CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER 14

The repetitive tapping of Mrs. Wilkins' foot against the marble floor broke the strained silence that had crept over the classroom. Her penetrating stare traveled across the assembled students, a silent challenge to face her scrutiny.

"Well?" she asked, her tone sharp and irritated. "Surely someone can enlighten us as to the central theme of Fitzgerald's masterpiece."

A collective rustle echoed across the rows of desks, with the studious few frantically digging through their notes in an attempt to find the solution. But for the most part, the inquiry was met with blank glances and awkward shifting.

From the back of the classroom, Lila could feel Caleb and Miranda's presence as a tangible force, their smug indifference in stark contrast to the palpable anxiety that seized their peers. She dared a furtive glance in their direction, her gut constricting at the sight of Miranda's perfectly manicured nails drumming an eager staccato across the desktop.

Caleb, the epitome of fals