(Yvette POV)
The first sign that something had shifted was not a confrontation.
It was a line added to the rubric.
I noticed it because I always read rubrics carefully—twice, sometimes three times—my eyes trained by years of knowing that expectations were rarely neutral. They were often weapons dressed as guidelines.
Consistency under scrutiny will be weighted more heavily.
The sentence was new. At least, it hadn't been there last week.
I stood in front of the board longer than necessary, my notebook pressed against my chest as students moved around me, chatting and laughing. No one else seemed bothered. Or perhaps they simply hadn't noticed.
Or perhaps they didn't need to.
"Yvette, are you ready?"
I turned at the sound of my instructor's voice and nodded. "Yes."
