Solitude

Forty-Eight

Click! Click! Click! Click! Click!

The sound pierces the silence and it feels like a knife in my skull. A quick glance behind me reveals the perpetuator; a tall person with a pixie cut, weary filled brown eyes and mismatches clothing that looks like it was rapidly thrown on. I'm filled with pity instantly as I take in the anxious tapping of their foot and the way they're rapidly clicking their pen.

I take in a deep breath and return my focus to my examination paper. I can feel the answer at the front of my mind, basically at the tip of my tongue, but like an agent of mischief, it dances just out of my grasp. I remember this! I studied this with Cece in the room and she made a joke – what joke was it? Maybe if I can recall the joke, I'll remember the answer.

Click! Click! Click!

Snap!

I look up, startled by the sound and I find Mason, at my far left, seated by the window. He has a huge frown on his face as he looks at the remnant of his snapped pen. He shakes his head and pushes it off the table.

Miss Ira raises a brow at him from her position at the teacher's table and Mason points to the person clicking their pen incessantly.

"If you don't put a stop to that, I will!" He speaks up.

Some people start to murmur, but one stare from our teacher is enough to silence everyone. There is something in that dark eyes of hers that demand respect. She's pretty young; brown skinned, rather beautiful if I must say, but her eyes? No matter the expression on her face, her eyes stay dead and it's rather uncanny.

Beside Mason is Jonathan who has noise cancelling headphones over his ears as he does during every exam. It's odd because he barely ever uses headphones and when I asked about it, he said it's a disability tool, and didn't speak more on it. He notices Mason moving so he looks up and with furrowed brows, turn to the person Mason is looking at.

"I'm sorry," pen clicker murmurs and opts for chewing on their nails instead. Satisfied with the results, Mason turns back to his note, but scoffs when he realizes he doesn't have a pen with him. Jonathan – ever prepared as always – wordlessly passes him an extra pen. Miss Ira watches his exchange and when she's satisfied the commotion has died, she turns away to supervise the rest of the class.

Okay, you don't remember the answer to this. Just move on to the next one and move from there.

'Based on your answer in the above question...' Well fuck me sideways and call it a day!

I raise my fingers to massage my temples as I try to concentrate. I wish Cece was in this class with me. Perhaps if I saw her face, I would remember what we were laughing about, then I'd know the answer. Was it a movie? No! Not a movie? A book? A TikTok video? Yes! It's all coming to me now. It was a video of...

"Cheating in my class, is that it?" Miss Ira's soft but oddly loud voice speaks up, breaking my silence.

FUCKING SON OF A BLOODY STRANGLED BITCH!

~~~

"So, how was everyone's paper today?" We meet up at Jonathan's as usual after writing. His house has become the group study place and he's more than happy to accommodate us and provide us with appropriate snacks – actually, he hates that people just won't leave, but he's too much of a sweetheart to say anything about it.

"I'm probably getting a B and my whole life is ruined. I won't be accepted into –"

"You do this every day. Please, stop!" Eunice who is laying their head on Bubblegum's laps interrupt Praise who is sitting on a hammock. "My exam was multichoice which was meh! I think I'll get a pass."