As always

Nisa Durmaz

by Nisa Durmaz

Story
2024

The sound of cars passing and people chattering filled her ears as she stepped out of her apartment. On her way to school she passed a small, local coffee shop she often visited after school. A glance inside revealed that it was rather empty. Looking around, she noticed the lack of people. The streets of their city were usually filled to the brim with cars and public transport.

The front door of her school was already open, so she stepped inside. The halls were empty. The big clock on the wall opposite the entrance told her it was 07:02 o’clock. Ava had arrived earlier than most students, as always.

The classroom was silent, and so was she. As time passed, the rest of her classmates arrived and took their seats, some gossip here, some insults there. A daily routine. One she never partook in.

The time passed, as did her classes. Mathematics, German, Music, Biology. Fifth period was English. Tenses, using sentence structures she knew like the palm of her hand. Every day the same. But today, the teacher handed out extra papers.

“These are the exams you wrote last week. I added tips and reasons to the questions you got wrong, so please check those out. And also…”, the teacher rambled on. Ava had stopped paying attention, her focus was now on her exam sheet.

‘Mark: 57/60.’

Not bad. Could be better.

“I bet Ava got everything right!”, some kid from the other side of the classroom shouted. A few agreed and looked at her. She never bothered with most of their names.

“No, actually. I only got 57.” Why did she say only? Wasn’t 57 a good score anyway?

“Oh, come on. Only? There’s literally no difference, stop acting like it’s a bad grade”, his voice came out annoyed. A hint of envy could be heard, though his irritated expression hid it well.

‘Unfortunately, there is a difference.’, Ava thought to herself.

© Nisa Durmaz 2024-07-31

Genres
Novels & Stories
Moods
Emotional, Hoffnungsvoll, Reflektierend, Angespannt