Trixy's pov
The hallway echoed the school bell, marking the conclusion of our free time. I got up from my chair, put my bag over my shoulder, and went with the rest of the people toward the elevator.
Zyron pushed the button, and almost right away the doors opened. Everyone stepped inside, but Zyron lingered behind.
"Hey, aren't you coming? " I questioned, brows creased.
He shook his head. "Not still. " We are currently in P. E. I am going to the locker room.
The elevator doors slammed shut separating us.
Inside were only me, Sydnee, Phoebe, Erlyn, and Luna. No one else had come with us.
"Which class is next? Luna questioned.
"History," Erlyn said.
"History," Phoebe repeated.
" History," Sydnee said under her breath, fixated on her phone.
They all turned to me.
I agreed. "Yep. History. "
Luna smiled, "Looks like were all in the same class again. "
And that could point to just one thing: Sir Hugo.
Our notorious History instructor. The man was famed for his inflexible standards. Delayed by even a minute? Trapped. Say anything inappropriate during recitation? Fail. Every freshman held him in dread and reverence. And today, I was the first to speak.
"So. . . who's daring enough to go first? " Erlyn quipped.
"I am," I responded, squeezing my laptop closer.
Luna looked at me like I had just offered to stroll right into a volcano. Trix, are you for real?
"Dead serious," I answered, a grin tugging at my lips.
Phoebe questioned as we exited the elevator, "What is your topic? "
"The Mystery of the Vanishing Civilizations. "
All of them stopped.
Luna muttered, "That's weighty. "
"She seems confident," Sydnee added, not looking up from her screen.
Sydnee opened the door as we got to the classroom. One by one we entered and sat down.
I proceeded directly to the podium, opened my laptop there, and turned it on. Scarlett arched an eyebrow at me across the room. Standard.
"Good morning, pupils," Sir Hugo's rich, refined voice came.
Everybody instantly sat up in their chairs. Sir Hugo walked to his desk, checked the attendance folder, and looked about, dressed in his normal buttoned blazer, black shirt, and trademark scarf.
He said, "It seems everyone is on time; now, who is our first presenter? "
"I am, sir," I replied, rising.
He glanced up over his glasses. "Name? "
Trixy Stacey Catherina Austen.
He nodded barely. "Go on."
I inhaled deeply, hit the remote, and the projector came on behind me with the heading: The Mystery of the Vanishing Civilizations.
Good morning, pupils. Good morning, Sir Hugo; I started, "Today Ill be sharing my research on ancient civilizations that mysteriously vanished throughout history. " Some left behind legends, others ruins. Still, they all disappeared without a trace. "
I pressed the following slide. The screen was filled with images of Mayan temples, Easter Island sculptures, and the lost cities of Mohenjo-daro and Petra.
Start with the Maya here. Among the most developed old cultures. Masters of astronomy, building design, and literary expression. But about 900 A. D., they all of a sudden left their homes. Why would anyone do this? Not really known by anyone. Theories vary from political breakdown to food scarcity, war, or climate change. But the enigma still holds.
Mohenjo-daro's ruins came up in the next slide.
Built around 2500 B. C., Mohenjo-daro, a city in the Indus Valley Civilization, had a sophisticated drainage system, urban design, and even public baths. But like the Maya, the people vanished. Historians are still debating the reason—massive floods? earthquakes? An unidentified adversary? "
I moved on to discuss North America's Ancestral Puebloans and the strange Olmec heads. My voice developed a cadence as it traversed timelines and data.
Another mystery is Nan Madol, found on a far-off island in Micronesia. This is a city made of stone structures weighing tons, built without any modern tools and based on coral reefs. It eventually got rejected as well. Why? No data, only whispers and ruins. "
My fellow students began to lean ahead. Scarlett seemed less conceited even.
"And then, we have the legend of Atlantis," I remarked, tapping to show a slide of an artist's version of the legendary island.
Plato says that Atlantis was a great civilization that disappeared beneath the waves in one day and night of tragedy. Though some think it's only a story, others look for it still on the ocean floor, in the deserts, or among layers of lost history.
I stopped and looked at the students.
"What if these weren't one-time occurrences? What if history had repeating themes? Environmental devastation. Social conflict. Foreign invasion. All pointing to one result—vanishing. "
Sir Hugo stood and made his way to the screen.
"Why this subject, Ms. Austen? " he questioned, arms crossed.
I gazed at him in the eye."Because these civilizations once flourished. They vanished even with power, culture, and expertise. It caused me to consider. If we don't learn from them, what do we risk forgetting and what enables a society to live? "
He peered at me wordlessly, then made a tiny nod.
Keep going.
I brought up the following slide. Gbekli Tepea site was older than the pyramids, this one revealed.
"This temple complex dates back to hunter-gatherers, well before recorded agriculture. Who constructed it? And why was it intentionally buried afterwards? It defies our knowledge of human history. "
Following the Hittite Empire came "A dominant force in the Bronze Age. Though their language and history were practically lost from the records until archeologists unearthed them, they rivaled Egypt.
Once more I clicked.
Lemuriaa was a hypothetical lost continent. While some view it as pseudoscience, others assert ancient texts make note of it. Whispers of a lost land, once inhabited by a great people, abound even in stories from Asia and Africa. "
I ended with an anthropologist's words: When civilizations collapse, they leave behind more than just ruins. They leave behind questions that resound much more loudly than solutions.
Turning to the class, I said, "That's my report. Thanks for listening. "
Applause started sparsely then grew louder. Scarlett even lacked a sarcastic comment at hand.
Sir Hugo came up and gave me an index card. "Excellent, Miss Austen. Full marks. "
"Thank you, sir," I responded, my voice trembling with soft pride. I went back to my seat.
Luna bent closer. "You nailed it. That was amazing. "
"Not just survived," Erlyn said, "you owned the class. "
Phoebe gave a fist bump. "Queen of Lost Civilizations. We stan. "
I grinned but instinctively looked to the back of the room.
Scarlett's eyes tightened as she continued to watch me.
Right.
Allow her to glare.
I wasn't here to play modest.