Elimination Program // 失格プログラム

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Mid-year exams were rearing their ugly heads at many students across the country as they felt the stress and panic settle in. The late night cramming and the library confinement began early for many, not wanting to fall behind too soon, while many other students were far more laid-back about their current situation. Students and teachers alike began to feel the pressure upon them as the workload got bigger and bigger.

Monday morning rolled round faster than anyone could've hoped for. As usual, the halls of Warwick High School were packed with students heading to their classes, students hanging around and catching up with their friends after the weekend, and students just trying to stay out of the light rain from outside. The younger students seemed to have far more life in them than the senior students did as they talked animatedly amongst themselves, while the seniors begrudgingly dragged themselves to their allocated classrooms. The cluttered hall soon became desolate once the bell rang and the students scurried off to where they needed to be.

Amongst the students that were ridiculously stressed was Venus Ainsworth. The effects of falling asleep at 3am and waking up at 7am for three weeks straight were very visible. Her teachers were rather impressed with her ability to pay attention in class despite her evident lack of sleep. The dark bags under her eyes and the spaced out expression that donned her face when she wasn't paying attention were both obvious signs of her sleep deprivation, but this didn't concern her in the slightest. The only things Venus was worried about were her upcoming assessments.

Conversely, Venus's best friend was amongst the more laid-back portion of students. Ceres Lyndon had the biggest "she'll be right" attitude Venus had ever known and was very envious of her friend because of that. While she was stressing out and panicking over the upcoming exams, Ceres was able to take her time and relax while studying and was still able to get at least 8 hours of sleep. It wasn't as though she didn't care about the assessments; she was just not the type of person to stress. Despite her easy going mentality surrounding her work, she was still able to attain impressive grades.

The duo had an interesting dynamic. One was self-appreciative while the other was self-loathing, one found themselves to be the pinnacle of perfection while the other found themselves to be the pinnacle of atrocity, and yet the two were unimaginably inseparable. Although they had seemingly contrasting personalities, they were still very similar in many other ways.

"My gosh, you look dead."

Venus lifted her head from the desk to look up and found her blonde companion standing before her. Her eyebrows were furrowed and her lips were pursed as she looked at her friend in concern. Smiling halfheartedly, the brunette shrugged at her friend's statement and ran a hand through her hair that was mildly dampened from the rain.

"That's just my current aesthetic," Venus replied, though her response didn't really please Ceres.

Although she naturally had a fair complexion, Venus looked a sickly pale. The lack of colour in her face made her under eye circles far more pronounced, as well as the redness of her tired eyes. Venus wasn't the only student in Warwick High that had a problem when it came to late night stressing, but that didn't make Ceres feel any more at ease about seeing her best friend in such a poor condition.

Ceres took a seat beside her friend and immediately rested her head on Venus's shoulder. She stayed like that while Venus flipped through her textbook as they waited for their teacher to arrive. Although the two had very different personalities, one trait that they had in common was an appreciation for quietness. Neither of them were overly talkative people, but they found the silences between them to be very comfortable. Words weren't a necessity between the pair.