A few hours later…
The walk back to his dormitory felt like the longest journey of Creed's life, each step echoing through the academy's pristine white corridors with the hollow sound of defeat.
The late afternoon sun streamed through the massive stained glass windows that lined the hallway, casting colorful patterns across the polished floor that should have been beautiful but somehow only served to remind him of how spectacularly his day had gone wrong.
Other students passed by him in small groups, their voices carrying excited chatter about their own assessment experiences, and every word felt like a knife twisting in his already wounded pride.
He could feel their eyes on him as he walked, some filled with curiosity, others with barely concealed amusement, and a few with what might have been pity, which was somehow even worse than outright mockery.
