During rehearsal, Eli kept glancing at the script in his hands. When it was his turn to speak, he hesitated and looked at the director. Afterward, he asked if they could run the scene again.

As soon as the substitute teacher turned to write on the board, a few students in the back started whispering and laughing. One student crumpled a paper and tossed it across the room.

Nina usually sat with the same group every day, but today she walked into the cafeteria and paused. She looked toward her usual table, then chose a seat across the room by herself. She kept her eyes on her tray while eating.

John checked the shared document and noticed his name was the only one who had added anything. The project was due the next morning, and no one had responded to his messages. In class, his group members avoided eye contact with the teacher.

Amira read the message on her phone twice and quickly locked the screen. Her friend asked what it said, but she shrugged and said, “It’s nothing.” For the rest of lunch, she stayed quiet and kept checking her phone.

Marcus spun his locker combination three times but still couldn’t get it open. The bell rang, and the hallway quickly emptied. He kicked the bottom of the locker and looked down the hall before walking away.

Sofia walked out of the gym with her head down, still holding the paper the coach had handed her. Her friend ran up and asked, “Did you make it?” Sofia paused and said, “I’ll try again next year.