One by one, the students stepped out of the examination hall.
The massive wooden doors that had remained tightly sealed since morning were now standing wide open without pause, as though exhaling the oppressive pressure that had accumulated within for hours on end.
The expressions that emerged were far from uniform.
Some were pale, as if they had just escaped an operating room, their breathing shallow and uneven, shoulders still rigid, fingers clenching small slips of paper bearing their exam numbers as though terrified the memories might evaporate if they loosened their grip.
Others kept their heads lowered deeply, lips moving in frantic murmurs.
"Question fourteen… was it B or C?"
"Damn it… why did I change it at the last second?"
Cold sweat slid down their temples despite the afternoon air beginning to cool.
Several female students covered their faces with their uniform sleeves, muffled sobs breaking free the moment they passed through the corridor.
