I Love You... Right?

Chapter 1, Part 5: A One-Sided Competition

Suki places her hand on Emiko's schedule. "Huh. Calculus in room 302! That's what I got, too!" She exclaims happily.

Emiko sighs with relief. "Oh, good! You can help me find the class, then." He stands up, looking at her with relief. "I heard calculus is really tough, so we can help each other out." The two make their way out of the classroom, Emiko following Suki.

"Is it that bad?"

"It's like math on steroids."

"Huh, I guess that confirms the rumors." Suki dodges someone in the hallway. "Geez, eighth graders these days..."

"Rumors? What rumors?" Emiko raises an eyebrow.

Suki's tone gets serious. "I heard that the class was so hard; if you get an A+, the teacher literally pays you a hundred dollars."

Emiko scoffs. "Hm. That's an easy two hundred dollars for us then."

Suki gawks. "You sure you should be that confident?"

Emiko smirks victoriously. "Uh, heck yeah. Since it's for money, I'll put in the effort. And I'm great at math without even needing to try."

"LUCKY!" Suki exclaims in shock. "I always get decent grades but never understand what's happening. I was put in the smart class without consent, and I've just dealt with it."

"Wow. They didn't even give you an option to drop out?"

"Nope." Suki sighs as they enter the classroom. "But, now that I have you, we can definitely get that two hundred bucks! I can't wait to force you to do all my work!" She smiles evilly. "Joking."

"I'm used to being exploited for school work, so I'm not offended." Emiko laughs. They both take seats next to each other in the corner of the class. "So, other than Wednesday, what days are you available?"

"Oh, uh... Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Practice only takes up three days of the week: Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. It ends soon, anyways." Suki explains.

"Oh, sweet! That leaves a lot of time for us to study!"

"Ooh, you're right! And more time to hang out, too! As long as our other friends are available."

"Yeah!" Emiko says quickly, bringing his attention to the teacher as the class becomes silent. He sits in his thoughts and replays the previous conversation in his head. His heart jumps. Wait, did I just do that? Did I just... make plans with someone?

"Ahem. Class, let's bring it down to a zero. We're at a ten; let's bring it to a zero." The teacher waits a couple of seconds for everyone to quiet down. "Thank you. Now, take a look at the board." He points to the smart board with a stick. A stick with a pointing hand at the end that boasted a smiley face. "Do you understand anything at all?"

The class observes the board, completely stumped. On the board were symbols that appeared as random scribbles with the occasional number and letter.

"I don't think any of us recognize anything, sir." A classmate states.

The teacher smirks, slapping the stick in his hands. "That's what I thought. These are all the terms and equations we will learn throughout this year- stuff you have never seen before. Looks scary, doesn't it?" The teacher asks, scanning the room. Suki looks over to Emiko. Her eyes were wide with fear.

"Hey, trust me. It won't be horrible; he's just trying to scare us." Emiko tries to console her. Suki pouts.

"Now, students. Look at the board now." The teacher changes the slide, and it presents only one of the previous terms. "That is all we will focus on for the first couple of weeks. Does that make it seem better?" The teacher asks as the class shares a big, simultaneous sigh.