Oud and Black Pepper

{Elira}

~**^**~

The silence that followed Zenon's command felt heavy enough to crush bone.

My breath snagged. All around me, pencils paused mid-air; I could almost hear the pounding hearts of the candidates seated closest to the girl. She stood there, stunned, colour draining from her face.

"Now," Zenon's voice was calm, cold, and final. "Show them."

Her lips parted as if to argue again, but nothing came out. Shame rolled off her in waves so strong I could almost taste it in the air.

Then, trembling, she lifted the hem of her skirt just above her knees.

The gasp that swept through the hall felt like wind. Even from where I sat, I could see faint markings inked onto the pale skin of her thighs: notes, scribbles—answers.

Her cheat sheet, hidden in a place she thought no one would dare ask to see.