ADRIAN'S POV The air in the exam hall hangs heavy, stagnant with the scent of graphite dust and nervous sweat. It is a suffocating silence, broken only by the rhythmic, aggressive scratching of pens against paper and the occasional, shifting creak of a wooden chair. Professor Adrian paces the narrow aisles between the desks, the heels of his polished oxfords clicking sharply against the linoleum, a metronome for the students’ anxiety. He moves like a predator, his gaze sweeping over the bowed heads, looking for the slightest twitch of dishonesty. The fluorescent lights hum overhead, casting a stark, clinical light over the room. Adrian stops near the back row. Something is off. Kai, usually a slouching mess of arrogance, is sitting rigid, his eyes darting not to his paper, but downward toward his lap. Adrian narrows his eyes, taking a silent step closer. The blue glow of a screen illuminates Kai’s thigh, reflecting sharply against the varnished wood of the desk. He is cheating,
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