The final exam was over. Everyone in the room had finished and turned in their tests. The tests were graded. There was still an hour to go, and so there was nothing to do but sit and chill.
The room was quiet. This particular class was small and always quiet. But with the seniors gone to graduation practice, the class was smaller and quieter.
I looked at the students. Most of them were on their phones — ok, on this last day of class after the last test, ok, that’s fine. But one of them was turned sideways and held his hand to his mouth. I watched for a moment to see if he was ok. He was not — eyes red, visibly sobbing.
I slowly stood and walked to that side of the room, kneeling beside him.
“Are you ok?”
One of the other students had noticed and was watching.
“Yes,” he said sobbing inconsolably… “but it’s just that I’m going to miss you.”
I whispered something reassuring. I asked if he wanted to get up and walk a bit outside.
“No,” he said. “I’ll be ok.”