A Liar's Truth [UNDER FINAL REVISION]

Ch 44: Not letting go

Third person's point of view

Ginka squinted at the crisp sheet of paper in her hands, her jaw tightening, brows knitting. Two A's. Three B's.

Most students would've been thrilled. Their parents might even throw a little celebration over it.

But here? In Kunugigaoka? Anything less than perfection might as well be failure. And this—this wasn't enough.

A familiar voice cut through her spiraling thoughts. "You look like someone just ran over your cat," Karma drawled, leaning over her shoulder with that infuriating grin. "Those are higher than your midterms. You're seriously pouting over that?"

Ginka kept her eyes on the paper, the weight of disappointment pressing against her chest. "How'd you do?"

Karma flicked his own results into view with the flair of a stage magician. Straight A's. Of course.

The neat rows of perfect scores practically glowed, smugness radiating off the page. Ginka exhaled slowly, forcing out a crooked smile. "Congrats. That's really good."

"Thanks," he said, as if it wasn't obvious. His grin deepened. "I'd say 'you too,' but you look like you're about to set yours on fire."

She rolled her eyes but couldn't stop the faint snicker escaping. "You exaggerate."

Before Karma could retort, the sound of approaching footsteps jolted her nerves. In a flash, she folded her paper and stuffed it behind her back like contraband.

Kataoka stopped in front of them, one eyebrow arched, her stance calm but sharp. "What's up?"

"Nothing!" Ginka blurted, a little too fast. Her pitch spiked in her scramble to sound casual. "How'd it go with Tagawa-san?"

Her shoulders sagged slightly, her confident air faltering. "It was... handled," she sighed.

Suspicion sharpened Ginka's gaze. "You're avoiding eye contact. That bad?"

Kataoka rubbed her temples, weariness etched into her face. "She thought it was a dream."

Ginka blinked. "Come again?"

Dropping her voice, Kataoka explained, "With help from Nagisa-kun, Kayano-chan, and Korosensei—who, by the way, thought 'fish spirits' was the perfect disguise—we broke into Kokona's room, bed and all, and teleported her to the E-Class pool for a midnight swim lesson. She was half-asleep the whole time, convinced it wasn't real."

Ginka's jaw dropped, then split into barely-contained laughter. "I can't! That must've been pure chaos!" She nudged Kataoka's arm. "Shame you didn't invite me."

Kataoka groaned. "Exactly. With you there, no one would've actually took it seriously."