Minutes dragged by like hours, and Ace was sweating like he'd been dropped in the middle of the Sahara Desert.

He sat slumped in his seat at the back of the classroom, right next to Jojo, who was doing his usual thing—sitting perfectly still, not talking, not moving, just... *watching*. Staring straight ahead at Mrs. Patterson like she was the most fascinating thing in the world. Which wasn't weird or anything. I mean, Jojo *always* did that. The guy could win a staring contest against a statue.

Ace's eyes drifted across the room, too anxious to focus on whatever Mrs. Patterson was droning on about at the front of the class.

And that's when he spotted her.

Red Hair Girl.

She was sitting three rows up and two seats over, her bob perfectly straight as always. And she was looking right at them—well, at *their direction* anyway. Her eyes were fixed on their side of the room with this weird, intense expression.

The second Ace made eye contact, she whipped her head back around to face the teacher so fast her hair actually swished.

Ace blinked.

Then a slow grin spread across his face.

*Ohhhhh.* 

She had a crush on him. That *had* to be it. Why else would she be staring? And then getting all embarrassed when he caught her? Classic crush behavior.

He leaned back in his chair, feeling pretty pleased with himself despite the whole homework situation. *Well, well, well. She better apologize to me if that's ever gonna happen. Can't go dating someone who just bumps into people and says 'whatever.'*

His eyes wandered further across the classroom and landed on the nerd from earlier—Bowl Cut Kid with the huge glasses. The guy was sitting near the front, hunched over his desk, and he was *shaking*. Like, full-body trembling. Like a little kid who'd just been caught sneaking cookies by his parents and was waiting for the punishment.

His hands were gripping the edges of his desk so hard his knuckles were white, and his eyes kept darting around the room frantically, like he expected something terrible to jump out at any second.

*Weirdo,* Ace thought, but there was something about the kid's terror that made his stomach twist uncomfortably.

What had he said again? Something about paper monsters?

Ace glanced down at his own empty desk. No homework. No worksheet. Nothing.

The anxiety crept back in, cold and sharp.

Mrs. Patterson's voice cut through his thoughts like a knife.

"Alright, class," she said brightly, turning away from the chalkboard with a stack of papers in her hands. "Time to pass your homework forward."

Ace's heart dropped straight through the floor.

*Oh no.*

As everyone started passing their homework forward, Ace felt his whole body lock up.

The sound of papers rustling, shuffling, sliding across desks—it was like a countdown timer ticking down to his doom. Row by row, the worksheets moved forward like a wave heading straight for him.

*No. No no no no no—*

Cold sweat broke out across his forehead. His hands were shaking so bad he had to grip the edge of his desk to keep them still. His arms felt like wet noodles, useless and heavy. His brain was turning to mush, thoughts scattering in every direction, none of them helpful.

He couldn't breathe.

The classroom started to dim around the edges, shadows creeping in from the corners. The fluorescent lights overhead flickered once, twice, then went dark completely. Everything turned pitch black except for the faces around him, which seemed to glow with an eerie, sickly light.

And then—

A head popped right in front of him, emerging from the darkness like something out of a nightmare.

Mrs. Patterson's face. But wrong. *Twisted*. Her smile was too wide, stretching across her face in a way that made Ace's stomach flip. Her eyes were huge, unblinking, boring into him like lasers.

"WOW, Mr. Crow," she said, her voice echoing like she was speaking through a tunnel. "So you didn't do your homework."

Ace tried to speak, but his throat was closed up tight.

"That's detention," Mrs. Patterson continued, her smile growing impossibly wider. "For the *whole class year*."

"W-what?" Ace finally choked out, his voice barely a whisper. "The entire *year*? N-no, that's not—"

But Mrs. Patterson's face was already fading, dissolving into smoke.

And then another face appeared.

His mom.

Ace's heart stopped.

Mace Crow's face loomed in front of him, massive and terrifying. Her blue eyes weren't just angry—they were *on fire*. Actual flames flickered in her irises, bright and burning. Her eyebrows ignited, turning into twin streaks of blue fire that crackled and hissed.

"OH, SO YOU DIDN'T DO YOUR HOMEWORK?" Her voice was a thunderclap that shook the entire room. "YOU *LIAR*!"

"Mom, I—"

"YOU'RE ON PUNISHMENT UNTIL YOU'RE *EIGHTEEN*!"

Ace's eyes went wide, his whole body freezing in pure terror. Fear, shock, and sadness crashed into him all at once, so overwhelming he could barely process it. His voice came out as a pathetic whimper.

"M-Mommy, no, *please*—"

"Oh *yeah*," his mom continued, her flaming eyebrows blazing brighter. "And now we're *moving*. Since you wanna lie to your own mother, we're packing up and leaving. *Today*."

"M-MOVING!?" Ace gasped, his chest tightening like someone was squeezing his lungs. "No, no, you can't—Mom, *please*, I'm sorry, I'll—I'll do better, I'll do *all* my homework, I'll—"

But her face was already fading too, swallowed by the shadows.

And then—

Jojo's face appeared.

For a second, Ace felt a flicker of relief. *Jojo. Jojo will understand. Jojo always—*

But Jojo's expression was cold. Distant. That same blank look he always had, but somehow *worse*. Like Ace wasn't even worth looking at.

"Sorry, dude," Jojo said, his voice flat and emotionless. "We can't be friends anymore. You know, since you're moving and all."

Ace's heart shattered.

"B-but—" His voice cracked. "But we can still call! Or—or meet up! We can skateboard on weekends, or—"

"Nah." Jojo shrugged, like it didn't matter at all. "I'll probably forget about you anyway." He paused, tilting his head like he was trying to remember something. "Wait... Ace who?"

"Jojo, *please*—"

"Oh, plus," Jojo continued, his voice even colder now, "I'll probably find a *smart* friend. You know, instead of a loud, talking *fool*."

The words hit Ace like a punch to the gut.

And then they all appeared at once—Mrs. Patterson, his mom, Jojo—circling around him like vultures. Their faces flickered in and out of the darkness, grinning, staring, judging.

And they started *laughing*.

Low at first, then louder. Louder and louder until it was deafening, echoing in Ace's skull, drowning out everything else.

"Fool—"

"Liar—"

"Failure—"

"ACE WHO?—"

The laughter surrounded him, crushed him, suffocated him.

Ace clutched his head with both hands, squeezing his eyes shut.

"Stop," he whispered. "Stop, *please*—"

But they didn't stop.

They just kept laughing.