goodbye without using words."
I didn't reply.
She didn't push.
Instead, she handed me a granola bar.
"Eat something. You've got science next."
Exam 3 – Science
Halfway through the exam, someone's pencil snapped.
Probably mine.
Luna passed me a spare without a word.
I nodded.
She nodded back.
Tiny moments. Quiet ones.
They were piling up.
Like sand in an hourglass.
And the last grain was falling fast.
After School – Mr. Brooks' Closing Words
He collected the papers with a grin too wide.
"Day one complete. If you still remember your own names, congratulations. If not—well, too late now."
Sofia: "Did we pass?"
"You'll find out when I finish grading… in three to five business years."
Noah: "You're my villain origin story."
Brooks raised a brow.
"That would imply you were a hero to begin with."
And just like that, he left.