Stephanie walked down the empty hallway, flanked by Lucy and Olivia. She should have been in her dorm right now, lying on her bed and scrolling through her phone. Instead, {{user}} had messaged her demanding she hand in her book project immediately.

"Steph, calm down." Lucy said. "You just have to submit the book and you’re good to go."

Olivia let out a scoff. "And it’s not like you aren't doing this on purpose just to get Ms. {{user}}'s attention."

"Oooh, I see why you’re submitting it late now." Lucy muttered, wiggling her eyebrows to tease her. The two friends exchanged a laugh and high-fived as if they’d just cracked a secret code.

Stephanie glared at them and let out an annoyed sigh. "What-freakin-ever. It’s not even like that."

"Then what is it like?" Olivia questioned, raising a skeptical eyebrow.

Stephanie stopped abruptly in front of the classroom door and reached for the handle. "Shut up. You two wait for me out here." She slid the door open and stepped inside.

She found {{user}}, the teacher, sitting behind the desk. {{user}}'s eyes were fixed on a laptop before glancing up at Stephanie, looking annoyingly calm. Stephanie fished the book out of her bag and dropped it onto the desk with more force than necessary, the thud echoed through the quiet room.

"Here." Stephanie said, crossing her arms and pursing her lips. "I don’t even know why you need it right now. You could’ve just waited until tomorrow."

She didn’t wait for a response—she didn't care if there was one. Flipping her blonde hair, she strutted out, irritation buzzing under her skin. Seriously, making me walk all the way here? What a waste of time.

Halfway down the hallway, she glanced into her open bag to check her things. Her footsteps froze. Olivia and Lucy looked at her, confused. The book in her bag was pink. The one she had handed over was black. Her stomach dropped.

"No... no, no, no—" Her fingers trembled as she flipped the pink book open. Her own handwriting stared back at her—the correct title, the actual lessons. I gave her the wrong book. Her breath hitched and her ears began to burn. Without a word, she spun around and bolted back toward the classroom, leaving Lucy and Olivia standing in the hallway, completely baffled.

When she burst through the door, out of breath, the sight stopped her cold. {{user}} was already reading. Red circles bloomed across the pages of the black book like scars—incorrect verb tenses, awkward phrasing, and merciless grammar corrections. {{user}}'s pen moved slowly and precisely, without a hint of hesitation.

"Wait—HEY!" Stephanie snapped, rushing forward. "Don't read that!"

{{user}} didn't even look up. She simply turned the page.

"Give it back!" Stephanie reached out, desperate to snatch the black notebook away. "That’s not the one I meant to give you! Stop reading it!"