Once Lily and I finished our cakes, we grabbed our bags and headed to school.
It had rained all day last week, and this week seemed to be no different. If anything, the weather only seemed worse.
It was still early in the morning, yet the sky was shrouded in black storm clouds, covering the world in a bleak, monochrome veil indistinguishable from the night.
The rain hammered against my umbrella, drowning out all other sound in its violent roar.
According to the weather app, it was supposed to be raining like this for the rest of the week. It was oddly fitting that this was the weather surrounding finals week.
Lily walked with measured steps, her gaze fixed on the path ahead. Yet, she didn't seem to notice that she was about to walk into a stop sign.
I waited until she was only inches away to see if she'd notice before grabbing her bag and pulling her back.
Her shoulders twitched, her eyes snapping back to reality with each blink. She glanced at the stop sign, then at me, and let out a strained chuckle.
"Hahaha… sorry about that."
"It's fine," I said, looking ahead—until a smug grin crept up my face. "It looks like someone's a little nervous."
Lily clicked her tongue and jabbed me in my ribs with her elbow. "Stop making fun of me! Of course I'm going to be nervous."
I let out a small chuckle, only for it to be carried away by the howling winds. Realizing she hadn't heard me, I reached over and lightly ruffled Lily's hair.
"Hey–" She tried swatting me away, but it was no use. Eventually, she gave up and continued walking like nothing was happening.
"Anyway," I said, giving her one last ruffle before pulling my hand back. "There's nothing to worry about. You will do fine."
A gust of wind hit us, blowing my hair back, but whipping Lily's all across her face.
She clearly didn't know where she was going, as she stepped straight into a puddle and splashed water up her legs in the next moment, staining her pale skin with muddy brown water. Despite that, she swept her hair away from her face and flashed me a playful, but disgruntled frown.
"Don't say that! I'm not you, y'know. I can't always guarantee a good grade. But that's why I have this!"
She dug her hand into the sleeve of her blazer and tugged on the piece of the sweater—my sweater—she'd been wearing underneath.
"With this, I will definitely do well! I can already feel your genius flowing through my veins!"
I couldn't help but roll my eyes. "Whatever you say."
We continued talking until we reached the school. The moment we got there, we went our separate ways as if we were nothing but strangers. It wasn't anything cruel, just that the full weight of exams crushed any student's will to live the moment they stepped into school. Lily was no different.
I changed into my indoor shoes and headed for my homeroom. The hallway was just as grey as the world outside, washed out under the clouds.
Students walked with their heads down, not saying a word, even as they passed their friends. Some gripped their arm, some bit their lip, some walked too fast or too slow. I, however, kept my usual pace the whole time. To me, it was just an exam. I knew I'd do well, and worrying about it would never help me in any way anyway. That didn't mean I didn't understand where everyone was coming from, though.
The door to my homeroom was wide open, so I stepped in and walked to my desk. Luna didn't seem to notice me enter as she was too preoccupied twirling her hair around her finger. Even her blonde hair looked tainted by the rain, its usual brightness washed out.
I glanced around the room until my gaze landed on Mei. Her back was completely straight, her gaze fixed on the blackboard at the front of the class.
Looks like someone is confident.
I pulled my gaze away from Mei until I found Remi—who was in the middle of peeling one of her nails.
…Well, I expected her to be that nervous. I think she'll be fine, though.
With that, I returned my gaze to the surface of my desk. It was a shame Yu and I weren't in the same homeroom, but I could already imagine how he must've been reacting right now. At the mere thought of it, my chest jerked, and a giggle threatened to slip out.
I took two deep breaths, pushing it down. It was perfect timing, as the bell rang in the next moment, signalling that the day had begun.
The atmosphere went tense at once, becoming almost suffocating. The teacher—Miss Lee—stepped to the front of the class and cleared her throat, drawing everyone's attention.
"Okay, everyone. Exam conditions are now in place. I will be handing out your exams shortly. When you get them, you may proceed."
Miss Lee moved down each aisle, handing exams to every student. When I received mine, she gave me a small wink.
"Good luck," she whispered.
I gave her a small nod in response. She smiled, then moved on to the next student.
After stretching my fingers, I got started right away.
***
"Okay, everyone," Miss Lee announced. "Time is now up. Put your pencils down. I will be walking around and gathering your exams. Please remain seated until everyone's exams have been collected."
I slowly lifted my head from the desk and rubbed my sleepy eyes open. I'd finished with an hour left to spare, and with nothing else to do, I decided to take a quick nap.
Miss Lee walked around the class, gathering each student's exams. Once she finished, she returned to the front of the classroom and excused us.
Everyone got up and filed out of the class at once. No one lingered in the halls or talked on the way out. Everyone just rushed for the shoe lockers, got changed, and headed home. Every second wasted was time they could've spent studying, so it was no wonder.
Even Luna—who usually tried to make small talk every chance she got—only gave me a small goodbye wave before hurrying home. And I knew that Remi, Sora, and Yu were doing the same thing.
Mei and I already agreed beforehand that we wouldn't be seeing each other until finals ended, because she wanted to focus entirely on studying. I agreed without giving it much thought at the moment. It wasn't like I could've just told her "no" anyway.
Now that I was here, though, every second not seeing her felt like a part of myself slipping away. It was this foreign feeling that gnawed in the background of my thoughts. Nothing serious, but impossible to ignore.
I want to see you…
Still, I wasn't going to disturb her or ask her to meet up. I would never stoop that low.
So, with nothing else left to do, I decided to head home and call it a day.
***
Lily POV
Once I got home, I took a small two-hour nap before waking up and studying for my next exams. Today's exams hadn't gone so badly for me. I didn't get stuck on a single question—but I wasn't confident in every one.
More. I need to study more!
My pencil raced along the pages, filling each empty white stretch with grey streaks.
Maybe it was because of the all-nighter, but my mind was hazy, and my body didn't move the way I wanted it to. Still, I didn't stop. I was going to keep going until 4 a.m., then sleep for another two hours.
That was going to be my schedule until finals ended.
Every so often, my hand would stop moving, and my head would sink towards the table as I slipped under. Each time, I caught myself before I went down and pushed forward.
I had run out of the pills that kept me awake—but that was fine. As long as I kept pinching myself with my nails, as long as the pain kept me alert, and as long as this desire continued to burn deep in my chest, I would continue pushing myself.
Hoshino POV
Once I got home, I took a quick nap, had a shower, and then ate dinner with my family as usual. Dad didn't make any of his witty remarks today—probably because it was exam season and he didn't want to stress us out even further—so the dinner table was even quieter than usual.
Once we finished dinner, Lily retreated into her room. She did stop by mine for a little bit before she did, but the conversation didn't last long. Just a simple "how did your exams go?" and stuff like that. She had a lot to worry about, so I didn't push her.
After that, I studied for an hour, then got bored and read whatever I could find in my bed. My notification inbox stayed empty the whole day. Everyone was probably doing the same thing—studying—so I wasn't surprised.
Still, I couldn't help but sigh.
I just want exams to be over with already…