The Wheel Spins at the End of Class

The last few minutes of class always had this specific kind of quiet. It wasn't the tense quiet of a test, but a softer one, like everyone was already half-thinking about what came next. Then the teacher would pull up the random question wheel on the screen, and that soft quiet would shift into something else entirely.

The Moment Before Your Name

You'd hear the soft click of the wheel starting to spin on the projector. My eyes would dart down to my notes, skimming the last few lines we'd just covered, trying to catch anything I might have missed. It wasn'tt about being perfect, just about not drawing a complete blank.There was a strange comfort in that brief scramble. It felt like a shared secret among all of us, this last-minute mental check. The person next to me would be doing the same thing, flipping a page back quietly. We were all in it together, just for a second.

When the Wheel Stops

When it landed on someone else, there was this collective, silent exhale. You could feel the room relax a fraction. But you also paid a different kind of attention, listening to how they pieced their answer together.Hearing a classmate talk through a concept, sometimes stumbling a bit, made it feel more real than when the teacher explained it. It was less about a right answer and more about seeing the thought process. Their 'um's and 'like's were familiar.

A Different Kind of Listening

You listened not to judge, but to see if you would have said the same thing.

The Question Was Just the Start

Sometimes the best part was the little comment someone else added after, clarifying a point without even being asked.

Leaving the Pressure Behind

By the time the bell rang, the question didn't feel like a test anymore. It just felt like a conversation we'd all briefly stepped into. The pressure to perform had quietly dissolved somewhere in those few minutes.Walking out, the topic felt a little more settled in my mind, not because I was drilled on it, but because I'd heard it live in the room. It was a small thing, but it made the end of class feel less like a finish line and more like a natural pause.