Homeroom teacher Miss Ho entered the classroom with a stern expression. Instantly, everyone sat up straight and fell silent—everyone except one person. No prizes for guessing who: Hanky. He was still lost in a beautiful dream and had no intention of waking up. His deskmate tried to rouse him, poking Hanky's right arm repeatedly with his left elbow. But Hanky didn't stir. He remained fast asleep.
Miss Ho had noticed him the moment she walked in. She cleared her throat loudly, twice. When that failed, she picked up a piece of chalk and threw it directly at him. The chalk hit Hanky square on the head. He jolted awake, rubbing his eyes and screwing up his face as he looked toward the teacher.
Miss Ho stared at him. "Hanky. What is your plan at this school? To keep sleeping? Why are you always asleep? It seems like you never get enough rest." She paused, clearly waiting for an explanation. But to her surprise—and everyone else's—Hanky just sat there, silent.
Miss Ho's voice grew sharper. "I don't know what else to say to you anymore. What do you do every night? I wonder if you even sleep at home?" She shook her head in frustration. "I'm not going to waste more time trying to educate or cultivate you. Clearly, talking to you is useless."
With that, she stopped scolding him and instructed the class to open their books, beginning the lesson. The class itself was dull. Ketto listened carefully at first, trying to focus, but soon his attention wandered. He couldn't help stealing glances at Hanky, curious about what he was doing. To Ketto's amazement, Hanky seemed completely unfazed by the scolding. Instead of paying attention, he was surreptitiously playing some kind of card game with his deskmate. Ketto felt a pang of embarrassment just watching him. *He's really something else,* Ketto thought, sighing inwardly.
As Miss Ho turned to write on the blackboard, Hanky devised a new tactic to tease her. He quickly folded a paper airplane and launched it toward the back of her head.
*Shhh.* The plane hit its target perfectly.
Miss Ho let out a startled "Ah!" and whipped around. Her eyes immediately scanned the room, certain it was Hanky's doing. But Hanky was sitting there, head lowered over his book, reading diligently. She frowned, then turned back to continue writing.
But Hanky wasn't done. He swiftly folded another plane and sent it flying.
This time, Miss Ho spun around instantly, glaring at Hanky. But again, he sat there innocently, eyes glued to his textbook. She began to doubt herself. Maybe it wasn't him? She glanced suspiciously at Lucas and Billy, then studied the movements of other students. Bending down, she picked up the two fallen planes and unfolded them carefully, searching for clues. But the paper was standard issue—the same notebooks everyone had. There was nothing to identify the culprit.
She pretended to turn back to the board, then suddenly whipped around again. Nothing. Everyone sat quietly, heads down or pens poised, watching her write.
Ketto risked a glance at Hanky. At that exact moment, Hanky looked up and caught his eye. Ketto's face flushed instantly. Caught off guard, he quickly looked away, avoiding any further contact. Hanky smirked.
Then an idea struck Hanky. He decided to have some fun at Ketto's expense. Beneath his desk, he quietly and swiftly folded another paper airplane. Miss Ho turned around several times over the next few minutes, but each time, Hanky was ready—instantly shifting to a studious pose, the picture of innocence. He was quick, clever, and agile. Eventually, Miss Ho seemed satisfied that the disturbance was over and focused fully on her writing.
That was Hanky's moment. He finished folding the plane, glanced once at Ketto, and launched it. The plane sailed through the air and landed perfectly on Ketto's desk.
Ketto turned toward Hanky, knowing exactly who had sent it. Hanky just shrugged, feigning innocence. Ketto picked up the plane and prepared to throw it back—but just as he raised his hand, Miss Ho turned around.
Their eyes met. She had seen everything.