𝗜 𝗞𝗡𝗢𝗪 𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗖𝗘𝗦, 𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘪𝘤

iii. seating plan

𝖢𝖧𝖠𝖯𝖳𝖤𝖱 𝖳𝖧𝖱𝖤𝖤
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
𝙨𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙣

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗙𝗢𝗟𝗟𝗢𝗪𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗗𝗔𝗬, Maxie made her way to her fourth-period class, AP Chemistry. It was only the second day, but Mr. Abrams had already assigned more homework than any of her other classes combined. The weight of her textbooks felt heavier as she navigated through the bustling halls.

Entering the lab, Maxie spotted her assigned seat, which happened to be next to Maia. Her best friend was hunched over her notebook, scribbling furiously with her dark hair falling over her face. Maxie smiled as she slipped into her chair, the familiar smell of Maia's lavender shampoo wafting over.

"It's the second day and you're already behind?" Maxie chuckled, arranging her supplies.

Maia looked up, her expression one of pure exasperation. "Well, not everyone likes chemistry, Maxine." She sighed, pushing her notebook away. "I had like 20 pages of math yesterday."

"It was not 20 pages," Maxie said, shaking her head.

Maia rolled her eyes dramatically. "Well, it felt like it!" She rubbed her temples.

Maxie sighed, pulling out her well-organized notebook. Sliding it over to Maia, she said, "You owe me."

"You're a literal lifesaver!" Maia's eyes lit up as she quickly began copying Maxie's notes. "I don't understand how you do this stuff so quickly."

Maxie shrugged. "Well, I had a lot of time yesterday because someone decided it was a good idea to skip out on our session."

Maia groaned. "Will you get over that? We've already established he's a dick."

"Yeah, a dick I'm being forced to tutor," Maxie muttered, her tone filled with resignation.

Their conversation was abruptly cut short as Mr. Abrams began his teaching. Yesterday, he had greeted the class with a box of donuts. Today, however, he greeted them with a dense lecture on Understanding Chemical Equations. As he began writing equations on the board, the classroom door flung open with a loud bang.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," Maxie rolled her eyes as Ethan walked in.

Maia, who had just finished copying Maxie's homework, looked up and chuckled. "This is so great," she whispered, earning a light smack from Maxie.

"Sorry, I'm late, sir." Ethan handed Mr. Abrams a slip of paper. "Guidance switched around my schedule."

Mr. Abrams gave him a soft smile. "No worries, Ethan. But let's not make it a habit."

Ethan nodded and started to head towards the empty seat beside his best friend, Jordan Hayes. However, Mr. Abrams held up a hand to stop him. "Yeah, I don't think so." He scanned through his seating chart, erasing and rewriting names. "Maia."

Maia's head shot up. "Yes, sir?"

"You'll be seated next to Jordan." He pointed to the jock, who sat directly across from where she was currently seated.

"But-" Maia started to protest.

"Now, please." Mr. Abrams' tone was stern, leaving no room for argument. Maia groaned as she gathered her belongings and moved to the empty seat. Jordan greeted her with a bright smile, but she responded with a scowl. Maxie's eyes widened as she realized what this meant for her.

Maxie's eyes widened as she realized what this meant for her. "Ethan, take a seat next to Maxie," Mr. Abrams instructed. Maxie groaned internally. This was not how she had intended to spend her semester.