Nakamura Misako is a lot of things. But a coward isn't one of them.
Backing down from challenges always seemed like a baby's game to her. Any dare, wager, or bet would be quickly accepted, no questions asked.
Maybe that's why it was so easy for he...
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Under normal circumstances, math class was always my least favorite class. Numbers and equations just made no sense to me. When to use them, what do with them, what number goes where.
It was all just a mess.
Today was an exception. Math wasn't my main worry as I sat staring at the boy across from me as he attempted to figure out an answer. Luck was on my side when partners were assigned today.
As soon as I heard that I would be paired with Yamaguchi my heart skipped a few beats.
"I got negative seven and positive three, what about you?" I jumped when I heard his voice.
"Uh..."I looked awkwardly at my paper. "I couldn't figure out what equation to use."
"It's factoring." Yamaguchi flipped his paper around so I could look at it. "It's already set equal to zero so that's all you have to do."
I took a long look at the equation. Two numbers that add to four and multiply to negative 21. Would that be negative seven and three?
Or is it add to negative 21 and multiply to four. Wait, that makes no sense.
An embarrassed blush began to coat my cheeks. "Wait but negative seven and three add to negative four," I thought out loud.
"After you factor them you have to solve each equation in parentheses and since it's set equal to zero the signs just change. That's how you find the x intercepts." His explanation flew one ear and out the other.
"Oh, yeah." I nodded as though what he just said made sense.
Yamaguchi just looked at me for a few seconds as if trying to decide whether he believed me or not. "Do you want me to show you how to do this step by step?"
As soon as I was about to agree, the teacher interrupted.
"Alright everyone, at this point you should be done with the worksheet, or at least close to being done." Yamaguchi and I shared a look of internal panic. We had barely made it halfway. "If you aren't finished or close finishing by this point, you'll want to pick up the pace for the unit test or you might run out of time."
