**Rashidi POV**
I tried my best not to look to my left, despite the strong urge that was tempting me. This was not a rare occurrence; he was always doing things like this, always trying to get me to break. This time was no different, my willpower failed me.
With how quick my glance was, I didn't even get to see his face, but just seeing this guy in my line of sight made me burst into uncontrollable laughter.
Knowing that this was not an appropriate place for jokes, I put my head down, trying to block the sounds with my hands wrapped around my face. It was already too late, I could feel everyone's gaze on me.
"Rashidi!" Mrs Anderson shouted. I instantly raised my head, meeting her terrifying gaze for less than half a second, before I looked away. "The next time that I hear a sound from you, you will be spending the rest of the class in the hallway!" She warned sternly, still staring into my soul. Seeing my lack of eye contact, she turned back to the whiteboard. "I warned you twice already."
Mrs Anderson's threats were never just threats. I knew that this was my last chance to calm down. I blended my laughter into a cough and made sure to look in the complete opposite direction of my friend, the comedian who found making me laugh more interesting than what the teacher was writing.
For a few moments after that, the class went on as normal. I paid attention to her teaching, all while avoiding this guy's gaze. He usually stopped joking around when it was time to be serious, though, so it wasn't a difficult thing to do. While the entire class worked, he absent-mindedly looked around the room, a hand under his chin, completely disconnected from the lesson.
RRRIINGGG.
Mrs Anderson received a phone call. "I apologize for the interruption, my daughter is calling, keep working guys." While some would say that it's unprofessional to answer a phone in the middle of class, parents were warned to keep in touch with their children these days. Too many people were disappearing these days.
She left the room, shutting the door behind her.
Seeing the short break, he looked over at me and smiled, knowing that the fact that we weren't supposed to laugh would make it impossible for me to keep it together. I tried to keep in my laughter, out of respect for my hard-working peers, but instead of getting the message, he made another face. That was my limit. A chuckle turned into a giggle, then into roaring laughter.
I tried to regain my composure, but the door opened and the teacher stormed back into the classroom. "Rashidi and Lith, go stand in the hallway!"
I sighed. I closed my book and rose from my seat, ashamed at my lack of self-control.
"What?!" Lith faked a protest, but Mrs Anderson and I both knew that he didn't care either way.
"I've been teaching you both for years now, I know that you're the reason why he's laughing."
"Yeah" He confirmed, playfully. He too got up from his seat, but in contrast to myself, he was happy to be leaving the classroom. The rest of the class didn't even look at us while we left. I heard a few giggles, but most of them were trying to avoid our fate.
We met in the hallway and stood side-by-side in silence. I was afraid that anything that we said would have been heard by the teacher. I was disappointed in myself, Mrs Anderson could have been saying something really important, and I wasn't even in the class to hear it.
"I apologize for making you laugh," Lith said, breaking the silence.
"You apologize, but you aren't sorry." I said calmly, remembering him telling me something like that: whenever you aren't sorry, you should say 'I apologize' instead of 'I'm sorry. Needless to say that he was following his own advice. It wasn't a problem, though, it was my fault for not being more disciplined. I wasn't blaming him.
"It won't happen again," I vowed out loud.
I saw him raise his eyebrows upon hearing that, but he didn't say anything.
"You wanna walk around the school?" He changed the topic. "It's not like we can hear anything out here anyways."
I weighed the idea in my mind for a moment, before dismissing it. While he was right about us not gaining anything from just being there, my parents wouldn't be happy with a call from Mrs Anderson.
"We shouldn't, I don't think we should make her any angrier," I told him. "There are consequences for your actions."
In a mocking, high-pitched voice, Lith replied "Oh, you're such a good boy."
I laughed at it. He was a naturally funny person. Even when he was making fun of you, it was hard not to laugh.
The door burst open between us and a hand emerged, holding two papers. I took both of them and then handed one to Lith, without looking at the red marking.
I glanced at mine for a second, before asking "All good?"
"Hell Nah." He responded lightly while folding the paper and placing it into the uniform shirt pocket. "Worst one yet."
"Ah."
"What about you?" He asked cheerily, despite the failing grade.
"It's alright."
"What is it? You don't have to be so modest all the time."
"Ninety-five per cent."
He chuckled. "A ninety-five is alright he says." He said, rolling his eyes.
I responded with a sigh of my own. "It's a matter of effort."
He imitated my tone and manner of speaking. "It is a matter of not wanting your African parents to destroy your ass if you get less than a 90."
That was also part of the reason. Everyone in the group knows how strict my parents were when it came to school. I couldn't even deny it.
"What's the answer to the last question?" I asked. It sounds strange that I would ask someone who failed the test for the answer to a question about it, but I knew that he knew.
"Leptotene, Zygotene, Pachytene, Diplotene and Diakinesis." He responded without missing a beat.
I carefully folded my paper, knowing that I would have to show it to my parents later. "Still got it," I replied.
"Yeah, I got it wrong." He said, showing me that page of his paper after unfolding it.
"Hold on. If you got it wrong, how do you know it then." I said suspiciously.
"I'm built different."
We had just gotten the test today, so there was no way for him to have looked it up anywhere. Did he really get it wrong on purpose? Even so, I knew that I couldn't get any more information than that out of him. He always said that, like it was an actual good answer. I sighed once more. Every time I spoke with him, it was like a series of disbelief and disappointment.
He knows that he can do better, but he chooses not to. I thought to myself.
"Are you coming to the thing today?" I asked
"I don't know, but David wants me to so chances are..." He trailed off on purpose, expecting me to finish the sentence for myself.
Suddenly, the bell rang. Twenty students rushed out between us through the door, interrupting our conversation. It was also too loud to shout over them so I just let it go.
The event was a meetup between all of the people from our old friend group. David wanted us to try to be friends again, a new start. It was supposed to be fun and eventful. I had already convinced my parents to let me go so I would be there, hopefully, Lith would too.
"Lith!" Mrs Anderson shouted from inside the classroom. "Me and you need to have a talk."
She sounded unhappy with him.
"Bruh, she's gonna be on my ass again." He whispered, sounding exhausted.
I laughed.
"Tell me when you get home, my brudda." He said, making a joke out of my accent and concluding our talk.
"Alright my brudda, I have to go to da Futbol." I replied, making a joke out of my own accent. It was a bit strange to do, but it was all jokes so I didn't mind.