Archaeology 101... The Classroom of Despair

~Day 16~

The next day was an ominous one. There was a loud rhythmic wall of sound from rain that hit the ceiling of the building. Booms of thunder resonated through the room as time went on. Everyone started to reach the classroom. One by one. Kiera first, then Andrew, then Makayla and Matti, then Harp, then Alec, then Nico, and then Dave and Holly. Everyone looked around the room a bit, they stared outside as the rain poured down. Students with umbrellas walked to class, students ran as fast as they could to class and tried to get as least wet as possible. Everyone was tired and dreary, no one wanted to be in class today. Not even if they loved it. Time ticked on. Professor Ranking showed up a little later than usual. It was then that Kiera spoke up.

"Uhmm guys... Where's Ken?" With a concerned look on her face, she asked. "He's never been late before, never mind not here..." Everyone looked at each other, also confused and worried.

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing." Makayla piped in nervously. "We also have a test today, he loves taking those to see how much he actually knows."

"Well, let's not panic guys I'm sure that he'll be here before the test," Andrew confirmed while he held a comforting smile to everyone else. This calmed everyone down quite a bit as they nodded slowly in agreement, which calmed their nerves right now. The classroom quieted down. It was usually so boisterous. But now all that could be heard was the very faint tick of the clock and the pound of the rain outside.

"Alright, everyone! Time for your quiz! I hope you studied well" Professor Ranking said, he interrupted the silence with his usual calm, friendly smile.

"Uhmm Professor Ranking, are we not going to wait for Ken? We know that he'll be here. He showed up even with a fever! He would never miss a test..." Kiera said with a distressed tone. The rest of the class nodded along with her. They awaited Professor Ranking's response.

"Who?"

The class went into a thick silence. Everyone started at Professor Ranking as he had just said something very strange. What did he mean, 'who?' Ken, the genius guy who always sat in the back. The one who gave witty comments at just the perfect moment.

"Hahaha Professor, what a funny joke! Just because He's not here doesn't mean he doesn't exist, that's ridiculous!" With that said the whole class threw their heads back in recognition. Of course, it was just a joke because Ken would never miss a class.

Professor Ranking had a confused look on his face, "Are you guys pulling my leg now? There are only 8 of you in my class this year. I could think back and think of some Ken's, but none from this year." The class went dead silent once more. What did he mean? No Ken? Ken had to be there. He always was. Everyone looked at each other uneasily.

"Uhmm Professor, we really do believe there was a Ken in this class, if you aren't joking do you mind if we see the attendance before we start the quiz?" Makayla said in a soft tone. Everyone was on the edge of their seats. What was about to happen? Who would be proven correct? Professor Ranking sighed and pulled up the attendance and displayed it on the projector so everyone could see it. They all read the names one at a time...

Matthias Brodek...

Holly Cauldoon...

Alec Cayuna...

Nico Dirs...

Harmony Geitla...

Kiera Guao...

Andrew Matthews...

Dave Simons...

Makayla Willis...

There really was no Ken there. A sharp breath was inhaled as everyone started to question everything. Their heads were spinning. No Ken? He wouldn't drop out, right? That's so unlike him.

"Alright now that I have satiated your curiosity, let's get this test started and over with." Professor Ranking started to hand out tests. Everyone else just sat there in shock. What was going on? Their heads spun through the whole test. They paid more attention to the pitter-patter of rain and the tick of the clock than the words on the paper.

At the end of the test and class. As per usual, Professor Ranking excused himself which left everyone in the classroom. There was a brief moment of silence. Suddenly Kiera got up and ran outside the door. Everyone still sat in silence. Shocked.

"Hahaha... Well, I definitely didn't do well on that test... yeah?" Andrew tried to lighten the mood. No one responded. There was only a slight murmur of forced laughter. There were minutes of silence. No one wanted to leave. No one wanted to talk. They just sat there. 15 minutes later of thick gross silence, Kiera burst back through the door out of breath.

"Guys.... This is... really strange... I... asked everyone I saw if they knew Kenneth. Here's where it gets strange... No one knew who he was??? I mean I know he was the smart kid but he was in a bunch of classes. It doesn't make sense that not a single person would know who I was talking about?!" Everyone stared at Kiera as she huffed and puffed, finally catching her breath.

"Well, that just can't be possible." Holly confidently said. "Something obviously happened to him, it's not like he just got up and disappeared. I'm sure he will show up in a couple of classes or something." Everyone just slowly nodded. And packed up for the day. 

Dazed. 

Confused.