Waiting to be called

I’m sitting here, a few minutes before class officially starts. The room has that low hum of people settling in, but my mind is already on the page in front of me. It’s just a short list of what we covered last time, but it feels like a small anchor.

The quiet before the question

My teacher is at the front, looking over her notes. I know she’ll ask someone to recap soon. My stomach does that little flip it always does, even though I’ve looked at my notes. I’ve found that the best time to glance at them isn’t during a frantic last-minute cram, but in these little pockets of quiet.Like when you’re waiting for everyone to log into the online classroom, or in the minute after the bell rings but before the teacher starts talking. It’s not really studying, more like just reminding yourself where you left off. It makes the material feel familiar, not foreign.

When the wheel lands on you

There’s a different feeling when you’re called on and you’ve just had that moment to reconnect. The panic isn’t as sharp. You might not remember every single detail, but you remember the shape of it. You remember the main argument, or the key step in the equation.It’s less about having a perfect answer ready and more about having a place to start from. The words come easier because you’re not scrambling to build the whole concept from scratch while everyone watches. You’re just picking up a thread you already had in your hand.

A shared uncertainty

I’ve noticed others do it too. The quick glance down at an open notebook, the silent mouthing of a term. We’re all in the same boat, trying to be ready. It makes the whole thing feel less like a test and more like a group remembering something together.

The relief of participation

And when you do speak, even if it’s just a fragment, there’s a quiet relief. You’ve contributed. You’ve shown up for the conversation. The fear of being wrong starts to loosen its grip when you realize the goal is just to be part of the process, not to perform flawlessly.It’s okay to just begin. It’s okay to say what you remember, and to let others help fill in the gaps. That’s how the lesson moves forward, with all of us finding our footing, one recalled idea at a time.