The door was shut behind the principal with a click.
For an instant, the students stood still… in complete silence.
Whispers began to trail into discussions.
They knew it was going to be something important.
Vinci had stretched his arms.
Hawkings comfortably stood up, cracking his knuckles like he was warming up for a round of chess.
And Einstein?
He went to the front, picked up a marker as though it were a mic, and turned toward the board.
"Since there is no science teacher today…" he said smoothly, "…let me introduce the energy of mass."
He wrote the motto in bold writing:
E = MC²
The entire class leaned forward.
Maria rolled her eyes.
Einstein turned to the rest of the class as if he did not care about her attitude.
"This here," he pointed at the equation, "means energy equals mass times the speed of light squared. In other words—"
He took a breath, smirked, and glanced at Maria.
"Even a little mass has great energy. Just like some people in here: tiny minds, big noise."
"Daaamn!" The class hollered.
Maria straightened, with narrowed eyes.
Next up was Vinci, flicking imaginary dust off his blazer.
"I mean, technically," he added, "if we apply the principles of balance and symmetry..."
He drew a perfect circle and triangle on the board."we'd realize one thing: some people's attitudes don't fit in any logical system. Not science, not math—maybe only music videos full of bad decisions."
"Oooooooh!!!" The class practically exploded again.
Maria scoffed, getting up.
"Oh please," she said, placing one hand on her hip. "All this geek talk? Let me school y'all on real art."
Mugging for the audience, she cleared her throat dramatically and snapped her fingers.
"My flow is lit, no lab coat needed,
While you're in goggles, I'm already undefeated.
Talk E equals MC blah blah blah,
While I move crowds like I'm Lady Gaga!"
"Daaamn, okay!" one boy yelled.
The class clapped and laughed. Maria took a bow.
But Hawkings wasn't done yet.
Hawkings stepped up and smiled with an all-innocence expression that said: your diss was cute.
"Oh we get it, you spit bars with that ego flare,
But all I see is static;girl, there's nothing rare.
We're minds that bend time, unlock black holes,
While you're out here chasing TikTok goals."
The class erupted in approval. One guy threw his pen in the air. Maria raised an eyebrow.
"True, TikTok goals? Huh, you boys are wishing to have this much style."
Maria grinned from the corner.
"At least style comes with substance. Your rhyme was cute, but I think Hawkings just sent it to the trash folder of logic."Another peal of laughter rang around, with heads turning as if there was a live rap battle.
Einstein turned to the board and wrote:
M = A / F
"Newton's Law. For every action, there's a reaction. And right now.." he turned slowly toward Maria. "The reaction is you getting schooled."
"BOOOOM!" three boys from the back shouted.
Einstein sauntered toward Eliza's desk, leaned slightly, and casually said:
"Do you remember calling us the Es? Eliza and Einstein?"
He winked. "Well…here we are. Smarter and beautiful. No formulas needed."
The girls of the class squealed. Eliza blushed, partly hiding her face behind her book, but smiling.
Maria crossed her arms with tight lips.
Einstein straightened up and resumed addressing the class.
"Now back to business."
He walked to the board from there, explaining why nothing could surpass the speed of light via simple breakdowns. Vinci followed, showing how geometry applies in real life. Hawkings spoke about time dilation by way of a train and a flashlight.
The class had attended, really listened.
The boys in the back, the obstinate ones, were even nodding.
For the first time, the trio had not been defending themselves; they had been teaching, and the class loved it.
Finally, Einstein turned, chalk still in hand.
"Maria," he said. "You good? Want to try this one?" He pointed to an easy question on the board.
Maria never moved. She stayed seated, with her arms crossed, and did not even spare a glance at him.
He smiled once more.
"Never mind," he said softly. "Silence works for me too. Just like zero: it means nothing."
"Oooooooooh!!!" The classroom erupted.
"Prof, he got her good!"
Not even the shy ones were laughing this time.
Maria bit her lip but said nothing. On the flip side, Eliza raised her hand and answered the question confidently. Nailed it.
Einstein nodded with satisfaction.
The trio exchanged smiles. They were not just geniuses anymore; they had officially won the respect of the class.
Things had changed in the classroom.
Maria had made her noise.
But the brains had made theirs louder.
And the diss battle?
Well, it just became legendary.
Waiting to see what happens next.....