River of Stars

Chapter 7 - Trust

November went by slowly for most students due to the end of the year tests, and for Nishikata it was no exception. In fact, it was even slower for him, since he was studying harder and was more nervous than anyone else.

For the past weeks, Nishikata had intensified greatly the rhythm of his studies, he studied more at home and played even less video games, and read even less manga. At school, his visits to the library became longer and more frequent, and Takagi accompanied him through all of them entirely. She would avoid teasing him during their study sections, and then come at him with full force on their way back home to compensate.

As time passed since the last tests, in September, Nishikata became better and better at the subjects that once were incomprehensible to him. By the end of November, Nishikata and Takagi's dynamic turned from Takagi helping Nishikata and fixing his mistakes to both of them studying together and helping each other as they went. Nishikata became (relatively) comfortable having Takagi sitting shoulder to shoulder with him, they would point at each other's books and notes, she would answer his questions, he would answer hers, and when none of them knew the answer, they'd work together to find out.

The reason why Nishikata was so nervous was because, to enter Sekai Eda High, he would need an average score of 80 points for his second and third years of middle school for all subjects. Nishikata wasn't that bad with almost every subject, and his scores for the second tests put him in a relatively comfortable zone. But he got 46 on the mathematics test before summer, he was able to get better after he started studying seriously, but that was only enough to get him 72 points in the second test. The final exam, at the end of March, would have two times the weight of a normal test, which still guaranteed him a chance, but even still, his score for the next test would have to be excellent. In fact, it needed to be almost perfect. A good score wouldn't be enough: even if he got something like 85 points, he would need 98 on the final exam, which is way too close to 100 and it would be too easy for him to make a mistake, even if he knew how to answer every question correctly. No, his next score would need to be higher than 90 points if he wanted a relatively safe chance to get into that High School. Right now, that objective was at the threat of being destroyed even before he could properly start studying for their entrance exam.

It was now December 11th, the day of the math test. Nishikata had sent a text to Takagi telling her not to wait for him at the intersection, since he was going to school earlier to study before the test. Takagi would've gone earlier to stay with him, but she only saw the message once she had gotten there, and so she walked the rest of the way to school alone. In the classroom, she found Nishikata and a few other classmates of hers studying for the test. She went up to her desk and greeted him.

"Good morning, Nishikata", she said with a grin.

"Good morning, Takagi-San" he lifted up his head for a moment to greet her back, and then turned back to his notes. He stared nervously at them, fidgeting and whispering under his breath, trying to make sure he had everything memorized.

Takagi sighed as she sat in front of her desk and put her bag on it. Attached to the zipper of the bag, there was a small keychain with a pink stuffed ball. She looked at it for a second and then at Nishikata, from the corner of her eye. She didn't like seeing Nishikata like this. Sure, she had fun seeing him get all nervous over her teases, but this was different. Nishikata was apprehensive and stressed, even anxious, you could say. She had noticed him becoming more and more distressed with each day that passed, she knew this wasn't good for him, and she tried to find a way to take that weight off of his shoulders. She knew that at that moment, before the test and during it, was the worst moment for him to feel that way, so she decided to talk to him.

"Nishikata, I have a suggestion", she said, looking at him.

Nishikata lifted up his head once more to look at her, willing to take any advice that could help him.