Cass slumped into his chair, his feet resting in the metal basket attached to the bottom of his desk. The hood of his gray sweatshirt was flopped lazily over the back of his seat. It was hot, but tolerable.
Around him, people worked quietly, with some opting to gaze around the room with blank looks instead. Cass gripped the pencil loosely in his right hand.
'This is… quite underwhelming. I really thought engineering would have more hand-on type projects. I wonder if it's the same for the other classes? Ava mentioned how much she enjoys it…'
He sighed inwardly, thinking about everything besides the assignment. Ava was his closest friend. She understood how profound silence was, and when together, few words were needed. Even the most mundane tasks became enjoyable with the right type of silence.
Cass looked down at his hand, scratching slightly at his wrist.
At the front of the room, a small clamor suddenly arose. The engineering teacher, Ms. Fischer, had suddenly stood up from her seat, sending it scraping a few inches behind her. She quickly looked over the room, and parted her lips slightly, however, no words followed. Instead, she began walking towards the door, her pace gradually increasing. With the sound of a doorknob turning, she walked out into the hallway, continuing until she was out of sight.
Many people looked up and stared at the slightly ajar door before turning their heads to survey the room. No one said anything, but the silence spoke for them.
'What was that?'
The hurried sound of clicking heels echoed down the hallway, and a woman soon appeared at the door.
"I'm so sorry, everyone. Ms. Fischer is suddenly feeling unwell. I'll be filling in for her class until she returns, so there's no need to worry."
She smiled softly, and proceeded to Ms. Fisher's empty desk. Sitting down in the vacant chair, she swiveled it around and began watching the entrance to the room.
Cass sat there in a confused manner.
'Who is that? I don't think I've ever seen her in the building before. Ms. Fischer as well… I've never seen her act like that.' Cass thought to himself, trying to discern the strange turn of events.
Cough
A hacking cough surfaced from the other side of the room, breaking the tension. A boy quickly cleared his throat, choking slightly on his own saliva. Cass observed several students sneering at this.
With the teacher gone and the stand-in not paying much attention to them, the students felt relaxed. The incentive for quiet was completely gone, and many conversations arised. Cass overheard the conversation of the two girls sitting in front of him, whether he wanted to or not.
"...What?" The girl looked at her friend with a skeptical expression.
"I swear—I'm being so deadass. I haven't seen her at all." She looked back at her with a strange expression before continuing.
"Last night she texted me out of nowhere talking about how we all need to visit the ocean sometime, but she never responded back, and she isn't here today. I've asked a bunch of people but no one's heard from her..." Her voice trailed off some.
"She's probably still sick? I know if I didn't have to go to school, I'd never get up this early. I'd bet she didn't feel like responding and is sleeping in this morning… that's so her." She smiled brightly.
"You really worry too much—don't read into things that much."
***
Cass's next three periods went by uneventfully. Eventually, a bell rang, signaling the start of lunch. Students flooded out of the classroom, sweeping the hallways into turbulence.
Cass wandered meekly to a designate hallway. At the end of the hall, he saw a young woman slouched over, sitting on the ground with a folder splayed open in her lap. Her black hair cascade down her shoulder, and stray strands stuck to her papers. The green folder matched her green zip-up jacket.
Ava looked up hearing the approaching footsteps. She smiled gently and waved at Cass, who returned the gesture.
"Hello."
"Hi."
Their greeting was curt, but it was enough for them. The silence spoke more than words could. Cass sat across the hall from Ava, putting his backpack to his side. He briefly rummaged through it, pulling out a paper. It was the assignment he was working on in engineering. Ms. Fischer never came back, so Cass decided not to finish it during class.
He began searching his backpack again in search of a pencil.
Suddenly, Cass heard the sound of brisk footsteps coming from down the hall. He saw Logan marching through, a faint scowl upon his face. He was no longer holding the posters distributed that morning. He rushed past Cass and Ava, turning a corner and vanishing from sight.
'What happened to him?' Cass wondered.
Looking down at his paper, Cass picked up his pencil and began writing.
***
Logan rushed down the hall, his thought running amok.
'Why did I decide to run for school president... campaigning for it is so exhausting for no reason. I tried so hard to look happy but I hated that so much more than I expected.'
Logan raised his hand and combed it through his hair. He wiped a thin layer of perspiration from his forehead.
'Why is it so hot? It was cold outside so I dressed for that, did the heating break over the summer again?' He lamented to himself.
Before long, he reached a plain door. Pushing it open, he entered into the room. The room belonged to Mr. Siarkas, one of the handful of English teachers at Palestone Highschool. He sat plumply at his desk, smiling as Logan walked in.
"Mr. Siarkas—thanks for letting me use your printer this morning. I'm sorry to trouble you like that." Logan thanked him sincerely. The budget for their school was already limited, so printers, let alone the paper, were hard enough to come by. Besides the school library, Mr. Siarkas's room was one of the few in the building that had one. Unlike the library, however, he did not depend on the school for new supplies of paper and ink. He refilled them both himself, and would let you print as many things as you needed—given you had a good reason and asked nicely. The library indifferently limited printing papers to only 5 per day.
"It's my pleasure. I'm glad to see you willing to take on a leadership position." Mr. Siarkas responded warmly.
"Just be sure to let me know in advance next time..." He trailed off some, glancing up at Logan, his eyebrows vaguely raised.
"I-I will—sorry—again, thank you." Logan nodded, stammering slightly.
"I, um, need to go visit another teacher. Have a good day, Mr. Siarkas." Logan turned around, a began striding towards the door.
"Have a good day." Mr. Siarkas responded, already looking back down at his desk.
As Logan walked out of the door, he heard a cough coming from the desk.