Rafa's POV:
Then suddenly the teacher called out our group's name.
We all froze.
"…didn't we just go?" Sam whispered.
"That's what I thought," Felix said, slowly turning around.
CJ sat up straighter. "Wait—are we getting extra credit?"
Calix frowned. "Or we did something wrong."
"…it's definitely that," I said.
"Your group," the teacher repeated, gesturing for us to come forward again. "I have a follow-up task for you."
Of course she did.
We all stood up again, way less confident this time, and walked back to the front of the class.
I crossed my arms. "What now?"
The teacher looked at us for a moment, like she was thinking.
"Your presentation was a good example," she said. "So I want you to demonstrate it again."
CJ grinned. "See? She liked us."
"—but this time," she continued, "you'll be helping another group that's struggling."
The smiles disappeared instantly.
"…what?" Keagan said.
The teacher pointed toward the back of the classroom. A group of students sat there, papers everywhere, all looking equally confused.
"Oh no," Felix muttered. "They look worse than us."
"That's not possible," Sam said.
"It is," I said quietly. "Look at them."
One of them was literally staring at their paper upside down.
CJ leaned closer to me. "We're gonna fix them."
"We can't even fix ourselves," I whispered back.
"Details."
The teacher clasped her hands. "You'll guide them and show proper teamwork."
Calix sighed. "This is a terrible idea."
"Agreed," I said.
"Hey," CJ said, stepping forward like he'd just been promoted to leader. "We've got this."
We all looked at him.
"…we do not got this," Felix said.
"Trust me," CJ replied confidently.
That was the exact reason I didn't.
"Go ahead," the teacher said, nodding toward the other group.
We slowly walked over.
The group looked up at us like we were about to judge them.
CJ clapped his hands once. "Alright! Don't worry—we're here to help."
One of them blinked. "With what?"
"…good question," Sam said.
I rubbed my forehead. "Okay, start from the beginning. What are you even doing?"
They all looked at each other.
"…we don't know," one of them admitted.
There was a pause.
Felix leaned toward me. "Yeah, we're doomed."
I sighed.
"…okay. New plan."
They all looked at me.
I pointed at CJ. "Step one—no one listens to him."
"HEY—"
"Step two," I continued, ignoring him, "we actually try."
Calix nodded. "That's already an improvement."
Keagan crossed his arms. "Low bar, but I'll take it."
CJ huffed. "I am a great leader."
"You almost failed a presentation five minutes ago," I said.
"Almost," he corrected.
I turned back to the group. "Alright. Let's fix this."
And somehow—
this was already worse than the candy situation.
"So how about everyone get's they're own role and they practice it!!" I said waiting to see what they thought about that-
"I'll be the leader!!" Said CJ smiling to the group and acting cool
"Then we're giving up" Huffed Keagan
"HEY—" CJ snapped. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means you shouldn't be in charge of anything important," Keagan replied calmly.
Felix snorted. "He's got a point."
CJ put a hand on his chest. "Wow. Betrayed by my own team."
"Focus," Calix said, cutting in. "We don't have time for this."
I pointed at CJ. "You can have a role."
He brightened. "Leader?"
"No."
His face dropped.
"You can be… motivation."
There was a pause.
"…what does that even mean?" he asked.
"It means you don't touch anything," I said. "You just… encourage people."
Sam laughed. "Yeah, that's safer."
CJ crossed his arms. "I don't like this role."
"You'll survive," I said.
I turned back to the other group. "Okay, let's try this again. Who's good at speaking?"
They all looked at each other.
No one raised their hand.
"…great," Felix muttered.
"Okay, new question," I said. "Who doesn't want to speak?"
All of them raised their hands.
"That's more helpful," Keagan said.
Calix stepped forward. "We can split it. Short parts. No one has to talk too long."
One of them nodded slowly. "That… might work."
"See?" CJ said, suddenly stepping in. "We're already improving morale."
"Don't get used to it," I said.
