After the second break, the school halls buzzed with restless energy. Students drifted back into class, dragging their feet, half-lost in daydreams.
Inside, Einstein, Vinci, Hawking, and Eliza took their usual seats. The air between them felt charged, as though every whispered thought carried an electric spark.
The teacher stepped in, and the next lesson rolled on. Pages turned, chalk screeched against the board, but none of them were really present. Each of them kept sneaking glances at Maria's desk. She looked composed, almost regal, her fingers brushing her new glasses every few minutes like she was checking a crown on her head.
Finally, the class ended. Bags rustled open, pens clicked shut, and the last bell of the day echoed through the halls.
Then it happened.
Maria stood up, her hair swaying in a perfect arc. She moved straight toward Einstein's desk, her steps slow and deliberate. Her squad stayed behind, watching curiously from a distance.
Without a word, Maria reached into her pocket, pulled out a small sticky note, and placed it gently on Einstein's table. Her eyes flicked up to meet his for just a heartbeat, sharp and unreadable, before she turned and glided back to her group.
The note sat there like a forbidden secret.
Vinci leaned forward instantly, his eyes wide. "What's that? Let me see!"
Hawking's eyebrows shot up, curiosity sparking across his face. "She didn't say anything at all?"
Einstein's fingers hovered over the note for a moment before he finally picked it up and turned it around so they could see.
A single line of numbers, scrawled in looping, confident handwriting.
"Is that… is that her number?" Vinci half-whispered, half-shouted.
Eliza stepped closer, dropping her bag next to the desk. She peered at the note, her breath catching. Her fingers curled tightly around her bag strap.
"Why would she give you her number?" Hawking muttered, squinting at the paper as if it might reveal a hidden code.
They all went silent for a moment, each of them playing out different possibilities in their minds.
Eliza finally looked at Einstein, her voice small and tight. "Maybe… maybe she wants to get closer to you now? After everything with the glasses… maybe she thinks you're… friends?"
The word "friends" came out of her mouth like it burned.
Einstein stayed still, studying the note as though he was analyzing a new formula. His expression was unreadable - half calm, half searching.
Vinci nudged Hawking with his elbow, smirking slightly. "Bro, maybe you just got yourself a new admirer. Maria's obsessed with those glasses, and now you're the genius behind them."
Hawking shook his head, pushing his glasses up. "Dangerous admirer," he corrected, his voice low.
Eliza tried to force a small laugh, but it cracked halfway through. A swirl of emotions twisted inside her chest — confusion, fear, something else she didn't want to name. She squeezed her bag tighter, thinking: Am I… going to lose him? But he doesn't even like her that way… right?
They all sank into a strange, heavy quiet. Outside the windows, parents' cars lined up along the street, engines humming as they waited. The group knew their drivers were already out there, but none of them moved.
They sat there together, a silent circle around Einstein's desk, staring at that small sticky note as though it held the fate of them all.
Maria was still at the doorway, laughing with her group, tossing her hair like nothing had happened. But every few seconds, she looked back ; right at Einstein.
And he just sat there, the note in his hand, the gears in his mind turning faster than any of them could imagine