Study, Study

In the afternoon, Horikita Etsuka arrived at the library right on time.

"Etsuka, over here!" Kurakara waved to get his attention. Her voice was quiet, as if she was afraid of disturbing everyone.

A lot of Class B students had come to the study session, and they'd taken over three or four large tables.

You had to hand it to them. With Ichinose organizing things, everyone was studying hard of their own accord. Of course, Class B's close-knit atmosphere helped, too.

"Etsuka, Etsuka, come sit here." Kurakara patted the empty seat beside her.

"Sure." Etsuka sat down slowly and smiled. "You even saved me a spot."

"Hehe, of course I did." Kurakara lifted her chin, seeming quite pleased with his praise.

Across the room, Nakanishi Jiro was scratching his head nonstop. When he saw Horikita Etsuka, his face lit up. "Etsuka! Come teach me!"

Etsuka looked up. Hamaguchi Tetsuya was standing beside Nakanishi Jiro, looking helpless.

"What's going on?" Etsuka stood and slowly walked over.

Kurakara puffed out her cheeks as she watched Etsuka leave, but said nothing.

Hamaguchi Tetsuya let out a long sigh. "No matter how I explain it to Nakanishi, he just doesn't seem to understand."

Nakanishi Jiro awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "Can't be helped. I really don't get it."

"What problem is it? Let me see."

"This one." Nakanishi Jiro pointed to the final, most challenging problem on the math test.

The corner of Horikita Etsuka's mouth twitched.

"Before I explain it, let me ask you something. Jiro, you just got here, right?"

"Yeah." Nakanishi Jiro nodded as if it were obvious.

"Have you finished the earlier problems?"

"There are some I don't know how to do."

"Then why didn't you start from the beginning? Why jump straight to the hardest problem at the end?"

"Oh!" Nakanishi Jiro suddenly understood. He clapped his hands. "You're right, Etsuka!"

Then he flipped the test over and started working from the beginning, muttering as he wrote, "See, Hamaguchi? This is all your fault."

Hamaguchi Tetsuya: "..."

"Etsuka, Etsuka! There are some problems I don't know how to do, either." Kurakara raised her hand and waved it.

"Coming."

When Etsuka came over, Kurakara's lips curved into a slight smile, though she kept a serious expression.

A few minutes into his explanation, someone else called to him.

"Um, Horikita, could you help me with something?" Kobashi Yume raised her hand and spoke softly.

"Coming." Etsuka answered and walked over to Kobashi Yume.

A few more minutes passed.

"Horikita, could you help me?"

"Coming."

Kurakara watched Etsuka walk off again to help someone else, and couldn't help feeling a little unhappy.

Even if I'm a little unhappy, Etsuka's doing this for everyone.

Thinking that, as if to reassure herself, she suddenly felt much better.

Etsuka kept moving between the tables. It was as if they'd divided up the work without even discussing it: he was in charge of helping the girls, while Hamaguchi Tetsuya took it upon himself to teach the boys.

As Horikita Etsuka bent over to explain problems, his eyes searched for a certain person.

Huh? Speaking of which, where did Ichinose go?

Just then, a hand landed on Etsuka's shoulder, and something icy touched the back of his neck.

"Brr!" Etsuka instinctively scrunched up his shoulders.

"Haha, Horikita, thanks for all your hard work. Here, have a drink!" Ichinose said playfully, holding out a bottle of lemonade.

Etsuka took the drink with a helpless look, then glanced at Shiranami Chihiro, who was handing out drinks.

"I was wondering what you'd gone off to do. So you went to buy drinks."

"Of course! Everyone can't just study nonstop. It's good to take a break now and then and balance work with rest." Ichinose put her hands on her hips, speaking with righteous conviction.

Horikita Etsuka looked at the lemon-flavored drink in his hand and suddenly said, "I feel like trying a different flavor today. Could you get me another one?"

"Huh? A different flavor?" Ichinose nodded and turned to take one out of the box.

Taking the opportunity, Horikita Etsuka pressed the drink against the back of Ichinose's neck. He was the sort to hold a grudge.

"Eep!"

Ichinose scrunched up her neck, and her body trembled for a moment. She immediately realized she'd been tricked and turned around. "Horikita, that wasn't nice. Deceiving your classmates is bad behavior."

"I didn't deceive you." Horikita Etsuka held up the drink and shrugged. "I thought it wasn't cold, but judging by your reaction, it must be really cold. So there's no need to switch. Thanks."

Ichinose forced a smile. "I'm the one who should be thanking you for agreeing to join the study session, Horikita."

Horikita Etsuka raised his drink. "No need. We're all buddies!"

With that, he drank his sweet drink and walked away, not giving Ichinose a chance to get back at him.

He was just about to return to his seat beside Kurakara when he caught sight of Shiranami Chihiro handing Himeno Yuki a drink.

Wait! What was Himeno Yuki doing here? Didn't she dislike social events?

Etsuka stopped and headed toward Himeno Yuki.

Himeno Yuki sat quietly in her chair, a lollipop between her lips and a pen in hand as she worked out a problem. She was the only one at her table, and the atmosphere there clashed with that of the other Class B tables. Anyone else might have thought she was from another class.

Just as Etsuka was about to sit down, Himeno Yuki lifted her eyes and stared straight at him. "You promised me. I had some free time this afternoon, so I came."

"Right, I did promise you." Etsuka smiled on the surface, but his heart was pounding.

Brr... What did I promise this girl? Why can't I remember all of a sudden?!

Etsuka had an incredibly good memory—almost impossibly good—but somehow, while meeting Himeno Yuki's gaze, he'd forgotten.

Himeno Yuki pushed her book toward him and said quietly, "Teach me how to study."

Oh! So that's what it was!

Etsuka immediately understood, but his expression didn't change. "Sure. First, I'll explain my own study method."

With that, Etsuka began to explain how he studied.

His method was simple—and brutally straightforward. He memorized everything in the textbook, then used his reasoning to slowly organize it all in his mind.

But that method only worked for him. Not everyone had a brain like his.

As he was explaining his study method, a voice suddenly rang out through the library.

"What the hell? Why are you acting so arrogant?!"