Awkward Silence in Online Classes

Online classes on Google Meet are actually a social experiment because why is everyone

muted but somehow it's still awkward? You join the meet, camera off, mic muted,

pretending you're listening when in reality you just woke up 30 seconds ago.

The teacher's like, "Any questions?" And the silence is so loud it feels illegal.

Then someone unmutes by accident and you just hear breathing, heavy breathing. Now everyone's panicking

like, "Who is that?" And don't even get me started on breakout rooms.

You join, nobody talks, everyone's staring at their screen like NPCs waiting

for one brave soul to speak. No one does. Then the teacher joins and suddenly