CHAPTER 3 — The Classroom Test
201 Words
CHAPTER 3 — The Classroom Test
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He visited her classroom the next day.
No warning.
No reason.
Just appeared at the door during a lesson.
“May I please observe, if possible?” he asked politely.
The class went silent.
Ava didn’t like authority interruptions.
But she also didn’t like avoiding confrontation.
“Of course. You may sit in the back,” she said.
He did.
Too quietly.
Like he was used to moving through spaces without being remembered.
But Ava remembered everything.
The way he watched her teach.
Not like a principal evaluating performance.
Like someone studying a pattern.
Students answered questions.
She corrected them.
Normal.
Except for the fact that every time she turned, she felt his attention lock onto her like a fixed point.
After class, he stayed behind.
“You teach control well,” he said.
“That’s the goal.”
His gaze flicked to her hands briefly.
“You’ve trained.”
It wasn’t a question.
Ava’s expression didn’t change.
“So have you.”
A pause.
A fraction too long.
Then:
“I suppose we all have things we don’t advertise,” he said.
And that was the first crack.
Because he wasn’t denying it.
- Writer
