The second day of school began almost the same as the first. Miss Critchlow maintained her serious attitude just like Amelia. And Kayleigh acted as their polar opposite. However during the lesson I noticed students were using their phones or even their laptops.
But Miss Critchlow didn't say anything she continued teaching as if it was the new norm. I knew higher education was more relaxed about what you can do during class but I didn't expect this.
I guess you can't expect students who cheat to stay focused during an actual class and if that's the case then why teach us actual subjects? They even gave us a textbook for history class. After thinking about it I decided it must be for the students who don't plan on cheating whoever they were.
Nonetheless Miss Critchlow's class soon ended and we were off to our next class before lunch. I actually looked forward to this class because it was Physical Education or what we would call games back in secondary school.
But it wasn't like secondary school or maybe it was at the very least. You see, the ISC doesn't just teach you how to catch cheaters during an exam but it also teaches you how to catch cheaters in sports.
And that's what our games class does: it trains us to identify the various ways people cheat in sports such as tennis, cricket, basketball etc. Our first sport was basketball. Which turned out to be an interesting session.
Apparently basketball players trained themselves to move their hands extremely fast. So that they could strike pressure points on other players to send off balance. But at the same time doing it fast enough to not get caught.
It was complicated and sophisticated but somehow it worked for many popular teams over the years. However, due to technological advancements it's become quite outdated in the international scene. But there's a belief that players still use it at games that are less monitored.
The main part of our games class ended about 30 minutes before the actual class ended. So just like secondary school we had some time to play before lunch.
The indoor basketball court was brimming with energy. The boys were in a competitive basketball match and some of the girls including Kayleigh were in a corner chatting. The rest of the class was scattered across the auditorium.
I sat on the sidelines watching the boys play. Once again I was alone. Yesterday's failure to connect with anyone didn't deter me but it's hard to choose the right person to connect with.
It was only the second day but by now people were beginning to match with those they shared similar interests. And even if I managed to survive this first exam. It would only be a matter of time before the class breaks down into their respective friend groups and then, without any friends I would certainly be unable to survive the ISC.
An unfortunate situation to be in but the class itself didn't seem too concerned. Everyone was enjoying themself although I felt a sense of urgency not from those playing but from the quiet ones like me sitting on the other side of the Auditorium.
And don't get me wrong I don't expect people to remain fixated on the woes of life but humans have this ability to find the silver lining in any situation. The world could be ending next week and we'd still host a picnic in the middle of the week.
Perhaps this was their silver lining but I hoped that's all it was. An unconcerned attitude about this upcoming exam wouldn't be good for the class especially if the school intends to surprise us with more exams.
"You're deep in thought." someone said standing next to me.
"Yea." I answered as they took a seat on the bench.
"If it was girls playing netball I'd think you're a pervert, but I don't think you're into men so what's on your mind?"
I looked over my shoulder to see who was talking. It was Shaq, the boy who sat next to me in class. He was a pretty conversational person. This morning during the first period while I sat by myself. He was speaking to some boys about a gaming console he saw. It was selling for 1100 points.
Apparently they intended to pool money to buy it.
"Nothing much, just the regular stuff." I replied.
"Be honest, it's the exam isn't it?"
"Yeah you read me well."
"That's on everyone's mind. That's why we're meeting up tomorrow to discuss the exam."
"You?"
"Yeah, me and a few other classmates wanna join us? What is your name by the way?"
"Jaden and sure I'll join in but why me?"
I wondered–lately people have been interacting with me although I haven't really interacted with anyone. Do I have some kind of charm? Or do I look attractive?
"You're quiet, that's all you seemed approachable."
Ahh that makes sense. Everyone else is playing basketball or interacting with someone while I'm here by myself. But at least that made me approachable. The conversation went on a little while longer until games class ended, however as we were heading to the door a girl stood in front of it and said.
"Wait before yall go! I want to make a suggestion."
The whole class stopped walking but two students squeezed past her and headed outside.
"I think we should work together for this exam. It's good that we are enjoying ourselves but shouldn't we also focus on getting through this together?"
Noone said anything for a moment until one boy spoke up. He was average height and had a low taper fade for a haircut, "I think she's right the time until the exam is getting shorter and shorter. I'm sure yall are yet to make any plans to cheat. This isn't secondary school anymore, we don't know what tricks they'll throw at us."
"You don't know that and why should I team up with anyone? I don't want to increase my chances of getting expelled."
The whole class nodded in agreement.
And I did too. If the whole class teamed up then everyone would get the same mark or the marks would be differentiated by point percentages. In short it would be hard to stay out of the 25%.
But I wondered if we all did get the same mark could we avoid expulsion? But what would the repercussions be?
"Think guys, would they really expel 10 new students? The school's clearly testing our ability to work together." The girl countered trying to persuade the class.
"Or you're just too delusional." That all to the familiar voice - Amelia.
Everyone turned their attention to her. But she already stood out due to her height.
"I'm positive the school intends to expel ten of us. Everything until now points to that."
Hmmm she's right, the reduced enrollment number. Almost 300 students are absent from the institution although it boasts 100% enrollment every year. There's clearly a significant amount of students being expelled each semester.
Then there's expulsion for failing and the empty seats from the upper classes. Too many things pointed to them being serious about expelling us.
"I don't like your attitude," another boy said, "But she's right if the whole class teamed up we'd be shooting ourselves in the foot. In Fact yall can team up if you want but I ain't teaming up with anyone."
The boy left after he said that and one by one the rest of the class followed. Until I joined in the crowd going outside. The girl stood there embarrassed. I'm sure she had good intentions and there's a possibility there's more to this than just expulsion.
But her pitch wasn't convincing enough. Maybe if Kayleigh did it we'd all be in a group chat formulating a plan. She had that convincing energy that makes you go along with anything she says.
As I walked down the hallways someone called me from behind.
"Jaden!" It was a girl's voice. I turned around to see who it was.
Kayleigh was galloping towards me. Now Kayleigh wants to talk to me? Maybe I do have charm. But it likely won't be effective in this conversation.
She stopped in front of me breathing heavily as she tried to catch her breath.
"You have a minute?" she asked, beaming.
"Ye I guess what's up?" I was curious to see what she had to say.