Presentation together?

The next morning felt like every other morning.

The sky outside was pale and quiet, the kind that made the school building look almost sleepy. Students slowly filled the hallways again, their voices mixing with the sounds of footsteps and locker doors closing.

Lily walked through the front gate with her friends, holding a cup of iced coffee she had bought from the small shop across the street.

“Did you finish the history homework?” Emma asked beside her.

Lily groaned. “Don’t remind me. I forgot until midnight.”

Her friends laughed as they climbed the stairs toward their classroom.

Everything felt normal.

Completely normal.

Until Lily stepped inside the room.

Her eyes immediately moved to the last row near the window.

Noah was already there.

He was sitting in the same seat as yesterday, one hand holding a pen while the other rested against his cheek. The morning sunlight fell softly across his desk again, making the quiet corner around him look almost peaceful.

For a moment, Lily paused near the door.

She wasn’t sure why she had looked for him first.

Maybe curiosity.

Maybe something else.

“Lily, move!” someone said behind her, snapping her back to reality.

She quickly walked to her seat and sat down.

Class began soon after.

The teacher started explaining the lesson while writing on the board, but Lily found herself glancing back again without realizing it.

Noah looked focused.

His notebook was already filled with neat handwriting, lines of notes written carefully like he didn’t want to miss anything.

It was strange.

Most students hated morning classes.

But Noah looked completely calm.

Halfway through the lesson, the teacher suddenly turned around.

“Alright everyone,” she said, clapping her hands once. “Today we’ll be doing something different.”

A few students groaned.

Group work usually meant chaos.

“I want you to work in pairs for this assignment,” the teacher continued. “You’ll analyze the chapter and prepare a short presentation together.”

Chairs immediately began moving as students turned toward their friends.

Emma leaned toward Lily. “Partners?”

But before Lily could answer, the teacher spoke again.

“No choosing partners today.”

The entire class went quiet.

“I’ll assign them.”

A wave of complaints spread across the room.

Lily sighed quietly.

The teacher began reading names from her list.

“Emma and Daniel.”

“Ryan and Sophia.”

One by one, students found their partners.

Then the teacher looked down at the paper again.

“Lily Carter…”

Lily straightened slightly in her seat.

“…and Noah Bennett.”

The room fell strangely quiet for a second.

Lily felt several curious eyes turn toward her.

Slowly, she turned around.

Noah had also looked up.

For the first time, they were actually going to speak to each other.

He stood up from his desk and walked toward the empty chair beside Lily.

His steps were calm, unhurried.

When he reached the desk, he placed his notebook down and sat beside her.

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

Then Noah looked at the open book between them and said quietly,

“So… where should we start?”

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