It said: “What do you truly want to say before the hour ends?”
But I couldn’t move.
The clock ticked. 60 seconds.
He nodded once.
The proctor’s voice was a dry rasp. “Pencils down.” It said: “What do you truly want to
Then I closed the book. The world didn’t shake. The fluorescent lights didn’t flicker. But as I walked up the aisle to hand in my test, I noticed the proctor glance at my final page. For a split second, his stern mask cracked into a smile so small and so sad it looked like a secret. It said: “What do you truly want to