bimed /bbby /bbMy /bbBully /bbAlpha /b

bChapter /bb32 /b

Aurora’s PO.V

bThe /bnext week, just as Mr. Hemming had said, the biology test took ce. As soon as I got the paper, my heart pounded in fear for a moment, bbut /bthen, read through the questions, a rush of relief washed over me. I knew the answers. Every single one. It felt almost bsurreal/b–justst week, I had been do in confusion, and bnow/bb, /beverything made perfect sense. Caroline’s notes had been a lifesaver. I could already imagine how grateful I’d feel when I thanked he

bter/bb. /b

I focused on bmy /btest, my pen moving smoothly across the paperb, /bbmy /bconfidence growing with every answer I wrote. For the bfirst /bbtime /bin a long while, 165 good about an exam. No second–guessing, no nk spaces–just pure, solid knowledge. But then, just bas /bI was midway through a particrly detailed answerb, /bsomethingpletely unexpected happened,

A rough hand snatched my test away. My head jerked up in shock, my breath catching as I found myself staring straight into the sharp, unyielding eyes of Mr. Hemming. His expression was cold, suspicious. I frowned, confusion swirling inside me.

“Show me byour /bcheat sheets,” he demanded, his voice carrying an usation so sharp it cut through the stunned silence that followed.

My mouth fell open. “What?” I whispered, barely able to process what was happening. “I don’t have any.”

He scoffed, shaking my test paper in his hand. “Oh, really? Someone who failed justst week suddenly knows all the answersb? /bThat doesn’t happen, Aurora” His voice dripped with doubt, and the weight of his words settled like a stone in my chest.

I swallowed, my throat dry. “I studied,” I said, my voice steady despite the way my hands had begun to tremble. “I worked hard for bthis /btest. I swear I—”

Mr. Hemming folded his arms, unimpressed. “I don’t believe you,” he said tly. “Stay back after ss.”

I sat there, frozen, as the other students exchanged nces, some of them whispering, a few smirking like they found this amusing. My face burned with humiliation. I wanted to scream that I hadn’t cheated, that I had actually put in the effort, but I knew bit /bwouldn’t matter. Mr. Hemming had already made up his mind.

The sound of rustling papers filled the air as students turned in their tests, the quiet shuffling of feet apanying their exit. I sat frozen in my seat, my hands clenched into tight fists on myp, my nails digging into my palms, but I barely felt the pain. The weight of their silence crushed me–no whispered

reassurances, no exchanged nces that told me I wasn’t alone. They had all moved on as if my world wasn’t unraveling right in front of them.

I don’t know how time flew by, but soon, everyone was handing in their papers and the sound of books shuffling and desks scraping against the floor filled the air, as did the sound of the final bell.

Students began to filter out immediately, while I sat frozen like a statue, still dumbfounded as to what had happened. My eyesnded on Caleb and his group. I might have seen him stealing a nce at me once, but maybe I was mistaken.

As Caroline reached the door, she hesitated. Her eyes met mine, filled with something dangerously close to pity, and I hated it. I didn’t need her pity. I needed her to say something, to stay, to fight for me. But before she could, Caleb’s hand found her wrist, and he gave her a small shake of his head. Whatever hesitation she had disappeared, and she let him lead her out. The door clicked shut behind them, sealing me in with Mr. Hemming.

A heavy silence settled in the room, suffocating and thick. I could hear the distant chatter of students in the hallway, the world continuing as if I wasn’t on the verge of breaking apart. Mr. Hemming’s chair creaked as he leaned back, regarding me with an unreadable expression. There was something cold about the way he studied me now, something that told me he had already made up his mind.

“You know why you’re still here, don’t you?” His voice was calm, measured.

I swallowed the lump in my throat, lifting my chinb, /beven as my insides twisted with anger and fear. “I didn’t cheat.” My voice was steadier than I expected, but it wasn’t enough.

A small sigh left his lips as he stood, walking to the door. The soft thud of it locking was deafening, final. “That’s for me to decide.”

A shiver ran down my spine as I stared at the locked door. What…just happened?

And just like that, I knew–I wasn’t leaving this room until he got the answer he wanted.