To Wish Upon a Fallen Star

Chapter 1: Don't You Just Love Midterms

The first class after midterms was always the most hectic part of school. At least, Tala saw it that way.

When the teacher for the first period entered the classroom, Tala took her usual seat at the front of the class by the windows, waiting as their class adviser was returning their midterms test papers. She was one of the first students called, so she quickly took her test paper from them before returning to her place. And as soon as she sat down, she watched the scene in front of her unfold.

As soon as everyone got their papers back, her classmates were chatting with their seatmates, asking them about their scores, comparing answers, seeing which ones they shared and which ones they didn't. But when the class was over and their teacher left, it was when things truly started. Everyone got up from their arranged seats and started sitting next to their cliques and friend groups. It was noisier, too. Both because there was no teacher watching over them this time and because now it was friends talking to each other rather than people who just sat next to each other. When the teacher for the second period entered, everyone returned to their seats again. But when he left, the same process happened.

It was an amusing sight to see, and she found herself laughing silently at some of their reactions. Since everyone was just waiting for the lunch bell to ring before they were let out, her classmates' voices were also loud enough that she could hear a few snippets of conversations from different groups.

"Hey, what did you get?"

"Can you explain this part to me? I didn't really get it."

"Gonna be honest—I don't blame Miss Chini for giving you a two on that essay. Have you seen your handwriting? Can you even see what your hand is writing?"

"How in the stars did you get a higher score than me when you just copied my paper?"

"Maybe you just have an issue with some skills."

"Who are you calling- you piece of—"

Another laugh left her lips as she watched two of her classmates engage in a mock fight. As the class rep, it was definitely her job to split the two up before the classroom would either burn or freeze. But it was funny watching them act like this. Besides, they were just friends having a playful banter. It wasn't like they could cause an earthquake, which her older teachers swore was a thing that happened back then.

She knew that, even if some of them were laughing and having fun, most of her classmates hated this day. She could understand why. But it was still... fascinating, for a lack of a better term, to see how different people reacted to their test scores. Besides, nothing was more entertaining than watching a group of fourteen-year-olds trying to win an argument with rock, paper, scissors.

After watching everyone behind her, she looked down and checked her own test papers. A hum left her lips, followed by a smile. She couldn't help but be proud of herself with this score.

"Ate Tala!"

She lifted her head, turning to her right. One of her classmates, Alyssa, approached her. Tala smiled and waved at her. "Need something?"

Alyssa sat on the empty seat next to her, as Tala's seatmate was still busy losing against his friend in rock, paper, scissors.

The moment she sat down, at least five to eight more people followed her and formed a circle around Tala's seat. Someone stood in front of her, while the one sitting behind her stood up just so she could rest her head on her shoulder and look at her test paper. At the corner of her eyes, she caught a glimpse of a pair of red eyes looking at her. It looked like he was about to approach her as well, but another student blocked him from her view. Judging from the fact that he wasn't here, he returned to his seat instead.