𝟭. 𝙃𝙀𝙍 𝙎𝙄𝘿𝙀 𝙊𝙁 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙎𝙏𝙊𝙍𝙔 || 𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐤𝐲𝐮𝐮 [✔]

Chapter 59: Misfortune

𝖘𝖚𝖓𝖓𝖞𝖘𝖎𝖉𝖊𝖇𝖆𝖇𝖍𝖊'𝖘 𝖋𝖎𝖈𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓𝖆𝖑 𝖘𝖙𝖔𝖗𝖞
#110223
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The final bell rang, releasing the entire school from the weight of the quarterly exams. Chairs scraped, bags rustled, and the classroom filled with tired groans as students stretched stiff limbs and began packing up.

Aeris slipped her notebook into her bag, relieved the long day was finally over. "Ryu, let's go to the gym together," she said, nudging Tanaka with her elbow.

"No dance club today?" Ennoshita asked as he passed by their desks.

"Nope. Practice is later," Aeris replied, slinging her bag over her shoulder.

"See ya, Ae-san!" Fuji called out, waving dramatically.

"Bye, Ae-san!" Sana chimed in before throwing her arms around her for a quick hug.

Aeris ducked out of her classroom, catching sight of Ennoshita lingering by the door. "Psst," she whispered loudly.

He turned with a small smile. "Hi, Nanachan. No dance club?"

She shook her head. "Not yet. Let's go."

The three of them walked together toward the gym hall, chatting about random things until Aeris split off to the bathroom to change into practice clothes.

Inside, she found Yachi and Kiyoko fixing their hair in front of the mirror.

"You two did great on the exams," Aeris said as she tied her own hair into a ponytail.

Yachi laughed nervously. "Honestly, I thought I was going to fail math."

"And I hope the boys passed too," Kiyoko added, slipping on her jacket.

Aeris raised a brow. "I doubt it. They looked seconds away from a meltdown."

They all shared a laugh before heading into the bright and echoing volleyball gym.

"Hello everyone! Did you guys do great?" Aeris asked cheerfully.

The response was a unified, miserable groan.

Tobio gripped his head dramatically. "Please, Nanachan... don't ask."

Noya collapsed onto the floor theatrically. "I don't want to go back to the past... I've suffered enough!"

Aeris burst into laughter, shaking her head.

Across the campus, in Year 2 Class 3, the atmosphere was the complete opposite. The entire room held its breath as their homeroom teacher, Nishimaya-sensei, stood in front of the board with the test results in hand. Even the air felt stiff with dread.

"Alright, class," she said. "These are the results. I'll announce the top five performers first, then the students who will need to retake the exam. I'll talk to those students after class."

Aeris clasped her hands tightly together, whispering a silent prayer for a stress-free summer. Around her, her classmates wore similarly tense expressions. It was almost comical—if it wasn't so terrifying.

"Ryu, you okay?" she whispered.

Tanaka barely nodded, staring blankly at the board as if preparing for execution.

Nishimaya-sensei began reading the rankings. "Top five: Koyogani Daisuke. Next, Sakuma Harue. Third, Inouye Reiko. Our top two is... Kageyama Aeris. And top one, as usual, is Watanabe Naoko. Congratulations."

The classroom erupted.

"Nanachan?! You were studying?" Jiro gaped.

"You betrayed us!" Kai shouted dramatically, throwing himself onto his desk.