Before Evan even thought about cheating, he scanned his surroundings with calculated caution.
To his left, classmates were already bent over their test papers some writing furiously, others staring blankly as if the questions themselves mocked them. Straight ahead, more students fidgeted nervously, while their advisor sat rigidly at the front, red glasses gleaming as she oversaw the room.
Then Evan slowly turned his head to the right where his so-called friends sat.
The sight was a complete disaster, and yet, painfully hilarious.
Sabhano had actually placed his test paper on the floor, crouching as he angled his phone for a picture. When his eyes met Evan's, he flashed a mischievous, almost menacing grin as if this were some kind of game.
On the far side, Eric leaned casually in his chair, copying answers straight off the smartest student in our class without a shame.
Evan almost burst out laughing but had to cover his mouth to hide it. "What the hell are these two doing?" he thought.
"I thought we had a plan. A proper plan. And now they're just winging it on their own like complete idiots."
Shaking his head, Evan sighed. "I don't even know if I can call these two friends," he muttered under his breath as he reached into the left pocket of his black slacks.
Sliding one leg over the other, he angled his paper discreetly beneath his knee, shielding it from view. His fingers slipped his phone free, screen dimmed to its lowest brightness. His gaze flickered constantly left, right, forward. Sabhano was scribbling, Eric still shamelessly leeching answers. "Pathetic," Evan thought, though deep down, he knew he wasn't much better.
With a quick motion, Evan snapped pictures of both sides of his test paper. Before the exam began, he had already reminded his friends to connect to the school's Wi-Fi, a tip that now paid off. 'Straight access to the internet. Straight access to AI." He smirked at his own foresight.
He opened the chatGPT app, attached the photos, and typed carefully: "Answer it the multiple choice properly."
Then he leaned back ever so slightly, keeping one eye on his advisor, the other on his friends. "I need to be careful. If I get caught, it's over. I don't care if those two clowns get busted, but me? No way."
Then his phone buzzed.
Answers began rolling in. Multiple choice, one through thirty D, C, A… one by one the screen filled with salvation. Then slowly Evan wrote the answer in his test paper, but still he has great caution about his surrounding.
Then came the problem-solving portion, only five questions, but the kind that demanded formulas, steps of how you solve it, real work. Evan snapped another picture and typed again: "Solve this and show the formulas and the steps on how you solved it clearly."
The gym was eerily silent, broken only by the scratching of pens and the occasional cough. The air smelled faintly of paper and ink.
Moments later, his phone buzzed the solutions appeared, clean and detailed, step by step. Evan's lips curled into the faintest grin. "Perfect."
Thirty minutes passed. He traded quiet signals and scribbled notes with Sabhano and Eric, slipping answers back and forth like contraband. By then, most of their sheets were filled with answer from AI. The tense silence of the gym began to fracture as murmurs rose, chairs creaked, and the scratching of pens slowed. And Also the sound of the test paper.
The three of them leaned back, pretending to review their papers. In hushed tones, they chuckled over how ridiculous they had been earlier, Sabhano's clumsy photo-taking, Eric's shameless copying. Still, they double-checked their answers.
Evan ran his finger slowly along the questions, reading each one aloud in his head before landing on his marked answer. "Yeah… this sounds right this must be the answer. That has to be it, it came from an AI right?."
One by one, students began standing, walking toward the front to hand in their exams. When it was their turn, the three friends turned in their papers almost simultaneously, relief settling over them like a warm blanket. Physics was done.
But it wasn't over yet the last hurdle was CPAR subject.
Back in his seat, Evan sighed as he scribbled his name onto a fresh test sheet. This time, he didn't bother cheating. The questions weren't math-heavy nor dreaded formulas or problems. Just analysis, reflections, and common sense. That, Evan had plenty of. Confident, he wrote with ease.
Half an hour later, he and his friends were done again and they hand their papers. Together, they hauled their heavy metal chairs back to their room, the screech of dragging legs echoing through the halls.