Felix grabbed a paper and a pen. "Alright, we'll organize it. Introduction, middle, conclusion. Simple."
Sam pointed at one of the students. "You can start. Just one or two lines."
"I—I can try," they said nervously.
"That's good," I said, giving them a small nod. "You don't have to be perfect."
"Yeah," CJ added. "We weren't."
"That's not comforting," Keagan said.
"It's realistic," CJ replied.
We started putting things together—slowly, but at least it was something. The group stopped looking completely lost, and people actually started talking to each other.
Felix was writing, Calix was checking everything, Sam was helping explain, and Keagan was making sure no one got distracted.
And CJ?
He stood there.
Watching.
"…you can say something," I told him.
He straightened. "Right. Uh—good job, everyone."
There was a small pause.
"…thanks," one of them said.
I blinked.
Okay.
That actually worked.
I looked at the group again.
"…we might not fail this," I said quietly.
"Don't jinx it," Felix whispered.
Right on cue—
The teacher's voice called out from the front.
"Time's up! Next group, you're presenting."
We all turned slowly toward them.
They froze.
"…already?" one of them said.
CJ gave them a thumbs up. "You got this."
Keagan leaned toward me. "They do not got this."
I sighed.
"…we're about to find out."
The group slowly stood up.
Very slowly.
Like if they moved fast enough, maybe the teacher wouldn't notice them.
"Go," the teacher said, pointing to the front.
Yeah. She noticed.
They walked up, papers shaking slightly in their hands. One of them almost dropped theirs halfway there.
"Okay… okay," Sam whispered from next to me. "They'll be fine."
"They will not be fine," Keagan said.
"Have some faith."
"I don't."
CJ leaned forward in his seat. "This is our moment."
"Our moment?" I whispered. "We're not even up there."
"We trained them," he said proudly.
"Barely," Felix added.
At the front, the group awkwardly lined up.
There was a long pause.
"…start," I mouthed to them.
One of them nodded quickly.
"U-um… okay. This is our presentation about… teamwork."
Their voice shook a little, but they didn't stop.
Okay.
That was already better than expected.
Sam sat up straighter. "See?"
"Too early," Keagan said.
The next person spoke, quieter, but they got through their part. Then the next. And the next.
It wasn't perfect.
They stumbled over words.
They forgot one line.
Someone said "uh" way too many times.
But—
they kept going.
Felix leaned over. "They're actually doing it."
I blinked. "Yeah… they are."
CJ crossed his arms like a proud coach. "Told you."
"Don't start," I said.
At the front, the last person finished their part and looked at the teacher nervously.
"…and that's it."
Silence.
For a second, no one said anything.
Then—
a few claps.
Then more.
Not loud, not huge—but real.
The group visibly relaxed, shoulders dropping all at once.
They didn't fail.
Sam grinned. "Okay, that was actually good."
"I'm surprised," Keagan admitted.
Felix nodded. "Low expectations helped."
CJ turned to us. "We did that."
"We helped," Calix corrected.
"I inspired," CJ said.
"You stood there," I said.
"That too."
The group walked back toward us, still looking a bit shocked.
"That was… better than we thought," one of them said.
"You did great," I said.
And I meant it.
They smiled.
Actually smiled.
CJ gave them a thumbs up again. "See? Motivation works."
Keagan shook his head. "I can't believe that worked."
I leaned back in my chair, letting out a small breath.
"…yeah."
For once—
things didn't turn into complete chaos.
The teacher stepped forward again. "Good improvement," she said, nodding at the group.
Then her eyes shifted.
Right to us.
Uh oh.
"You five," she said.
We all straightened.
"I think you're ready for something more challenging."
There was a pause.
CJ grinned.
"…this is going to be fun."
"No," I said immediately.
"It's not."
Then suddenly the bell rang. Class was dismissed.
Everyone sighed in relief. The teacher rolled her eyes and slowly turned to walk away-
CJ sprinted out of the classroom.
Sam followed him.
Keagan followed Sam.
Then I followed them.
And lastly Felix followed me.