I stood at the front of the classroom with my hands clasped behind my back and my composure hanging by a thread.
The board behind me was filled with structured notes—energy output ratios, sustainability curves, theoretical engagement timelines. Clean. Logical. Academic.
In the third row, slightly to the left, Kent was pulling a face that belonged in a children's puppet show.
I did not look at him.
I did not look at Nora either, who was sitting one seat over from him with her white hair falling over her shoulders and her blue eyes far too bright for someone pretending to be serious. She had pressed her lips together in exaggerated concentration, eyes widened just a little too much.
They were trying to make me laugh.
I inhaled slowly.
"—and therefore," I continued, keeping my voice steady, "while numerical superiority appears decisive at first glance, the efficiency gap between dualflow and Vespera fundamentally alters the engagement outcome."
Kent puffed his cheeks out.
