Lab rat

That morning, Takahashi Ren was the last to enter the classroom, as usual. The bell rang just as he sat down.

He had cut it right to the minute again today. Neither early nor late. Just right.

The first period was Mr. Mashima's class.

He began, "Since it's the end of the month, we'll be having a quiz."

The test papers were passed back from the first row and soon reached Takahashi Ren. He quickly skimmed his copy.

It contained questions from the five main subjects, four per subject, for twenty questions in total. Each was worth five points, for a maximum score of one hundred.

"This test is just to gauge where you stand. It won't go on your report cards, so don't worry. However, cheating is strictly prohibited."

Once the instructions were over, the classroom fell silent, leaving only the scratching of pen tips across paper. The test ended when the bell rang.

As soon as class ended, Toba Shigeru and Ishida gathered beside Takahashi Ren's seat to discuss the test.

Toba Shigeru leaned his lower back against the edge of the desk, bracing his hands on its surface behind him, and complained bluntly, "Man, those last three questions were way too hard. I feel like we never even learned that stuff."

Ishida put his hands on Takahashi Ren's shoulders from behind. "Seriously. The earlier ones were super easy, then the difficulty shot up for the last three. I did manage to solve two, but I'm not confident at all."

"I suspect you're humblebragging. All I managed was to write 'Solution:' three times." Toba Shigeru pursed his lips.

Ishida and Takahashi Ren had done their best to hold it in, but they couldn't help bursting out laughing.

"Takahashi, what are you laughing at?"

"I remembered something happy."

"What happy thing?"

"I solved all three."

"Seriously?" Ishida looked incredulous. He had always been confident in math, yet Takahashi Ren had managed to solve the final math problem that even he couldn't.

"We've got an expert here? Come clean. How'd you solve them?"

"I just happened to know how to do those three."

Toba Shigeru and Ishida exchanged a look and said in unison, "Get him."

The two immediately pounced, making as if to punch him. Takahashi Ren leaned back in his chair and raised his hands in surrender.

The three horsed around together.

During the break after second period.

Ai Morishita's claws finally reached Takahashi Ren.

Ai Morishita, who sat in front of him, turned around for once and offered him a pack of gum, telling him to take a stick.

What's this supposed to mean? A peace offering?

Takahashi Ren pulled out a stick and got a fright.

A cockroach lay on top of the gum.

A prank prop: cockroach gum.

He had played with this stuff back in elementary school. To think someone was still using it to scare people in high school. How childish.

The people around him cast sympathetic, pitying looks his way.

Takahashi Ren looked at Ai Morishita, who had her phone camera pointed at him, and said helplessly, "Are you taking pictures?"

"Close." Ai Morishita corrected him with a straight face. "I'm recording the cowardly Takahashi Ren crying out in fright because of me, in high quality."

Even worse.

"Did you get the footage you wanted?"

"Yep."

"Then put it away. Keep holding your phone up like that and people will think you have a crush on me." Takahashi Ren turned the tables on her.

"As if! You're the world's biggest delusional freak." With that, Ai Morishita immediately turned back around.

"Don't forget your gum," he reminded her.

"It's yours," Ai Morishita said without looking back.

She would remember this grudge.

She would be back.

Takahashi Ren looked at the spoils in his hand, smiled faintly, and kept them.

"Could I bother you for a moment?"

During lunch break, Shiraishi called Takahashi Ren over to a corner of the hallway.

"What is it, Shiraishi?"

"You haven't come to talk to me at all, Takahashi."

"Oh, that. Mostly because I don't have anything to talk about." After exchanging a few words with Shiraishi on the first day, he really hadn't approached her again.

"Really? Then why haven't you ever invited me to a Light Music Club performance, either? I've been waiting for you to ask."

"All right. First, I'm not someone who takes the initiative. Second, I find you a little hard to approach."

"Is that so?" Shiraishi gently lowered her eyes.

Then she quietly hooked her little finger around Takahashi Ren's before slipping her hand into his.

"What are you doing?" Takahashi Ren hurriedly pulled his hand free and took half a step back, startled.

Fortunately, no one was around, or it would have caused an unnecessary misunderstanding.

It wasn't that he shunned women or disliked it. It had simply been too sudden. Shiraishi's unnatural behavior made him instinctively distance himself.

"I wanted to be closer to you, Takahashi."

"That's not what I meant." Takahashi Ren felt a little helpless.

She looked so quiet and reserved, yet she acted without the slightest hesitation. Girls these days really were hard to figure out.

"I'm sorry. That was too forward of me."

"If there's nothing else, I'll get going." He stayed no longer, turning to leave.

Watching Takahashi Ren walk away, Shiraishi gave a meaningful smile.

I was a little... too impatient. She silently reminded herself that Takahashi Ren was interesting and worth a little more patience.

[Eye of Insight]: The look Shiraishi gives the host is neither adoration nor curiosity. Rather, it is that of a researcher observing, with keen interest, a lab rat worth toying with over and over.

So I wasn't imagining it.

Still, knowing made things easier. At least he wouldn't have to spend time guessing what she actually wanted.

Takahashi Ren didn't care how others saw him, as long as they didn't interfere with his peaceful daily life.

After school, the three decided to spend some time at a café.

Takahashi Ren ordered a matcha latte.

The café was fairly busy that day, but fortunately, their usual spot was still free.

The three sat down with their respective drinks.

Ishida took a sip and started the conversation. "The years stand still for no one, and the seasons flow like water. In the blink of an eye, we've been at this school for a month..."

"Stop, stop, stop. Are you writing an essay? What's with all the reflections?" Toba Shigeru quickly interrupted.

"Leave me alone. I'm homesick. Is that not allowed?"

"You really are a kid who never grows up."

"Don't you miss home?"

"I like the freedom I have now more than I miss home."

"What do you think, Takahashi?" Ishida asked.

"Both are fine. But I think whether our points will change the day after tomorrow is more worth paying attention to."

"That's true. I wonder how many they'll deduct the day after tomorrow..." Ishida looked worried.

"What do you mean, deduct? They might even go up," Toba Shigeru said optimistically.

Takahashi Ren didn't reply. He simply lifted his coffee cup and quietly took a sip.

Rather than guess at things that hadn't happened yet, it was better to wait until the dust settled.

As though they shared some unspoken understanding, Ishida and Toba Shigeru said no more either. One stirred the ice in his glass while the other gazed out the window, enjoying a moment of peace together.

After a long while, Takahashi Ren stood up. "I'll go pay."

"I'll pay for mine."

"Me too."

"I have plenty of points. Let me."

Ishida started to speak, then stopped. In the end, he scratched his head and swallowed his words.

Toba Shigeru wanted to argue a little more, but seeing that Takahashi Ren had already walked away, he could only give up and mutter, "It's on me next time."

April summary (not included in this chapter's word count)

· Causal Deduction: one use total (chapter 2, deduced that there would be an assessment this month)

· Eye of Insight: one use total (chapter 8, examined Shiraishi's gaze)