Elias! Elias! Wake up, man! Jeffrey called out to his best friend.
Elias groggily replied, "Wake me up after class ends, Jeffrey," as he pushed his friend's hand away.
Jeffrey, seeing that Elias was still out of it, whispered, "Elias, wake up! The teacher is glaring at you, and she doesn't look happy."
The teacher, standing at the front of the class, had her eyes fixed on Elias with a look of growing frustration. She began to walk over to his desk, her footsteps deliberate and sharp.
Jeffrey, sitting to Elias' left, quickly looked away and began whistling, trying to avoid the teacher's attention. To Elias' right, his childhood friend Marie was pretending to focus intently on her notes, but Elias could tell she was trying to avoid the situation too.
The teacher reached Elias' desk and stopped. She stood there for a moment, looking down at him, her gaze like a weight pressing on his chest. Her silence only made the tension more unbearable.
Then, the teacher tapped Elias on the shoulder.
Elias, still half-asleep, pushed her hand away and mumbled, "Let me sleep, Jeffrey, wake me up after class ends."
Jeffrey muttered under his breath, "Now he is done."
The teacher, visibly angry now, slammed her hand on Elias' desk with a loud bang that made the entire class jump. "Elias!" she yelled, her voice cutting through the air like a blade.
Elias shot up straight in his seat, startled by the sudden outburst. He blinked a few times, still trying to shake off the remnants of sleep. "Yes, ma'am," he said, his voice a little groggy.
The teacher didn't waste a second. "Why were you sleeping in my class?" she demanded, her eyes narrowing as she crossed her arms.
Elias, still trying to gather himself, quickly scrambled for an answer. "I… well, I… I was studying till late last night," he stammered, his voice quiet but honest.
It was true. Elias was the school topper. He had always been the best in every exam and test, earning straight A's without fail. He spent countless hours studying, often sacrificing sleep in the process. But no one really understood that. They just saw the perfect grades and expected him to always be the perfect student.
The teacher seemed to soften slightly, but she didn't let up. "That may be true, but you are creating a bad example for the other students. They look up to you, Elias. You are their role model, and you are setting a poor example."
Elias, a little frustrated, muttered under his breath, "Yeah, yeah, I used to think the same. Other students see me as a role model—only until a few years ago. I realized it wasn't true."
The teacher didn't hear him, or at least didn't acknowledge it. She took a deep breath and exhaled sharply. "Go to the washroom, wash your face, and return. You have 5 minutes. If you are even 1 minute late, I will give you a punishment."
Elias nodded without saying a word, his thoughts swirling in his head. He stood up from his desk, feeling the weight of the entire class's eyes on him. His friends, Jeffrey and Marie, still didn't meet his gaze. They weren't going to get involved; this was his mess to clean up.
As Elias walked toward the door, his mind was still foggy from sleep, but something deep inside him stirred. He had never been in this situation before. Usually, his good grades and perfect attendance shielded him from trouble. But today, something felt different.
He pushed open the door to the washroom and entered. The cold tiles and the sterile scent hit him immediately. He made his way to the sink and splashed cold water on his face, hoping it would help him wake up fully. As the cold water dripped down his face, Elias stared at his reflection in the mirror. He was a high school student, still figuring things out, but it always felt like the world expected him to have it all together.
He rubbed his face dry with a paper towel and took a deep breath, staring at his reflection again. For the first time in years, he felt unsure of himself. The weight of being a role model was more than he had ever anticipated.
But little did Elias know, that one simple visit to the washroom would set the stage for a chain of events that would change his life forever. He didn't realize it yet, but his life was about to take a new direction. The destination he had always imagined for himself—the life he had carefully crafted—would soon be out of his reach. And what would come next, Elias couldn't have prepared for.