A plan to cheat

(Rodova Military Academy – Academy Mess Hall, One Day Before the Mid-Term Exam)

The cafeteria was unusually quiet, but not for lack of people.

Every table was filled. Every seat was occupied.

And yet, despite the crowded space, the usual boisterous chatter and reckless laughter were gone.

Instead, what remained was an oppressive, suffocating silence—punctuated only by the occasional groan of despair or the frantic scribbling of last-minute notes.

The entire cafeteria felt like a funeral home.

And for good reason.

Tomorrow was Professor David's mid-semester exam.

And no one was ready for it.

"Fifty marks out of eighty," someone muttered at the next table, their voice hollow with disbelief. "Fifty. With zero partial marking. How the hell is that fair?"

"It's not," another voice snapped back. "It's literally just him being a petty bastard. We all know it."