the truth (33)

The final exam room was silent except for the sound of pencils scratching against paper and the occasional cough from one of the students. Michael sat at his desk, his eyes scanning the questions in front of him. He had prepared for this. They all had. And now, it was time to dominate.

Michael smirked, tapping his pencil against the desk as he quickly filled in the answers. This was nothing. He had studied every topic, memorized every formula, and broken down every concept until they were second nature.

Across the room, Alex was the first to finish his paper, leaning back in his chair with a bored expression as he watched the clock tick down. Ethan followed soon after, stretching his arms before flipping his paper over, as if to say, Was that supposed to be hard?

Marie and Emily were just as quick, their pens flying across the page. Lisa, despite being the quietest of the group, was no slouch either. She worked with a calm efficiency, her face betraying no emotion.

Michael glanced up at the teacher, who was watching them with a knowing expression.

Yeah, they knew.

It was no secret that Michael and his friends had dominated middle school.

It wasn't just academics—every test, every competition, every challenge that had come their way, they had crushed.

And this final exam?

No different.

Michael finished the last question with a flourish and leaned back, exhaling slowly.

"Done."

The teacher's voice finally rang through the room.

Teacher:

"Alright, time's up! Everyone, put your pencils down."

There was a collective sigh of relief as students placed their papers at the front. But for Michael and his friends, there was no relief.

Only confidence.

They knew they had won.

Again.

The entire school gathered in the gymnasium for the final announcement. The air buzzed with excitement and nerves as students whispered among themselves, waiting for the results.

Michael stood with his arms crossed, Ethan beside him with a lazy grin.

Ethan:

"You think they're gonna say our names first?"

Alex:

"If they don't, it'd be a crime. We destroyed those exams."

Marie:

"Yeah, but so did Lisa. It's not like we were the only ones at the top."

Michael glanced at Lisa, who was standing slightly apart from them, her arms folded. She looked calm. Detached, even.

Finally, the principal took the stage.

Principal:

"And now, for the announcement of the top students of the year. These individuals have shown exceptional performance in both academics and extracurriculars, earning the highest scores in middle school history."

The crowd went silent.

Principal:

"The top students of this year are… Michael, Alex, Ethan, Marie, Emily… and Lisa."

Cheers erupted from the crowd, but Michael and his friends only exchanged knowing glances.

Of course.

Emily:

"Called it."

Michael:

"Like there was any doubt."

The principal continued talking, but Michael barely listened. The only thing that mattered was that they had done it.

They had conquered middle school.

And now—

It was over.

Michael's house was filled with laughter and the smell of home-cooked food. His parents had gone all out, preparing a feast for their son and his friends to celebrate their graduation. Plates were piled high with food, drinks were passed around, and for the first time in a while—

Everything felt… normal.

Michael sat at the dining table, watching as Alex stuffed his face with food while Ethan cracked jokes about how the exams had been "way too easy."

Michael's Mom:

"You kids worked hard. You deserve this."

Michael's Dad:

"Especially you, Michael. You've always been pushing yourself."

Michael shrugged, taking a sip of his drink.

Michael:

"Yeah, well. Had to make sure we won."

Lisa sat at the far end of the table, eating quietly while the others laughed and talked. She wasn't as loud as the rest of them, but she was there. And for now, that was enough.

The group stayed at Michael's house for hours, eating, talking, and just being.

At one point, Marie leaned back in her chair, sighing.

Marie:

"I can't believe it's over. Middle school is actually done."

Emily:

"Yeah. It feels kinda weird, doesn't it?"

Ethan:

"Weird? Nah. This is a victory, people. We dominated middle school, and now we move on to bigger things."

Alex:

"High school's next. We just have to do the same thing again."

Michael tapped his fingers against the table, his expression thoughtful.

High school.

Yeah.

That was next.

And that's when everything would change.

Michael:

"Alright. Enough talking. Let's celebrate properly. We earned this."

The night continued with laughter and stories, a rare moment of peace before the storm ahead.

The warm glow of the fire flickered against the walls of the cave, reflecting in the tired but alert eyes of Dakota and his group. The silence after the memory ended hung heavy in the air.

Lucas rubbed his temple, his head still pounding.

Lucas:

"Ugh. My head hurts again."

Ava:

"Same. It's like… something is trying to come back to me."

Mia looked around, a troubled expression on her face.

Mia:

"That feeling… like we should remember something, but we can't."

Liam crossed his arms, nodding slowly.

Liam:

"Yeah. It's weird. Why is it that when we're watching Dakota's memories, we're experiencing something memory-related?"

Henry looked at Dakota, suspicion in his eyes.

Henry:

"You know something about this, don't you?"

Dakota's expression remained unreadable.

Dakota:

"Hm? Maybe. But I'm not telling you yet."

Lucas groaned, throwing his hands in the air.

Lucas:

"Of course you aren't. Even when you said you'd show us the truth, you're still keeping secrets."

Dakota smirked slightly.

Dakota:

"Because my memories will tell you everything. Just watch and find out."

A heavy silence followed.

Then, Liam finally spoke.

Liam:

"Now that middle school is done, we should be getting to high school, right? The one we've been waiting for the most."

The others nodded.

Henry:

"Yeah. The one where everything terrible happens."

Ava:

"The first year of high school. The year where everything fell apart."

Lucas exhaled sharply, staring into the fire.

Lucas:

"The year you hate the most."

Dakota's eyes darkened, his expression cold.

Dakota:

"The year where everything terrible happened."

No one spoke after that.

Because they all knew—

Middle school was over.

But the real nightmare was only about to begin.