"The Basic Science assignment, of course!"

  Elinqua's eyes drifted upward as he searched his mind. Nothing. Blank.

  "No match," he muttered.

  "I can't remem—"

  "The assignment on ten humorous but wrong scientific beliefs," Philip cut in.

  "Are you sure we were given that? Because my brain keeps flashing 'Result not found.'"

  "Wasn't it Frank who started it? During that Q&A session, he asked the Basic Science teacher, 'What's even the difference between Basic Science and Basic Technology?' and the whole class exploded with laughter."

  "Oh! And then the teacher picked two other students to answer, but they sat there like mannequins."

  "Exactly!"

  "I wasn’t even in class then."

  "Then how do you know?"

  "I heard about the rumours when I got back to the class. The whole class was buzzing then. Luckily, no teacher was around. I even asked my seat partner, and he confirmed it."

  "Worst still, did you hear about the soldier who came in?"

  "A soldier? There? Then?"

  "Ohh, you need to hear about this!"

  "He was standing at the back, listening to everything. He noticed something odd—constant laughter."

  "Then, out of nowhere, he stepped forward and asked, 'Why are you people laughing?'"

  "What?" Elinqua's eyes widened.

  "And the worst part—Frank, not realizing who spoke, rudely replied, 'Ask Google!'"

  "Imagine!" Elinqua groaned, closing his mouth in the next moment. His eyes scanned the room, hoping frank was not somewhere nearby, eavesdropping on their conversation.

  Their conversation continued.

  What Actually Happened…

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  The usual classroom's hum masked the deep tone of the soldier’s voice, blending it with the student's chatter.

  At first, Frank thought the voice was just another joke. Until he noticed his seatmate staring at him—and then the rest of the class followed.

  "What?!" Frank snapped, still unaware he had just talked back to a soldier.

  Turning around, he saw him: a gentle-looking man, yet something about his posture, his uniform, screamed authority.

  "Oh no," Frank whispered internally, gritting his teeth. "I just mouthed off to a soldier."

  Being a true Nigerian, his instinctive reaction wasn’t “ouch” or “oh no.” It was the legendary word-- “Yeeh!”

  Frank had never been flogged by a soldier before, but today, he knew he had poked the wrong bear. He had always been the class clown—but now he’d turned the room into a ticking time bomb.

  The seconds felt like hours.

  The soldier said nothing. Just sat there, quietly. Watching.

  The tension grew. Even the other students stiffened, fully aware that when one banana ripens too early, the others are not safe.

  Then—suddenly—the soldier stood.

  "ASSIGNMENT!" he roared. The class fell silent.

  "WRITE TEN HUMOROUS YET INCORRECT SCIENTIFIC BELIEFS THAT WERE ONCE THOUGHT TO BE TRUE!" he commanded. He repeated it once, firm and clear.

  "Submit it by tomorrow morning," he added in a calm, steady voice before exiting.

  __________________________________

  Immediately after the soldier left—

  Chatter, chatter, chatter…

  The classroom erupted into noise. Students began complaining loudly, some yelling at Frank with the anger they had bottled up in their fear while the soldier was present, completely ignoring the fact that the teacher was still in the room.

  Soldiers often roamed from class to class at random, checking to see if teachers were present or slacking, so they could decide what disciplinary steps to take.

  The teacher, who had been unusually quiet all this while, finally spoke:

  “Don’t you ‘fresh off the boats’ ever learn?”

  “Sir… Ma… It’s Frank,” someone interjected hesitantly, as the earlier silence dissolved completely.

  That single comment seemed to ignite a riot. The noise in the room swelled up to a chaotic crescendo, transforming the class into something like a temporary marketplace. Two students even randomly slapped Frank on the back of the head in the commotion.

  “Hello?” the teacher called out, trying to cut through the noise.

  But it continued.

  “HELLO!” she bellowed, snatching the cane from the desk and slamming it repeatedly against the table. Bits of the worn cane flaked off with each strike.

  The classroom went from uproar to uneasy silence, with only a few stray murmurs still bubbling in the background.

  “Is it because I’ve been silent all this while?!” she shouted. “I WILL CALL HIM BACK TO DEAL WITH YOU PEOPLE IF YOU’RE NOT CAREFUL!”

  Complete silence fell over the room like a thick blanket. Dread settled into the air.

  “I wanted to help you people,” she said, her voice lower but colder now. “But you’re not really worth it.”

  ________________________________

  BACK TO THE PRESENT

  “I remember I wrote it somewhere,” Elinqua said, rifling through his notebook.

  “Remind me of the assignment again.”

  “‘Mention ten humorous yet incorrect scientific beliefs that were once believed.’”

  “Now that I think about it, it’s not even really a hard question,” she added. “Have you done yours?”

  “Not really… I haven’t finished it.”

  “Can you show me what you’ve done?”

  “Alright. I’ve written four so far…”

  “Submit your Basic Science assignment!” a girl suddenly yelled from the front of the class.