A Small Test Before the Midterm

I was keeping my head down, sketching on the distributed draft paper.

I wonder if you've ever heard of a certain painting.

A gathering of mists, a painting of the luan bird.

If you don't know much about painting, you probably wouldn't understand the meaning behind that piece.

Teacher Hoshinomiya, standing at my side, had already lingered for quite a while.

Though she's honored with the title of teacher, in unfamiliar territory, it seems she can only look up in awe.

"Hajima..."

Even in the middle of an exam, that insatiable curiosity can't be ignored—she couldn't help but want to probe me, could she?

"Even if it's just a quiz, you should take it seriously."

"And..."

She hesitated for a moment, ultimately leaving the second half unsaid.

Feeling my gaze, she shifted her eyes away guiltily.

Hoshinomiya bit her lip, and finally left only a "focus on the questions" before walking off.

What a tedious exam.

It's only been a month since school started—why is there already something like a mock test?

How much have we even learned? Is there enough material to fill an entire paper?

Chewing on my pen, I eventually pulled out the test paper that had been tucked under the draft paper.

I gave the first page's questions a quick scan.

Even more boring than I imagined.

I declared as much.

Ichinose beside me had already put down her pen and was carefully checking her work.

An exam at this level should be no challenge for her at all.

Just as that thought crossed my mind, I happened to glance at Ichinose's draft paper lying nearby.

A complex calculation had yielded an answer, but Ichinose had circled it and drawn what looked like a hesitant question mark.

She didn't seem entirely confident in the answer—I figured that was the gist.

Someone who ranked among the top in the grade on the entrance exam, and it's just a quiz level...

It'd be more like stumping someone like Tetsuya.

He'd been writing seriously from the start, but only now had he flipped to the back of the paper.

"Hamaguchi, please keep quiet."

The sound of him grabbing his hair and groaning had even slightly affected Teacher Hoshinomiya at the podium.

Hastily filling in the front of the paper, I flipped it over.

It wasn't exactly hard, but if you wanted a perfect score, classroom effort alone wouldn't cut it.

Still, for a student who actually put in the work, scoring around ninety should be within normal range.

When I put down my pen, time was nearly up.

Ryota in front of me was hunched over, scribbling on his paper, apparently tackling that question designed specifically for top students.

After watching him ponder for a long time, he finally made a move.

Seeming to have a sudden insight, he wrote fluidly on the draft paper.

The smoother it got, the more the test paper under the draft paper tilted.

Tetsuya first looked up at the proctoring Teacher Hoshinomiya, saw her attention wasn't there.

He strained his neck, trying to make out the answers on Ryota's paper.

I weighed the eraser in my hand and tossed it at Tetsuya's head.

Tetsuya, who had been focused on peeking, was suddenly ambushed, flustered as he sat up straight, eyes forward.

But his gaze seemed to involuntarily meet Teacher Hoshinomiya's, and he lowered his head out of guilt.

Then, remembering the ambush, he touched the back of his head where the eraser had hit.

He searched around his seat for a while and found the culprit.

A small brown eraser.

"Damn, let me tell you guys..."

"During that quiz just now, I was about to see Ryota's paper when this thing hit me."

Just after handing in the test, Tetsuya started complaining.

Then he held the eraser out in front of us.

"Serves you right. Who told you to sneak a peek?"

"I swear I listen in class, but I only end up with a vague impression of the problems."

Tetsuya scratched his head in mild frustration.

"Ryota, you're so good at studying—is it because you understand everything the moment you hear it in class?"

"...I usually don't listen."

"Huh?"

Tetsuya repeated the words, trying to grasp their meaning.

"I don't get it."

"Don't get what?"

"Not listening in class, but still being able to solve all the problems."

Ryota frowned, as if thinking about how to explain it to him.

"Is it because you're looking at solving problems too deeply?"

"Solving problems is just a way to verify whether you've mastered the knowledge point. Solving the problem isn't the goal—truly mastering the knowledge is the real purpose."

"Seisuke..."

"I thought everyone who didn't listen just didn't like studying..."

"Sorry. Having that thought makes me deserve to die."

"I'll atone with my life right now."

Tetsuya put on a martyr's expression, and Ryota couldn't help but offer some comfort.

"Everyone has their own strengths..."

Before he could finish, Tetsuya muttered darkly:

"One's own uselessness is regrettable, but a friend's excellence is even more heartbreaking."

"..."

Ryota and I locked eyes. I responded with silence.

"The greatest crime I committed today was feeling sympathy for you..."

"Don't copy my homework anymore."

"Godfather, you can't!"

"Get lost..."

The front row was back to its usual chaos.

Tap...

A fingertip suddenly touched me from behind.

"Um... my... my eraser."

A soft, slightly halting voice spoke up.

Tap tap...

I turned around. A slender arm immediately retreated under her desk.

Her gaze, which had been fixed on me, now wavered as I turned.

"The eraser I borrowed during the exam... are you done with it? Since school's almost over... so... of course, if you still need it, you can return it tomorrow..."

At the time, I'd only wanted to interrupt Tetsuya's cheating, so I'd casually used the eraser I had on hand.

I'd completely forgotten it was one she'd borrowed after asking around.

Glancing at the two still bickering, I silently picked up the eraser that had been left on my desk from the commotion.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Chihiro Shiramami nodded and placed the eraser into her pencil case.

"Well... I'll be going now. See you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow."