After the epic diss showdown, you'd expect things to get wild. But something strange happened.
The class stayed… quiet.
Not the awkward kind of quiet·the respectful kind.
Einstein picked up the marker again. This time, not to diss. But to teach.
"Alright," he said, smiling, "let's try something simple. Josiah·what's the formula for finding the area of a circle?"
Josiah sat up straighter. "Umm… pi r squared?"
Einstein gave a nod. "Boom. That's correct. See? It's not that deep when you actually think about it."
He turned to the others. "Ernestina, Nicholas, Gabby·you guys ready?"
They each got questions. They each answered. Even when they got it wrong, Einstein didn't mock. He explained, clarified, encouraged.
Then he turned toward the front and said, "Vinci, your turn."
Vinci stood like a performer about to enter a stage.
He grabbed the chalk and drew a triangle on the board with clean, confident lines.
"Let's switch gears a bit," he said. "Art isn't just for galleries·it's in geometry too."
He drew a perfect circle around the triangle. Then stepped back.
"Now Aiden," he said, pointing, "if this triangle is inside the circle, what do we call the space around it?"
Aiden scratched his head. "Uh… triangle gap?"
A few students laughed softly.
Vinci smiled. "Close. That leftover space is part of the circle not taken up by the triangle·so we call that segment or sector, depending on the type. But good try."
He continued tossing questions across the room.
"George·what's the angle sum of a triangle?"
"180," George said quickly.
"Exactly. Anthony·how many degrees in a right angle?"
"Ninety!"
"Brooks, if two angles of a triangle are 60 and 30 degrees, what's the third?
Brooks replied quickly:
"Also 90?
Vinci smirked.
"Hold up—not 'also.' Think carefully. What's 60 plus 30?"
"90," Brooks said.
"Now subtract that from 180."
"Ahhh, 90 again!" Brooks laughed.
"Exactly. Now we're on track."
"Maria?"
He smiled gently. "No more dissing today, alright? We cool?"
But Maria didn't even hear him.
Her earbuds were in, head bobbing slightly to music.
The class looked at her, surprised.
Phones had been banned ever since *"The Incident"—*when someone posted a dance video of a teacher tripping during class. It went viral. Embarrassingly viral.
Einstein and Vinci exchanged a glance, but neither said anything.
Now it was Hawkings' turn.
He stood up slowly, clearing his throat.
"Let's go interstellar for a minute…"
He pulled up a simulation on his tablet, casting it on the screen.
"This… is Andromeda."
The swirling galaxy glowed above the class. A few jaws literally dropped.
"And this is the Milky Way… where we live."
He explained galaxies, stars, distances in light-years, and how someday Andromeda would crash into ours.
"But no worries. It'll happen in about 4 billion years. So yeah, we've got time."
The class laughed, leaning in.
Einstein raised his hand from his seat.
"Yo, Hawkings·what's the biggest known galaxy?"
"IC 1101," Hawkings replied confidently. "That beast has over 100 trillion stars."
"Mad," whispered Matthew from the back.
"Adele," Vinci called out, "how many planets in our solar system?"
"Eight!" she replied.
"Unless you count Pluto," Natalie whispered.
"Still in debate," Vinci winked.
They continued with questions·Hailey, Molly, Hazel, even Austin joined in. The classroom was buzzing—·not with noise, but real interest.
Then, Hawkings glanced back at Maria.
He hesitated.
"Hey…" he said quietly. "Maria·about earlier. We didn't mean to take it that far. The TikTok line? I mean… it was funny·but kind of harsh."
She didn't respond.
He continued anyway.
"Honestly… even people chasing TikTok dreams are successful now. Look at Charli D' Amelio. Richest TikToker alive. So hey·I'm sorry."
He turned to the class.
"Can you guys help me out here?" he asked. "Let's just apologize and let this thing go."
Some students nodded. A few mumbled, "Yeah, for real."
Not because Maria's dad was some the princal.
But because he was trying to be real.
And in that moment·the class changed again.
Not through disses. Not through formulas.
But through respect.
The kind that builds bridges.
After the lesson, the bell rang sharp and clear·ding-ding·signaling the next subject. Everyone settled back into their seats just as Madam Helena walked in with her usual no-nonsense stare and a pile of worn-out books. History class.
"Today," she said, adjusting her glasses, "we'll briefly talk about the ancient kingdoms of Mali and Songhai…"
For the next 30 minutes, she lectured on empires, trade routes, and forgotten kings. A few students took notes. Others just nodded along, hoping the clock would move faster.
Then, just as suddenly as she came in, Madam Helena snapped her book shut.
"I'll be back with your assignments tomorrow."
And with that, she walked out.
The room erupted into noise and chatter like a shaken soda can.
Some students pulled out tablets·educational ones, filled with puzzles, logic games, and interactive lessons. A few gathered in circles playing memory challenges. Others flipped through storybooks or practiced brain teasers.
Meanwhile, at the front row, Einstein, Vinci, and Hawkings were back at it·locked in deep talk about one thing:
"Time travel," Einstein said in a hushed tone. "We still haven't figured out the anchor paradox."
"What if it's not about anchoring time," Vinci replied, sketching a loop on his tablet. "What if we're the anchor?"
"That's a terrifying thought," Hawkings added, scribbling equations across the desk like he was solving gravity with a broken pencil.
But then, the bell rang again.
Break time.
Students grabbed lunch bags, water bottles, and snacks, rushing toward the playground or the lunch garden. The trio stayed seated for a moment.
Einstein glanced toward Eliza.
"Hey guys…" he whispered, "…I think I wanna talk to Eliza."
Hawkings raised an eyebrow. Vinci's eyes lit up.
"Oooooh!" both of them teased in unison. "Okay, go on, boy."
"B-but…" Einstein stammered, "what if I mess it up? What if she doesn't want to talk?"
"My guy," Vinci grinned, "you're Caligynephobia."
"What's that?" Hawkings asked.
"Fear of beautiful women."
They burst into light laughter.
After a bit more teasing and pep talk, Einstein took a deep breath and slowly stood up, hands sweating like he was about to present at a science expo. He walked a few steps toward her…
…then stopped.
…turned back.
…froze.
The boys gave him the "go, go, GO!" eyes.
Finally, Vinci shook his head and stepped in.
"Hey, Eliza," he said casually, walking up as she was packing her books. "You enjoyed class today, right?"
"Yeah," she smiled. "It was really interesting. Especially… you know… the science part."
She was blushing slightly, thinking of Einstein's confidence during the lesson.
Einstein, still hovering awkwardly in the background, pretended to look away.
Vinci leaned in, half-whispering.
"You know, Einstein wanted to talk to you. But he's… a little shy around you."
"Really?" Eliza asked, eyes widening in surprise.
"Yup," Vinci grinned. "Wanna help him out a little? Maybe go sit with him for lunch?"
Eliza paused, then nodded shyly.
"Okay… I'd love to."
Vinci gave her a thumbs-up and slipped away like a successful matchmaker.
Back at the gate, he joined Hawkings who was dramatically pretending to argue about parallel universes.
Moments later, Eliza walked up to Einstein with a soft smile.
"Hey… Einstein? Can I sit beside you?"
Einstein looked up, his ears almost turning pink.
"Yeah·why not?" he said, trying (and failing) to sound cool.
She sat beside him. They exchanged a look.
Just a look.
But it was the beginning of something sweet.