"Before I explain the rules and what you'll be doing in this class, I want to know the names of the students in this group," the robot said.
"Alright. Who wants to go first?" it added cheerfully. "Or should I draw straws?"
It lifted a handful of straws and shook them with a playful smile.
No one moved.
The silence stretched—thick and uncomfortable. The mood in the room felt sour, like no one wanted to be the first to connect.
I swallowed.
Since I was the one who caused all the trouble at the school entrance, it felt wrong to keep hiding. I was just about to stand up when—
The girl with two ponytails shot to her feet first, her movements sharp and arrogant.
The name's Isabella Lawrence," she said. "Nice not to meet any of you."
She sat back down immediately, crossing her arms.
Yeah. Nice to meet you too, I thought sarcastically.
"Not the greatest introduction," the robot said lightly, "but you did go first. How brave," it added with a friendly smile.
"So, who's next—"
"I'll go," The muscular man said, standing up with confidence, his expression serious.
"I'm Jax Wright," he continued. "I'm the bodyguard of Isabella Lawrence. Nice to meet you all."
A few heads turned.
"Please don't treat me any differently just because I'm her bodyguard," he added. "I came here as a student as well. The career I've chosen to pursue at Elite Education is music."
Music?
That definitely wasn't what I expected.
Jax bowed politely to the class before sitting back down.
...This group was already way more complicated than I'd imagined.
"Alright, I'll get this over with," the guy with threads said as he stood up.
"The name's Marcus Ross. Nice to meet everyone."
So that was his full name.
"I'm pursuing a career as a sales agent here at Elite Education," he continued. "And... I'd also like to apologize for my outburst this morning. I just tend to get frustrated when people don't follow the rules."
He glanced at me briefly before sitting back down.
My chest tightened, but... at least he acknowledged it.
Then the cheerful orange-haired girl practically bounced to her feet.
"My name is Amber Wheeler! I'm really excited to meet everyone," she said brightly. "I'm pursuing tattoo artistry at Elite Education. It's fascinating that you can pursue any career here and still be accepted."
She smiled warmly around the room.
"Anyway, I hope we can all get to know each other and make tons of memories!"
She sat back down, still smiling.
The robot clapped its hands happily.
"Ugh, she so is the teacher's pet," Isabella muttered.
"I am not," Amber snapped. "Don't call me that."
"I can say whatever I want, Ms. Positivity," Isabella replied lazily.
Amber flipped her off.
Isabella flipped her off right back.
A quiet cough cut through the tension.
Without drawing much attention to herself, the silver-haired girl stood up with perfect composure.
"Nice to meet you all," she said calmly. "My name is Charlotte McKee. I'm pursuing a career in law at Elite Education. I hope to learn a great deal here."
She gave a polite nod and sat back down.
Professional. Quiet. Controlled.
...And that left me.
The room felt heavier all of a sudden. Everyone else had introduced themselves confidently—or at least without tripping over their own words.
My turn was different.
I hesitated, fingers tightening around the edge of my desk.
Come on. Just stand up.
Slowly, I pushed myself to my feet.
"I–I'm John," I said. My voice came out quieter than I expected. "John... uh, John Miller."
Why did saying my own name feel so difficult?
"I'm sorry about earlier," I added quickly, bowing my head slightly. "I know being late caused problems for everyone. That was my fault."
The silence pressed down on me.
"I don't really have anything special to say," I continued. "I don't come from anything impressive, and I don't have connections like some of you."
I glanced around the room, then back down at my desk.
"But I'm serious about being here," I said. "The career I'm pursuing at Elite Education is logistics. I want to learn how to support people... and keep things running properly."
The words felt small the moment they left my mouth.
I gave a short, awkward bow and sat down as quickly as I could.
My heart was pounding.
I didn't know if anyone cared. I didn't know if it even mattered.
But at the very least... I'd said it.
And now, there was no turning back.
Even if I lied.
The robot looked at me.
Then it looked back down at its attendance paper.
And said nothing.