The Assignment

"The truth, unfiltered and unafraid—that’s what she wanted, and that’s what I gave her."

I was dead tired when I got to class from taking the toilet paper out of the trees. I slumped into my seat at the back, the weight of exhaustion pressing down on me. Mrs. Marks stood at the front, her eyes scanning the room. I liked her, but damn, she was intense. Most of my classmates thought she took writing way too seriously obsessing over grammar, nitpicking every detail. But I knew better. She wasn’t just demanding; she was relentless.