Midterm Exams

Manabu Horikita stared at him as if, should Miyama Saku do anything to betray Suzune Horikita—such as coercing her—he would sink him to the bottom of the lake and feed him to the fish on the spot.

"Your stare is kind of terrifying, Student Council President."

"I haven't even done anything yet. Do you really have to look at me like that?" Miyama Saku spread his hands and met that gaze with an innocent expression.

"Oh, right," Miyama Saku mentioned casually. "I gave last year's midterm papers to your sister."

"Midterm papers? Did you buy them from upperclassmen?"

"Nope." Miyama Saku shrugged.

"They were given to me by some anonymous, kind-hearted upperclassman. How your sister uses them is her business. I've fulfilled your request and helped her out, so remember to settle the bill later."

"Last year's midterm papers are this year's midterm papers."

"Seriously? That upperclassman only told me the question formats would be the same."

"I'm not lying. Even if the exam questions are leaked, they'll still set the paper according to the original framework." Manabu Horikita's tone remained calm.

"Oh?" Miyama Saku asked, genuinely probing this time.

"Then would the Student Council President report someone for leaking exam questions?"

Manabu Horikita's voice remained cold. "Right now, I'm merely an upperclassman enrolled at this school. I'm not on duty, so I'm not the Student Council President."

That answer was watertight. He neither admitted nor denied anything.

"Forget it. I can't be bothered arguing with you."

Miyama Saku yawned.

"It's getting late. I should head back and sleep too. See you, Horikita-senpai."

After returning to his dorm room.

"What the hell was that? I just went out to buy a drink, and I had to run into him."

"Whatever. What's done is done. Time to wash up and sleep."

The days passed one after another, and Miyama Saku's life continued as usual, except now someone kept dragging him to the library for tutoring. Calling it tutoring was really just an excuse for her to slack off and avoid gatherings.

He also found time to visit the club. The tools and materials for sculpture had yet to fully arrive, so he could only sit there and draw a few portraits to pass the time, lest someone label him a "ghost member."

It was there that he also ran into Chihiro Shiranami from Class B.

At last, exam day arrived.

As usual, Miyama Saku reached the classroom early in the morning. He was just about to put his head down for a short rest when Ichinose entered the classroom, waved to him from afar, and then quickly walked over.

"Miyama, are you really going to be okay with the exams?" Ichinose looked at Miyama Saku with a worried expression.

"I'll be fine. Don't worry."

As if suddenly remembering something, Miyama Saku pulled out the notes Ichinose had previously given him and handed them back to her.

"Oh, right. Thanks for the notes."

"I'm returning them now. I'll give you a proper thank-you gift another day."

Though the notes had been of no use to him, he could not disregard someone else's goodwill. He still had to keep up appearances.

"Hehe, you don't need to give me anything. I'm happy as long as I could help you." Ichinose's eyes curved with her smile, and her tone was light, as though she had not taken the matter to heart at all.

"All right, I'm planning to rest a little before the exam, so I won't chat with you anymore, Ichinose."

"Huh? Miyama, aren't you going to read a few more pages? If you study a little longer, maybe you can score higher."

"I don't do last-minute cramming." Miyama Saku waved a hand, his tone somewhat lazy. "Besides, I studied enough last night. Getting enough rest to handle the exam is more important to me right now."

Speaking of last night, he could not help thinking of Shiina Hiyori. That girl had probably been genuinely afraid he would fail, so she had forced him to complete several sets of exam papers. She only let him go to sleep after checking every single question and confirming there were no problems.

"All right, then. Good luck on the exams."

Ichinose encouraged him before returning to her own seat, opening her book, and lowering her head to review.

She really was a model student!

Miyama Saku sighed inwardly, then lay down on his desk and closed his eyes.

Not long before the exam began, Miyama Saku was still awakened by Himeno Yuki, who sat behind him.

"Miyama, wake up already. The exam's about to start." Himeno Yuki poked his back with her pen.

"All right, I know. Stop poking me."

Miyama Saku stretched first, then slowly sat up and began placing the stationery he would need for the exam on his desk.

The exam bell rang, and the papers were passed back one by one from the front row.

Miyama Saku took his paper and gave the questions a quick glance. Sure enough, they were exactly the same as the ones given to him by that anonymous, kind-hearted upperclassman. It seemed the Student Council President had ultimately chosen not to report the leaked exam questions.

He picked up his pen and began answering at an unhurried pace.

Only the sound of pen tips scratching across paper remained in the classroom, occasionally mixed with the rustle of turning pages.

Some students frowned as they bit their pen holders, while others had already begun spinning their pens and staring blankly into space.

Watching some of his classmates struggle with their answers.

Miyama Saku thought, Looks like Himeno didn't give the exam questions to the class. That's good. Relying on leaked questions might get you through once, but it won't get you through every time. Improving your own academic ability is what matters. The exam questions themselves are irrelevant—just pretend they don't exist.

Miyama Saku himself wrote especially smoothly. On one hand, he had already completed the paper in advance. On the other, he was naturally a good student to begin with. Handing in a blank paper had been due to force majeure and an accident.

Halfway through, he caught a glimpse from the corner of his eye of Ichinose at the front diagonal seat, bent over her paper and answering diligently. Her side profile was taut, and though her pen moved slowly, she wrote with great care.

Miyama Saku withdrew his gaze and continued answering.

His pen moved steadily across the page, but he had already made his calculations. He would control his score.

Handing in a blank paper last time had dragged down the average considerably. This time, as long as he kept each subject between sixty and seventy points, it should look acceptable. Judging from last time, the passing line probably would not be too high either.

There was no need to score too highly—it would draw too much attention. But scoring too low would be hard to explain to Ichinose. Sixty to seventy was just right for him.

He calculated his score as he answered each question at an unhurried pace.

Himeno Yuki wrote quite quickly, her pen never stopping. After all, she had seen the exam questions too, so she knew what to expect.

The only question was whether she would choose to score high or hold herself back and get a result roughly matching her usual level.

Time passed second by second.

Miyama Saku looked at the final question but did not write anything.

He put down his pen, loosened his wrist, then propped his chin on one hand and quietly waited for the bell signaling the collection of papers.

His score was already under control anyway. Whether he answered the final question or not would make little difference.

Some people in the classroom were still bent over their papers, writing furiously. Others had begun flipping through their papers to check their work, while some, like him, had stopped writing early and stared into space.

Miyama Saku swept his gaze around the room, then looked away, continued propping up his chin, and waited for the bell to ring.

Just like that, the day of exams soon came to an end.

After handing in the final paper, the tension that had hung over the classroom all day finally eased.

Some students slumped over their desks and wailed. Some hurriedly compared answers. Others packed up and headed straight outside, as though they could not stand staying for even one more second.

Miyama Saku stuffed his stationery into his bag, rose slowly, and yawned as he considered what to cook tonight.