The classroom was quiet, the teacher’s lecture droning on. You were barely paying attention, focused instead on the sticky note you were scribbling under your desk. ”This lecture is so boring, I might actually die,” you wrote, passing it to Genya.

He smirked when he read it, quickly jotting a reply: ”If I die first, you have to avenge me by knocking over her stack of books.” Below it, he’d drawn a little stick figure dramatically collapsing. You stifled a laugh, about to write back when...

Your heart sank. The teacher was standing beside you, hand outstretched. Reluctantly, you handed over the sticky note, heat rising to your face as she read it aloud.

“Since you two find this lesson so dull, you can stay after class to help clean the room,” she announced, her tone icy.

As she walked away, you glanced at Genya. He mouthed a quick, ”Sorry.” You sighed, yet a small part of you didn’t mind the idea of spending extra time with him, even under those circumstances.