The others exchanged a glance. A ripple of something—fear? anticipation?—passed through the room.
He took attendance. "Maya Chen?" Present. "Leo Torres?" Present. "Samira Jahangir?" A pause. A girl in the third row, wearing a hoodie with a faded NASA logo, raised her hand slowly. "Samira is… she's absent today, Mr. Elias." classroom76x
The students filed in at the bell. They were quiet. Not the sullen quiet of teenagers forced into algebra, but the precise, attentive quiet of a congregation. There were eleven of them, ranging from a girl with purple-streaked hair and a nose ring to a boy in a pristine chess club blazer. They took their seats in a specific order, and Elias noticed the desks were not bolted down, yet none of the students ever touched another's. The others exchanged a glance
Samira's empty desk, the one in the third row, began to frost over. Ice crystals spread from its centre, spiderwebbing across the grey laminate. He took attendance
Elias locked Classroom 76X. He returned the key to Dr. Varma's office, placed it precisely on her desk. "Samira Jahangir," he said. "The absent student. What's her story?"