The diminutive shivering masses gathered in their corners, unsure of what to say next.
Somehow, the class stayed… quiet.
It was not an awkward silence, mind you; it was a respectful one.
Einstein picked the pen up once again. Not for the purpose of diss; now it was for the purpose of teaching.
"Alright," he said, smiling, "let's try something simple. Josiah what's the formula for finding the area of a circle?"
Josiah straightened up on his seat. "Umm... pi r squared?"
Einstein nodded his head with approval. "Boom That's correct. See? It's not that deep when you actually think about it."He turned to the others. "Ernestina, Nicholas, Gabby ,you guys ready?"
They got questions. They answered. Bad answers got no ridicule from Einstein. Instead, he explained and clarified and encouraged.
Then he turned to the front and said, "Vinci, your turn."
Vinci stood just like an actor on the verge of entering the stage. He seized the chalk and drew a triangle on the board, doing so with sustained clean, confident strokes.
"Now we shall switch the stage a little,\" he said. "Art is not only for galleries-it is also in geometry."
He circled the triangle with a flawless circle. He stepped back.
"Okay Aiden," he pointed, "if this triangle is in the circle with what we call the space around it?"
Aiden rubbed his head. "Uh... triangle gap?"
A bit of students giggled under their breath.
Vinci smiled. "Close. That leftover space is a part of the circle not taken up by the triangle·so we call it that a segment or a sector, depending on the type. But good try."
He was no less than throwing questions across the room once again.
"George·what's the angle sum of a triangle?"
"180," George said promptly.
"Exactly. Anthony·how many degrees in a right angle?"
"Ninety!"
If Brooks has the angles of a triangle of 60 and 30 degrees, what would be the third?
Fast reply by Brooks:
"90 too?
Vinci smiled.
"Hold up;not 'also.' Think carefully. What's 60 plus 30?"
"90," Brooks said.
"Now subtract that from 180."
"Ohhhh, 90 again!" Brooks was laughing.
"You got it! And now we're back in business."
Vinci kept firing questions at his classmates.
"Maria?" He gave her a gentle smile. "No more dissing today, right? We cool?"
This time, nothing reached the Sasha sat before the teacher.
Instead, music floated back from her mobile phone. Her earbuds were in place, and her head was bobbing slightly to the beat.
The whole class was flabbergasted. No phone was allowed in class after that Incident —a unforgettable episode when a viral dance video of a badly tripping teacher hit social media and became an embarrassment.
Einstein and Vinci exchanged glances but restrained from speaking. Hawkings stood next, slowly, clearing his throat.
"Let's go interstellar for a minute..." He projected a simulation from his tablet onto the big screen.
"This... is Andromeda."Big blue whirlpool hovered over the class, and a few jaws dropped-this time literally."And this is Milky Way...where we live."
He began explaining galaxies, stars, distances-in-light-years, and how someday, Andromeda would collide into ours.
"But it's okay. It'll be after, say, 4 billion years, so we still have time."
The class started laughing and leaning forward.
Einstein raised his hand while seated.
"Yo, Hawkings - what's the biggest galaxy known?"
"The IC 1101," Hawkings replied without hesitation. "That beast has over 100 trillion stars."
"So mad," Matthew said at back.
"Adele," Vinci went on, "how many planets in our solar system?"
"Eight!" she replied.
"Unless you count Pluto," Natalie piped.
"Still up for debate," Vinci winked.
Most of them continued asking questions-Hailey, Molly, Hazel, even Austin joined in. The classroom was buzzing..·and not about noise, but genuine interest.
Then, Hawkings turned back and stole a glance at Maria.
He seemed slightly hesitant.
"Hey...," he said but intent and low-spirited, "Maria-about earlier. We did not mean to take it that far. The TikTok line? I mean, it was funny, but sort of harsh."
She did not respond.
"So, honestly...even those chasing their wild TikTok dreams are successful now. What is that girl, Charli D'Amelio? The richest TikToker alive. So hey, I am sorry."And he turned to the class.
"Can you all help me out here?" he said. "Let's just apologize and move on."
Some students nodded. Some murmured, "Yeah, for real."
Not because Maria's Daddy was some kind of princal.
But because he was just trying to be real.
And in that moment, the class changed again.
Through respect, not by dissing.
That which builds bridges.
After their lesson, the bell rang sharp and loud: ding-ding. An indication for the next subject. Everyone settled back in their seats as Madam Helena strutted in the usual no-nonsense stare, carrying a pile of tattered books. History class.
"Today," she said, adjusting her glasses, "we're going to briefly talk about the ancient kingdoms of Mali and Songhai..."
And for the next thirty minutes, she lectured on empires and trade routes and forgotten kings. A few students took notes. Others just nodded, hoping that time moved faster.
Just as she had entered the room, she closed the book rather suddenly. "I will bring your assignments tomorrow."
And with that, she walked out.
The room came alive with noise and chatter, like a freshly shaken soda can.
Some students took out their tablets–educational ones filled with puzzles, logic games, and interactive lessons. A few had circled up playing memory challenges. Others flipped through storybooks or brain teasers.
Meanwhile, up front, Einstein, Vinci, and Hawkings were at it again; engrossed in deep talks over one subject:
"Time travel," Einstein said in a whisper. "We still haven't been able to work out the anchor paradox."
Vinci answered, sketching a loop on his tablet, "What if instead of anchoring through time, we're the anchor?"
Hawkings added, "That is a terrifying thought", pen scribbling equations across the desk like a broken pencil solving gravity.
But the bell rang again.
Break time.
Students grabbed lunch bags, bottles of water, and snacks, rushing towards the playground or the lunch garden. The trio debated on staying seated for a little while.
Einstein looked at Eliza.
"Guys...," he whispered, "I think I want to talk to Eliza."
Hawkings raised an eyebrow as Vinci's eyes lit up. "Oooooh!" they teased in unison. "Okay, go on, boy."
"B-but….," he began, stammering, "what if I mess it up?" "What if she doesn't want to talk to me?"
"You, my guy," Vinci smirked, "are Caligynephobic." "What's that?" Hawkings asked. "Fear of beautiful women." The boys broke into blazing laughter.
After a bit more teasing and pep talk, Einstein took in a deep breath, stood up slowly, his palms sweaty as if about to present at a science expo. He walked a few steps toward her...
...and stopped.
...turned back.
...froze.
The boys gave him a pointed stare, practically screaming, "Go, go, GO!" Finally, Vinci shook his head and intervened.
"Hey, Eliza," he said casually, walking up as she was packing her books. "You enjoyed class today, right?"
"Yeah," she smiled. "It was really interesting. Especially…you know…the science part."
She was blushing gently, thinking of how confident Einstein was during the lesson.
Einstein still stayed just behind her, awkwardly pretending to look away.
Eliza under- the-breath, Vinci said with a side smile: "You know, Einstein wanted to talk to you. But he's sort of shy around you."
"Really?" her eyes widened in surprise as she asked.
"Yup," Vinci grinned. "Wanna help him out a little? Maybe go sit with him for lunch?"
Eliza paused, and then nodded shyly. "Okay...I'd love to."
Vinci gave her a thumbs-up and disappeared, like a successful matchmaker. He rejoined Hawkings near the gate, who was dramatically pretending to argue about parallel universes.
Moments later, Eliza walked up to Einstein with a soft smile. "Hey...Einstein? Can I sit beside you?"
Einstein looked up, almost with a pink hue to his ears.
"Yeah, why not?" he said, trying (and failing) to sound cool.
She sat next to him. Their eyes exchanged a glance.
Just one glance.
But that was the beginning of something sweet.