Eiden felt his gut twist into a knot even before the professor began the announcent. He already felt no, knew what the results of the group project would be, and he was certain it wasn’t anything to be proud of. His entire posture drooped under the invisible weight of preemptive disappointnt. His face bore the kind of gloom usually reserved for funerals or failed exams, and not even his usual passive mask could hide it. If he was the sole effected person he wasn’t going to be this sad but since it included evryone else in the project and that it was his fault made him guilty.
And yet, the mont had arrived. The professor, an older man with a stern gaze and a reputation for being ruthless when it ca to grading, stood at the front of the class, expression unreadable as he held the result sheet in his hand. "We will now begin announcing the group project evaluations," he said with a asured tone. "Results will be shared in order of group numbers."
The class collectively tensed. So whispered nervously. Others sat upright, their eyes trained on the professor like anxious prey watching a predator. Eiden didn’t even bother pretending to hope. His group was number 12, so they still had so ti. The announcents began. "Group one: C-plus." Murmurs. So disappointnt, so shrugs. "Group two: C."
The air remained still, except for the occasional nervous tap of a pen or rustle of shifting students. One by one, the grades trickled out mostly C and C-plus. A few Bs sprinkled in, but nothing stellar. The highest so far was group eleven, which had received a clean B. That alone had earned a small ripple of surprised applause.
Eiden barely listened. He stared at his desk, eyes glassy. This was exactly what he expected if they managed a C-plus, he’d call it a miracle. Then ca the dreaded mont.
"Group twelve," the professor said, pausing.
Eiden flinched. His stomach dropped. From the corner of his eye, he noticed Harry leaning forward eagerly, lips curved into a confident smile. Linda, calm as always, sat with her hands neatly folded. A couple of the others were visibly nervous but trying to appear indifferent.
The professor looked at the paper. Then he looked up. And for the first ti in what felt like forever, a small smile tugged at the corners of his lips. "A-plus." Silence. The entire room froze. The mont hung suspended in the air like a glitch in reality.
Eiden blinked once. Twice. Did I just hallucinate that? He furrowed his brows and turned slightly to glance at the others. Even Linda looked mildly surprised. One of the group mbers gasped softly. Harry, anwhile, was grinning like he expected it all along, nodding proudly as if the A-plus had been the inevitable outco of his ’great contributions.’ Still, the room remained largely silent, unsure if they had heard right.
The professor, noticing the confusion, repeated: "Yes, group twelve has received an A-plus. That is correct." Shock registered on faces across the classroom. Soone actually whispered, "No way..."
The professor straightened up and addressed the group again. "I must say, I was thoroughly surprised. The project was presented with clarity, research-backed details, and professional-level formatting. It was... excellent." More whispers. Eyes widened.
Eiden, anwhile, sat frozen. Huh? Wait. Hold on. What?!
He ntally replayed what he rembered submitting. It was organized but... definitely not that good. He knew what he wrote, and while he did stay up to patch it together in the end, there’s no way it ca out polished enough to earn this. The night before submission, he’d been exhausted and sleep-deprived. He didn’t even proofread half of it.
Did I download the wrong version? Did soone replace it? Did I hit submit on so template file accidentally? His thoughts spun.
anwhile, the professor proceeded to show sample slides of the project on the classroom screen. As the images changed, the class murmured again. The layout was sleek. The analysis, sharp. The transitions and structuring felt... clean. It looked professional. Better than anything a tired group of undergrads should have produced overnight.
Group twelve collectively leaned forward, recognizing the basic skeleton of their work but there were changes, enhancents, polished formatting that hadn’t been there before. Not like this. "Wait," soone muttered, "did we really do this?" "I swear mine wasn’t phrased like that..."
Then ca the inevitable conclusion: Linda. She was in charge of editing and final compiling. Everyone’s gaze gradually turned toward her. "Linda must’ve polished it at the end," soone whispered admiringly. "She probably spent the whole night fixing our ss," said another.
Harry gave her a thumbs-up with a wink, acting as if he always had full faith in her genius. One of the girls from another group leaned in with awe. "You’re amazing, seriously." Linda blinked at all the attention, then slowly gave a polite smile but inside, she was processing sothing else entirely. I didn’t... finish it.
The professor continued announcing results group thirteen got a C-plus, and so on but group twelve had already beco the talk of the class. After the announcents ended, the class dispersed, but not before a small crowd ford around Linda. "Thank you so much, Linda!" "You carried us, honestly."
"I didn’t realize you had such amazing editing skills!" So of them clapped her on the shoulder. A few even suggested she tutor them in research structuring. Harry claid it was all part of "his plan" to let her shine.
But Linda quickly held up her hands. "Wait, guys listen, you’re wrong." Everyone quieted.
"I didn’t finish the final version. I an... I forgot," she confessed, voice unsure. "I was supposed to compile everything and polish it... but i forgot about it entirely as such Eiden did it by himself .
Eyes turned toward each other. "No way," one muttered. Linda followed the trail of their gazes and turned toward Eiden’s seat.
Empty. He was already gone. Eiden walked down the hallway, his bag slung over one shoulder. His face was calm on the surface, but his thoughts were chaotic.
He wasn’t walking out because he was shy of praise or didn’t want attention. He just wanted to know what the hell happened. The version that was submitted was... different. Sharper. More elegant. It was structured in a way he didn’t rember finalizing. Sure, he’d done a ton of work at the last minute compiling scattered docunts, rewriting intros, even revising a few headers but still. This? This felt above his level.
Had he gotten better without realizing it? Or had he entered so kind of focused trance last night? Or... had sothing else helped him? No, that’s ridiculous. He wasn’t in an ani. He was just tired. Still, sothing didn’t add up.
He was heading toward the staff office. He needed a copy of the submitted file. He needed to see it. There was sothing unnerving about this whole thing sothing that poked at the edge of his thoughts. A sense that he had done sothing without fully being conscious of it. Or that soone else had pulled strings without him knowing.
He adjusted the strap on his shoulder, exhaled slowly, and turned down the corridor. Let’s see just what I apparently submitted
Back in the classroom, Linda sat quietly as the crowd slowly dispersed. Linda remained seated, her eyes still on Eiden’s now-empty desk. She rested her chin in her palm. He had always struck her as... average. Quiet. The kind of guy who wouldn’t speak unless necessary. Reliable in group work but never really shining. She had never given him much thought outside of polite interactions.
But now... that had changed. She stared toward the hallway. Her opinion of him had shifted even if just a little.
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