The hallway carpet had a dizzying pattern of brown and orange diamonds.

Arthur stood by the ice machine near the stairwell.

He wore the same gray suit he wore to school every day.

He held an empty plastic bucket.

He kept polishing his wire-rimmed glasses with a small microfiber cloth.

“They’re doing well,” Arthur said.

“They know the material inside and out.”

“They’ve been studying since August,” Claire said.