How We Met Again

Chapter 19: In the Storm's Wake

"Uesugi-kun."

I watched Yotsuba's retreating back, nerves and pride admixing in my chest. We had put so much effort into studying and preparation... but some part of me was still fearful that it wouldn't be enough. That our efforts would be in vain, and that everything would go down in flames.

"Uesugi-kun?"

After all, her weakest subject was in the afternoon -- I had hoped that the mathematics exam would be on the Friday, so as to give her a few extra days of prep time... but the goddess of exams was cruel, and time was most certainly up. However much Yotsuba had managed to learn from her studies, coupled with whatever she may have picked up in the classroom... it would have to be enough.

"U-E-SU-GI-KUN!"

Itsuki's voice, loud in my ear, made me jump. I spun around to find her intensely frowning at me.

"Huh? Itsuki?! What's wrong?"

"We have seven minutes until the exam starts! Let's go!"

I looked up at the clock in shock, and then clenched by jaw. She was right.

"My bad, let's hurry."

She and I took off at a brisk walking pace, the classrooms flashing by as we hurriedly navigated the halls.

"How are you feeling?" I asked, rounding a corner. "Confident?"

"I'm fine," Itsuki replied curtly. "All I can do is my best. I'm going to pass everything with my own power, without any help -- despite not really having a tutor."

"Yeah... sorry about that."

Itsuki shrugged. "I've accepted it. It is what it is."

She slid the classroom door open, and we both hurried inside, luckily having made it before the proctoring teacher. As we both settled into our desks, I turned back around to her and mouthed, 'Good luck!'

'You too,' she mouthed back.

'No need,' I returned, smirking.

She rolled her eyes at me, and then the teacher walked into the room. He immediately went to the front of each row of desks, and placed a pile of papers on each one.

"Pass 'em back, and keep 'em flipped over," he said tiredly. "No gettin' ahead of the pack."

My small packet of sheets, stapled together, arrived in front of me along with a number of others, and I separated it out before passing on the remaining packages. The teacher glanced up at the clock, then as it ticked to exactly nine, he slammed his hand on the lectern at the front of the room.

"Alright, staaaaaart!"

An hour and fifteen minutes into the allotted three, I finished the social studies exam. I then spent the next fifteen minutes reviewing for errors, but I found none -- my work, as always, was perfect. At the hour-thirty mark, I raised my hand, and I saw the teacher actually heft a large sigh.

Well, that's uncalled for, I mentally huffed.

He got up, and walked over to loom over my desk.

"Yes?" He said, his voice laced with mild annoyance.

"Sensei, I'm finished."

He gravely looked down at me, and then shrugged his shoulders.

"Alright, Uesugi. You can go."

He picked up my test, and I stood up, stretched, picked up my bag, and left. I glanced back into the room as I left to see Itsuki with her face centimetres away from her paper, eyes wide. The look on her face, from the little I could see, could only be described by one word -- panic.