While the door stood open, the last slant of daylight spilled inside, reaching the legs of the first few rows of desks.
The room slowly came alive.
Chairs scraped across the floor, bundles went over shoulders, and voices held down all afternoon rose one after another.
Someone propped a window open a crack. The wind came in and stirred up a small cloud of lingering chalk dust.
Kiba's voice shot out of the crowd, getting there before anyone else's.
"Passed!"
That shout carried halfway down the corridor.
Shino adjusted his sunglasses and said nothing.
Naruto's corner was the loudest. He was recounting those last two remarks, gesturing every which way.
He had found three different ways to say "passed," each more outlandish than the last.
His listeners laughed. Someone tried imitating him, only to crack up halfway through.
Kiyoshi's seat was beside the aisle. With people blocking the way, he stopped beside an empty desk.
A few steps away, the noise from the classroom behind him already grew indistinct.
The corridor was full of people. Some rushed outside together, their soles pounding the floorboards. Some stretched against the windowsills, while others clustered together to compare answers, bursting into laughter whenever one matched. The remaining sunlight lit half the corridor. Dust tumbled in it, stirred into clouds by everyone who passed.
The groups coming toward him all looked relieved. Someone nodded at him, and he nodded back. Neither spoke.
Wind poured through the doorway, carrying the chill from outside. Only then did the tension wound tight all afternoon ease a little.
By the stairs, someone called out names at the top of their lungs, drawing a round of laughter with each one.
He waited where he stood, the corner of his mouth moving slightly too.
Before everyone had left, a sound