The classroom had long since emptied, the chatter of the day reduced to a faint echo somewhere down the halls. Outside the tall windows, the light had softened into dusky gold, streaks of orange and violet bleeding across the sky. Shadows stretched lazily across the floorboards, pooling beneath the desks that stood scattered and silent. The world felt quieter at this hour, the kind of quiet that made small movements and words seem sharper, more significant.
Jae sat near the back, one arm draped over the chair beside him as if he owned the silence. Elise Yuna and tirel and they all talked, about nothing in particular.
