three, pop quiz
twilight

The classroom buzzed softly as students trickled in, the low hum of chatter filling the space. Wyatt Swan stood at the front, leaning casually against the whiteboard. His hands rested lightly on his sides as he surveyed the room, his expression calm yet focused. His first day as an official math teacher at Forks, after the previous teacher needed to take a leave of absence. He's had many different teaching jobs, but this felt different. It felt weird being in front of an actual class after doing a year of private tutoring for rich families.

"Alright, everyone," he said, his voice steady and warm, "welcome to math class. I'm Mr. Swan, for those of you who haven't figured that out yet. I'll be teaching this lovely group of Juniors and Sophomores this semester. And I thought we'd start things off with —" a pause, followed by a mischievous grin, "— a pop quiz."

The collective groan was immediate. Wyatt smirked, unfazed, "Relax, it doesn't count for marks. It's just a little something to see where you're all at." He grabbed a stack of papers from his desk and started passing them out. "If you're panicking, don't. It's just math — you've survived worse."

Clover was already seated near the middle of the room, her notebook open, pencil at the ready. She glanced across the aisle to where Juno had slouched into her seat, arms crossed tightly, her notebook untouched. Juno stared at the desk like it might attack her. Like it would ruin her life, because that was what it was starting to feel like.

From the back of the room, Jessica's phone buzzed audibly on the desk. She scrolled through a few notifications until Wyatt, now standing right beside her desk, cleared his throat. She slid it off the desk and into her bag with a muttered "Sorry," though her energy said she wasn't sorry at all.

Eric, meanwhile, was practically vibrating in his chair, pencil twirling between his fingers. "Pop quiz, huh? Let's go!" Eric said, way louder than necessary. Jessica rolled her eyes so hard it was practically audible, Clover had looked over her shoulder and watched, her head slowly shaking.

Wyatt worked his way down the rows, placing a paper on each desk. When he reached Juno, he paused just long enough to tap the corner of her desk lightly. "You've got this, kiddo," he said under his breath before moving on. Juno didn't look up, but the corner of her mouth twitched like she was trying to figure out whether or not to believe him.

She settled on not believing him, for now.

Back at his desk, Wyatt gave the final instructions to the class of teenagers, "You've got twenty minutes. Do your best, and if you don't know something, just move on. Begin!"

The sound of pencils against paper filled the room almost instantly. Scribbling messy answers and circling the correct multiple choice and true or false answers.

Clover read through the first few questions carefully. Standard algebra. Straightforward. Something she knew. Her pencil moved as she made her way down the list. Easy enough, some challenged her, yes, but nothing made her question her love for math.

Juno's paper, however, remained blank. She tapped her eraser against the desk, staring at the first question like it was written in an alien language. Math seemed like it would be a good idea, if she passed this class now, she could graduate next semester after she finished her senior class of math. She could apply for work credits, get a job, or just take a whole bunch of elective classes like foods or photography.

The challenge she was determined to conquer of course, at some point, but right now, it was nothing but numbers that didn't make sense.

She took a shaky breath, tried writing something, then erased it two seconds later. Her frustration built with each passing second. She finally skipped the first few questions and moved onto the true or false, it was always much more easier, a fifty — fifty chance.

Clover glanced over, just for a moment, catching sight of Juno's furrowed brow and the nervous way she bit at her pencil eraser. The weight in Clover's chest tightened. She could see Juno spiraling, overthinking every step, and all she wanted to do was lean over and help. Whisper the formula. Offer a hint. Anything. But she couldn't — not during a test. Not during a test their dad was running. Instead, Clover forced herself to refocus, though the knot of guilt stayed with her deep within her stomach.

Eric, meanwhile, scribbled furiously, his paper half-filled with what looked like numbers, or maybe doodles? Jessica sat with her chin propped on one hand, lazily filling out answers like none of it mattered.

"Five minutes left," Wyatt announced. His tone was casual, but the ticking clock sent a bolt of panic through Juno. She gritted her teeth, forcing herself to focus. Solve for x. One step at a time.

Maybe if she could just finish this one question ... the pencil moved slowly, scratching out an answer just as Wyatt called time.

"Alright, pencils down!" he said, moving through the rows to collect the papers. When he reached Juno's desk, his hand lingered on the corner of her paper as he gave her a small smile, soft and understanding. She avoided his gaze, letting out a quiet sigh as he moved on.

As soon as Wyatt returned to the front, he leaned back against the whiteboard, holding the stack of quizzes. "Okay, that wasn't so bad, right? You've survived your first pop quiz. And as promised, it doesn't count toward your grades. This is just for me to figure out where to start."

Jessica let out an exaggerated sigh of relief, slumping dramatically in her chair. "Thank God."

Eric grinned, raising a hand like he was in a game show, already living his new teacher. "So, what do we win if we nailed it?"

Wyatt smiled. "Uh, my eternal admiration?"

The room chuckled lightly, tension easing. An hour later, as the bell rang, chairs scraped against the floor as students packed up their things. Clover slowed her steps until Juno caught up with her by the door.

"Hey," Clover said softly. "You did okay, right?"

Juno hesitated, her shoulders stiff with a heavy weight on them. "It wasn't great. I kinda ... blanked."

"It's fine. We'll go over it later," Clover said, her tone calm, reassuring, kindhearted. "You'll get it."

Juno offered the faintest smile, one that didn't quite reach her eyes, but it was something. Together, they headed out, the hallway buzzing with voices. Wyatt, still leaning against the wall, watched them go, a quiet sense of pride in his chest.

He could see that they were doing it without him, that they were okay on their own.