By the time Lia sat down, the classroom didn't even feel like a classroom anymore.
It felt like a war room.
Jay had already dragged two desks together. Ion's schedule paper was stolen somehow. Percy had three different
notebooks open like he suddenly
remembered academics existed. Eren was lying flat on the floor staring at the ceiling like life betrayed him.
Hunter was quietly eating chips like none of this concerned him.
Typical.
Lia closed her eyes for five seconds.
Five.
That's all she got.
Then
"LIA," Jay shouted.
Her eye twitched. "What."
Jay waved a pen dramatically. "Exam timetable. Explain. Why are there THREE papers in one day. Who designs this. I just wanna talk."
"With violence," Percy added.
"Educational violence," Jay corrected.
"Same thing," Percy said.
Across the room, chaos had split into categories.
Study panic.
Dance panic.
Travel panic.
General screaming.
Kit and Mayo were sitting together at one desk, whispering aggressively.
"You said we had time," Kit hissed.
"I thought we had time," Mayo hissed back.
"You literally said 'future us will handle it.'"
"Yeah, well future us is suffering."
"WE ARE FUTURE US."
Meanwhile Drew had somehow opened YouTube.
"Guys, 'How to pass exams in one night' has 12 million views. That's promising, right?"
"Shut up," Rory groaned, face down on the desk.
Near the window, Jay suddenly stood up.
"Okay STOP."
Nobody stopped.
She slammed a book shut loudly.
Everyone jumped.
"Listen," she said, pointing around. "If we panic like idiots, we fail. If we organize, we survive. Pick one."
Eren raised a hand. "Can we pick death?"
"No," Lia said calmly.
"Unfortunate," he muttered.
Jay grabbed the board marker and started writing like a general planning war.
"Study groups. Now. Subjects divide. Smart people teach dumb people."
Percy gasped. "So you're teaching
everyone?"
Jay threw the eraser at him.
Direct hit.
The class laughed.
Tension dropped slightly.
Ten minutes later, the room somehow looked worse.
Books everywhere.
People arguing about math.
Someone testing dance moves in the back.
Zeke humming random songs for "Day Three singing practice."
Theo banging a desk like drums for "instrument day."
"STOP PRACTICING EVERYTHING AT ONCE," Lia snapped.
They stopped.
For two seconds.
Then resumed quieter.
Suddenly the door burst open.
Section A.
Ion.
Freya.
Ella.
Mica.
All talking at once.
"We need space." "Our class is unusable." "Brazil playlist arguments turned violent."
"Someone started samba in the corridor."
Ion pointed at Lia. "We're studying here."
"You're not invading," Lia replied.
"We already are," Ion said, dragging a chair.
Section E groaned.
"NO MORE PEOPLE." "WE CAN'T EVEN BREATHE." "WHO LET THEM IN?"
Too late.
They were in.
Now it was double chaos.
Jessica passed by the door, saw the disaster inside, and immediately kept
walking.
"Not my problem," she muttered.
Smart.
Very smart.
Then Section D walked past.
Michael peeked in.
Saw the madness.
Smirked.
"…Yeah, we're definitely scoring higher than you."
Jay threw a pencil at him.
"GET LOST."
He ducked and laughed, disappearing down the hall.
Lia pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Why is everyone competing with us," Ion
muttered.
Jay shrugged. "Because we're interesting."
"That's one word for it," Lia said.
Lunch bell rang.
No one moved.
Nobody even remembered food existed.
Then Hunter stood.
"I'm ordering pizza."
Every head snapped up.
"YOU'RE A HERO." "I TAKE BACK EVERY BAD THING I SAID." "MARRY ME."
Hunter blinked. "I just said pizza."
By afternoon, the room looked like a disaster zone.
Half studying.
Half arguing.
Half dancing.
(Somehow three halves.)
Jay leaned back in her chair, exhausted but smiling.
"This is insane."
Lia glanced around.
Ion arguing about choreography.
Kit and Mayo sharing notes.
Percy and Eren fighting over a calculator.
Hunter on the phone with someone about "sound systems."
People yelling.
Laughing.
Planning.
Complaining.
Chaos.
Pure, loud, messy chaos.
And yet…
Everyone was still here.
Together.
Trying.
Jay nudged her shoulder lightly. "You okay?"
Lia nodded.
"…Yeah."
Jay smirked. "Good. Because tomorrow's probably worse."
Lia sighed.
"…Obviously."
Outside, the last bell rang.
Same day.
Same madness.
And somehow
this was only the beginning.