the classroom buzzed with the usual noise. natalie sat at the edge of the table, arms crossed, tapping her foot. lottie leaned against the window, doodling absently, while you scribbled something on lottie’s paper. tai and van sat nearby, tai tapping her pencil, van’s foot lightly nudging hers under the table.

“you guys actually doing this?” you ask, glancing at between nat and lottie, who barely looked up from her random shapes. “nah,” lottie replied, chewing the end of her pen. “too boring.”

natalie rolled her eyes and slouched further into her chair. “seriously, what’s the point?” a random girl from another table sighed dramatically. “this class is pointless.”

mari kicked the back of misty’s chair, and misty spun around, glaring. “knock it off,” she muttered, but mari just flashed a grin, sticking her tounge out dramatically.

jackie, a few seats over, was whispering to shauna, who looked unamused. “this is the longest hour of my life,” jackie complained. “just don’t think about it,” shauna replied, tapping her pencil on the desk.

tai nudged van’s foot under the table again, and van gave her a small smile. “we’re all just waiting for the bell, right?” tai whispered.

“yep,” lottie said, tapping her pen. “same here.” “thankfully, we’re all good at pretending to care,” you add with a small smile, earning a snicker from a bored van.

“we’ll make it through,” natalie said, tapping her pencil. “somehow.”