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"Hey, you're doing pretty good. Just a small mistake over here." Shiro says, pushing back the sheet of paper and pointing to the last question.
"... Oh, I see. Stupid mistake." I shake my head, erasing the inconsistency.
"How's it going over here?" Mom asks, hovering over Shiro and me as we sit on the floor next to the coffee table.
"Things are great," Shiro grins.
"Nice to hear," Mom replies, "dinner should be ready in just a few minutes."
Hearing that studying together had been going well, Mom invited Shiro for dinner again tonight, to my surprise. When they had arrived at the house, I was still thinking about trying to get a hold of Asahi, who hadn't returned any of my calls or messages from the night before.
"Hey, everything okay?" Shiro says as I lift my phone from the coffee table to check the screen. Nothing yet.
I place the phone facedown on the coffee table again, sighing before giving a response.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"You look like you're thinking about something," Shiro responds with suspicion in his voice.
"Oh... it's nothing. Maybe just overthinking about the exam." I say.
Coupled with the strain of not being able to reach Asahi, the date of entrance exams is fast approaching, causing my mood over the last day to become embittered. I do my best not to react to Shiro and Mom with feelings under pressure, choosing to hide my worries from them: it may be starting to affect me.
He furrows his eyebrows in response.
"... Okay. Well, I know the exams are getting closer, so I can stay for a bit after dinner if it helps. I mean, I'll ask your mom first if it's okay, but if you need it..." he trails off, and I only have to mull it over momentarily before nodding.