"That was so easy!" Sabhano boomed, grinning ear to ear.
Evan laughed. "Easy? You almost got caught by the advisor. If Eric hadn't signaled you, you'd be done for.'
"Yeah bro, I saved your ass," Eric chimed in proudly.
"Yeah, yeah, sure man." Sabhano waved them off. "Anyway… what are we eating? I'm starving."
Evan's stomach growled at the mere mention of food. 'Now that you say it… yeah, I'm starving too."
Eric raised his hand to check his watch. "It's already 3:00 p.m. Let's hit the cafeteria."
The three of them headed there together. The cafeteria was open-air, more like a relaxed coffee shop than a school canteen. The counters bustled with food and drinks, the tables a warm shade of brown. Students laughed, ate, and lounged as if the exams hadn't drained the life out of them.
They bought food, sat together, and for the next two hours, talked about the exams, joked about each other's blunders, and drifted into lighter topics.
Time passed.
Eventually, Eric stood and slung his bag over his shoulder. 'I gotta go. Family dinner tonight. They're waiting for me outside."
"Bye guys!' he called, jogging off through the hallway.
Sabhano chuckled. "Why does he always run like a maniac?"
Evan glanced at Eric running and then he laughed softly, shaking his head.
Another half hour passed, just him and Sabhano now.
"I'll head out too," Evan finally said. "Got things to do at home."
Even though Evan is not really busy and don't have to do anything at home, he just lied to just go home early.
Sabhano raised a brow. ""Things to do? It's Friday. Tomorrow's Saturday. What could you possibly be busy with? Beside our exam is done." His tone was teasing.
They both laughed. "I'm a busy man," Evan replied with mock seriousness. "You should know that by now."
"Yeah, sure, buddy." Sabhano smirked. "I'll stay here. Gotta practice for my chess tournament tomorrow."
"Oh right," Evan remembered. "Good luck with that, man. Crush them all."
"Don't worry. I'll destroy them all," Sabhano boasted with a laugh.
They waved each other off. Evan slung his black bag over his shoulder and made for the exit.
By now, the air was cooler the kind of crisp breeze that whispered of evening. The sun was setting, painting the sky with a soft orange glow.
Evan checked his phone 5:52 p.m.
He strolled down the school's long cement pathway, and its blue metal railings guiding his way. To his left stretched the vast grass field, kissed by a golded sinking light. For a moment, he paused, looking up at the horizon.
"What a beautiful view. Who would've thought my school had something like this scenery"
He then resumed to walk.
At the main gate, the security guard rummaged through bags as usual. Even Evan's small sling bag was inspected. He sighed in annoyance. "What do they think I'm hiding in here? A bomb? It's too small to fit anything dangerous" Evan Sigh"What a hassle."
Shaking his head, he walked on.
He crossed the pedestrian line he had used countless times before, every day, and days turns to every week, and week turns to every month. and months, turns to every years and so on. Life had become a loop, repetitive and almost hollow. The routine weighed on him.
As he stepped back onto the familiar narrow stone path, that feeling of emptiness pressed heavier than ever. The silence of the path was calming, yet also lonely, as if the world around him carried secrets he could not grasp.
"What's the purpose of life ?" he wondered. "What could've fate is waiting for me?"
He tilted his head back. Leaves drifted down from the trees above, but something was off. In the morning, they had been green. Now, they glowed with orange and gold, shimmering like fading embers.
Evan rubbed his eyes. "I'm not imagining this… right?"
As the leaves touched the ground, their color deepened into pure gold, shining like scattered coins beneath the trees. He bent down, hesitating before picking one up. The instant his fingers brushed it, a strange sensation rippled through him.
But he ignored it. Or perhaps, he simply couldn't understand it or he doesn't feel it.
Rising slowly, Evan held the golden leaf in his hand. Its glow reflected in his dark eyes, erasing all thought for a moment.
And then silence.
Darkness.