Taking Photos

The day before the May exam had arrived.

After school, who knew how many people were planning to cram at the last minute? Just then, Kikyo Kushida, the angel of Class D, stood up and walked to the front of the classroom, holding a stack of photocopies.

As a well-known figure in Class D, she drew many eyes.

"Could I have everyone's attention for a moment? I have something for you before you leave."

After explaining why she'd stopped them, she handed the photocopies to students in the front rows, who passed them back.

Many people looked at the questions in confusion, able to do little more than guess at their purpose. After all, the exam was tomorrow. Nobody could stand being made to sit for a surprise test just as school was letting out.

"Did you put these questions together, Kushida? But the exam doesn't start until tomorrow."

When Kikyo Kushida heard someone ask, she smiled brightly and explained.

"Oh, these are actually old exam papers. I asked a third-year student for them last night.

"I found that the questions were the same as the ones from the year before last, so I don't think they'll change this year. I thought they might help everyone, so I took the liberty of bringing them in."

Her words dropped like a depth charge in the classroom.

All the last-minute crammers suddenly had a clear goal. Cramming took skill, and memorizing just a few questions would make things much easier.

"Seriously? If I'd known, I wouldn't have studied so hard. What a waste of my precious time."

"You're a lifesaver."

Since it was break time, many people couldn't resist leaping out of their seats. Some even rushed to the front of the classroom and crowded around Kikyo Kushida.

They were practically worshipping the angel in their hearts—and for good reason. With everyone lacking a clear goal and even facing expulsion if they failed, Kikyo Kushida had descended like a divine savior to offer help on the last day. It was like people always said: a timely favor was worth more than a favor given in fair weather.

The three boys in particular thought Kikyo Kushida was positively glowing. In their eyes, she was unquestionably top-tier.

She didn't care about their sleazy personalities or their looks. She gave them warm smiles and chatted with them. Now she was offering them the best possible help, too.

If they were goblins, then she was their saintess!

Beihai was among the crowd. He took a copy, looking relieved.

"Great! Now I don't have to worry about tomorrow's exam.

"Sakura, I got one for you too. Have a look."

Airisu Sakura took the test paper, though she didn't think it would do Beihai much good.

She'd known Beihai for over two months. In April, when the class had descended into chaos, he'd joined right in. But in May, he'd put his head down and studied like crazy, pushing himself hard.

"Do you need one too, Beihai?"

Asking when you didn't understand was a good student's habit—and it had become one of hers. She knew from experience that keeping quiet about a question she couldn't solve only led to punishment.

"It might not help much, but better safe than sorry."

Beihai smiled. In truth, he was just following the crowd. Not taking a paper now would easily attract attention.

Looking around the class, he spotted the blond Rokuju Takaharadera, who stood apart from everyone else and was shunned by the others. He didn't care about Kikyo Kushida's friendly overtures and simply announced that he had a date.

Suzune Horikita was just as much of a loner, if not more so. Nobody paid her any mind, but she had the strength to back herself up.

Kiyotaka Kiyotaka was watching the commotion. He'd seen Beihai turn him down in the cafeteria, but now Beihai was holding a test paper.

When someone else started a group, he joined in at once. He hurriedly stood up and went to get a paper, too.

As Kikyo Kushida handed them out, she froze for a moment when she saw Kiyotaka Kiyotaka. But she quickly recovered. The whole thing lasted only an instant, and nobody else noticed.

Kiyotaka Kiyotaka looked at the questions, then glanced around the room. This was the right way to do it. If he'd stayed seated, he would've easily drawn attention.

He wasn't like the other loners, with their strange quirks.

And this would be a good first step toward building a stable social life.

"Beihai, want to play games tonight?"

Beihai shuddered. He considered the other boy a gaming buddy, but there was no need to take things this far.

"The exam's tomorrow. We should take it seriously, so let's skip tonight."

Airisu Sakura saw the two of them talking again. Remembering what Beihai had said earlier, she gathered her courage.

"Kiyotaka Kiyotaka, Beihai is right. The exam's tomorrow, and tonight isn't a good time for a lot of things. If something like that test happens again, we'll be expelled.

"And, and Beihai has something to do with me this afternoon."

"Mm, all right."

Kiyotaka Kiyotaka backed down. During the previous test, Beihai had been in poor spirits and had fallen asleep, so he hadn't earned many points.

The May exam was no joke. If they messed it up this time, they really would be expelled.

Airisu Sakura let out a sigh of relief. She'd had to work up a tremendous amount of courage just then. If she'd had to hold out a little longer, she really might have crumbled, stammered, and given in.

On the way back to the dorms after school, Beihai casually rolled up the test paper and aimed it at the trash can beside him. Swish.

Airisu Sakura didn't do the same. She simply took a camera out of her schoolbag and handed it to Beihai.

"Make sure the pictures look good. Don't do anything weird."

After warning him, she waited for Beihai to agree. Naturally, he nodded and promised.

Once they found a good spot, Beihai said,

"Smile for me. Wait, the lighting's bad over here. Move to the left. Yeah, a little farther left. A little more."

Airisu Sakura was surprisingly lively in front of the camera, not nearly as shy as usual. But with Beihai taking the pictures, she still felt a little awkward.

So she kept her eyes fixed on the camera and struck her best pose. She took a step to the left, shifted a little, then bumped into the wall.

"Huh?"

She'd already been so tense that the moment she bumped into the wall, she shivered and lost all her nerve. Beihai snapped the picture right then.

Beihai's expression turned a little odd. Airisu Sakura was very cute, but in the background, along the corridor, someone had just been caught shoving another person. It looked like there'd been an argument.

Airisu Sakura was a little annoyed. The same thing had happened when they took pictures before. Instead of taking good shots, Beihai always snapped a picture of her having an accident, claiming it was cute.

Before she could walk over, Beihai grabbed her wrist and pulled her away.

When people were fighting, the right thing to do was make sure you were safe first.