A long, narrow stone pathway stretched ahead, its edges swallowed by tall green grass and littered with scraps of dirty, disgusting rubbish.
The sound of footsteps echoed faintly against the stones.
A young student walked along the path. His clothes were nothing special an ordinary white uniform with a single black lining that ran down the center, neatly covering the buttons. He wore plain black shoes and black slacks, the same outfit he wore every single day.
His name was "Evan Hanns Secarus." He was as unremarkable as his uniform, short black hair, dark brown eyes, pale skin, and a face that could only be described as average.
Evan adjusted the black sling bag slung over his shoulder. It had been years since he last used this bag, but today he needed it. Today was exam day... Physics.
Evan hated Physics. Not because he didn't understand the concepts, but because it was filled with numbers, formulas, and problem-solving. To him, anything related to math was pure torment.
"Arggh, I hate that teacher," Evan muttered under his breath, his lips curling into a frown.
Still, a sly smile crept across his face. "This test would be easy if our advisor is the one watching us. At least he isn't strict like the Physics teacher."
"It'll be easy to cheat with my phone. Using chatGPT or deepseek AI really is the best thing humans have ever built."
The thought made him chuckle quietly to himself.
He looked around the stone path he had walked countless times before. Somehow, it looked cheaper, dirtier, less cared for than usual.
"Why does this shitty government never do their job properly?" he complained out loud.
Lifting his gaze, he squinted his eyes as sunlight filtered through the leaves of massive trees lining the pathway.
He caught sight of a single leaf just one that gleamed as if it were the sun itself amidst dozens of green leaves. It wasn't only orange, but tinged with yellow… no, gold. Pure gold, to be precise. And he saw it only for a fleeting second.
Evan muttered to himself, "Am I seeing things now? Maybe it's just the lack of sleep these past few days."
"At least the trees here are abundant," he admitted softly. "Their leaves are so green."
After more than twelve minutes of walking, Evan finally reached the end of the stone path. He crossed the pedestrian lane and, after a few more minutes, arrived at his school.
"As usual, it's crowded," he muttered, eyeing the flow of students college, junior high, and senior high all filling the campus grounds.
At the entrance gate, guards were stationed to check the students belongings. Evan handed his small bag for inspection, then immediately pulled out his phone once he was inside.
On their class group chat, a message blinked on the screen.
Good morning @everyone. Our exam will take place in the gym. Everyone must bring their own chair and arrange it properly. Chairs should be two meters apart from each other. Good luck!
The exam starts at 12 noon.
The message had been sent earlier that morning.
Evan glanced at the clock on his phone. 11:50 am
"Shit." He broke into a run, weaving through groups of students as he passed a towering building painted sky-blue. For a second, it felt like he was rushing through a vacation resort rather than a school.
He nearly stumbled but caught himself, panting. "I'm gonna be late…"
Grabbing one of the heavy metal chairs in their classroom, he hefted it onto his shoulder and began the slow walk toward the gym. Voices of classmates drifted in the distance, growing louder as he approached.
As always, Evan set his chair at the very back. His friend were already there, waving him over. Their uniforms were the same as his, plain white with black linings. The girls, on the other hand, wore sky-blue neckties or ribbons, their skirts matching in color.
"Hey, Evan! Why are you so late again? And you're drenched in sweat!" Sabhano called out, grinning.
Evan shot him an annoyed look. "What do you care, huh? Do you have a problem with people being late? And besides sweat isn't a big deal. I ran here carrying this damn chair. What did you expect?"
Sabhano burst into laughter. "Of course I don't care about anyone else being late. But when it's you, that's different. Then it's a problem! Hahaha!"
Evan clenched his teeth. "If the disciplinary office didn't exist, I'd beat this guy until he couldn't laugh anymore."
He ignored the thought, scanning the crowd instead. "Hey, where's Eric? Late too?"
"Nah." Sabhano tilted his head. "He just went to the bathroom. Probably nervous about the exam."
Then, lowering his voice with a smirk, Sabhano added, "But this test should be easy for us. We're just gonna use AI. I heard from one of our classmates that our advisor will be supervising not the Physics teacher."
Evan's mood brightened. "So it won't be that strict. That means this exam's basically ours."
The two chuckled together as they waited.
Moments later, Eric arrived, greeting them with a wave. The three huddled quickly, whispering like conspirators preparing for a great heist even though it was only a Physics exam.
Their plan was simple. Sabhano would sit in the middle, Evan on the left, and Eric on the right. Eric would act as the lookout, while Sabhano and Evan would find and share answers. They carefully considered the risks since the gym was open, without walls or thick glass, teachers or students outside could see them. Still, they were confident.
"This is perfect plan," Evan thought, satisfied. "We can't fumble this chance. Not today."
Their advisor finally entered the gym. A woman in her late forties with sharp red glasses and a brown uniform, she carried herself with firm authority.
Everyone immediately stood and greeted in unison, "Good afternoon, Ma'am Nish!"
The sound echoed through the gym. Ma'am Nish smiled faintly. "Please, sit down, everyone." Then Ma'am Nish added "Your test would start momentarily"
Chairs scraped against the floor as the students obeyed.
In the front row chairs students stood and counted each of their line. Slowly, the test papers were distributed, passed hand-to-hand until they reached the back.
Evan received his paper. His chest tightened with both nerves and excitement.
"We're going to pass this exam. The three of us prepared for this."
He carefully wrote his name "Evan Hanns Secarus" followed by his grade and section. His friends and his classmates did the same.
But just as he prepared himself to begin, Evan shivered. The air in the gym felt unusually cold, it was unnatural even.
He rubbed his arms and muttered under his breath, "Damn… should've worn my jacket."
And then, in the heavy silence filled only by the scratching of pens and paper, their exam began.