Not a single student was in the school corridors during the last lesson, and the silence felt strange—almost like a zoo without the chaos.
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Yet the truth was that the real laughter and loud chatter were all happening inside the classrooms.
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In my class, however, the science teacher never showed up.
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I sighed. "Absent again? Let's see what substitute we get this time."
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My friend Celina, who was sitting next to me, murmured, "At least we won't have to study."
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Aria, my other friend, poked me from behind. "Here's hoping the substitute gives us a free lesson and lets us go outside."
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I smiled. "Here's hoping."
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But the moment the teacher strode into the room, we all knew that wasn't going to happen.
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Silence settled over the classroom immediately as every student hurried into their seat with uneasy expressions.
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The teacher who had entered, Miss Ashcroft, was known by every student as the strictest teacher in the whole school.
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"Students, take out your science notebooks and revise last week's lesson quietly," she said in her trademark stern voice.
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Immediately, everyone took out their books and began to read—or at least pretend to.
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"Ugh," I muttered. "Of course she had to make us revise."
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"Oh, don't worry," Celina whispered. "Let's play Truth or Dare!"
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I turned to Aria, who was already giving me a thumbs-up.
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"Okay," she said. "Let's settle this with rock, paper, scissors."
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Obviously, I had to lose.
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I sighed as Aria asked, "Truth or dare?"
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"Dare," I decided, remembering the interesting truths Aria was known for asking.
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She flashed a mischievous smirk and pointed to a boy sitting at the desk across from mine.
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"Ask him how his day was, then turn back without waiting for his reply."
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At our school, girls never talked to boys.
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Even saying something important to one felt incredibly embarrassing.
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I bit my lip, but both my friends looked at me expectantly.
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Maybe...
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"A dare's a dare," I murmured.
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I turned toward the boy.
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"Watson?" I called.
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He looked at me, his mouth slightly open and his eyes wide. He seemed unable to believe that a girl was talking to him.
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Before I could lose my nerve, I blurted out, "How was your day?"
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Then I immediately turned back toward Celina, my face flushed.
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I began to giggle awkwardly, but then I noticed my friends had gone quiet. They were staring at the front of the classroom.
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When I looked up, I saw Miss Ashcroft watching me.
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"Is this your definition of sitting quietly and revising?" she asked, the thin crease beneath her lip deepening.
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I quickly opened my notebook and pretended to read.
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The moment passed.
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But the embarrassment didn't.
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I had just talked to a boy in front of the whole class, and to make matters worse, the teacher had caught me giggling right afterward.
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I wanted the floor to open up and swallow me whole😭12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ18cmV1gmIl
and then Add to home screen.