Chapter 24

It was a lot quieter in the classroom than it usually was during the time before first period. Most students whispered to each other while some stayed completely silent and simply stared at the door while waiting in anticipation. Iyori did the same. Her eyes hadn’t left the door since she arrived and sat down at her desk. But even if her eyes were focused, her mind wasn’t. It was foggy and distant, the huge bags under her eyes explaining why.

“Are you okay?” asked Shuya, who had been trying to get through to her for a while. Iyori looked at him, eyes dead.

“I’m just tired,” answered Iyori in short and let out a yawn as if to confirm her statement. “I didn’t sleep well.”

“Because you were nervous about getting your results?” asked Shuya.

“No because I–” Iyori suddenly woke up from her dace and stopped mid sentence. “I mean, yes, that’s why.” Shuya looked at her in suspicion and Iyori quickly added:

“This is all because of you and your stupid goal. No way will I get 75 out of a 100 on any of my tests. That’s insane.”

“Don’t say that,” said Shuya. “I already told you I believe you can do it, you’ve worked hard. Just relax, I’m sure you did well.”

“I hope you’re right,” said Iyori and sent him a tired smile. 

Just a moment later, Fuyoko opened the door and walked into the classroom with a stack of papers in her hands, assumed to be the grades for the midterms.

“Good work,” said Fuyoko to the first student.

“You need to work a little harder next time,” she said to another student.

“Continue the good work,” she said to a third.

She was only a few tables away from Iyori, but Iyori already felt like her heart had stopped beating and her throat was closing in on her. When she finally reached her and held the piece of paper in front of her, Iyori nearly forgot to reach out and grab it.

“Well done, you really surprised me this time,” said Fuyoko before she moved onward. A wave of relief rushed over Iyori and she turned her eyes to the paper.

“What did you get?” said Shuya who had sneaked up behind her. There was no answer from Iyori, but when Shuya was about to ask again, Iyori shoved the paper in his face and looked away. Shocked and confused, Shuya reached for the paper and turned his eyes to the numbers written in the top right corner.

“73 out of 100,” read Shuya and felt his heart drop. Iyori just stayed seated without sparing him a look.

“Iyori, how did it go?” said Hanako as she walked over with a smile on her lips, but when she reached her table, Iyori got up and stormed out of the class.

“Wait? What’s going on? Did she get a bad grade?” asked Hanako and Shuya let out a sigh whereafter he handed the paper to Hanako.

“73 out of 100? But that’s insane, how did she improve so much in such a short time? Why is she upset?” asked Hanako and looked up at Shuya.

“I think I might’ve pushed her a bit too hard,” said Shuya and put the paper down on Iyori’s desk, whereafter he walked back to his own seat, seeing a white piece of paper on his desk.

“She’ll get over it,” said Hanako, who had followed Shuya to his seat. “What did you get? I got 99 out of 100.”

“I probably got 100 out of 100,” said Shuya with a smug face and Hanako rolled her eyes.

“You didn’t even look at it yet, come on turn the paper, I wanna see if I got more than you.”

“Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you but–” Shuya turned the paper and in the same second, his mind went blank. On the other hand, Hanako’s eyes widened to twice the size and she immediately pulled the paper out of his hands.

“You... you...” stuttered Hanako while reading the numbers over and over again. 

“Calm down, will you?” said Shuya and pulled back the paper. “So what, we got the same grade for once. You still didn’t get more than me.”

“I still can’t believe you actually made a mistake,” said Hanako in an overly dramatic manner. “I thought you were the perfect human being.”

“Miss Mikami, can you please get back to your seat?” said Fuyoko with a raised voice and Hanako quickly moved back to her seat and stayed quiet. Fuyoko shook her head and was about to continue on with the class, when her eyes fell on Iyori’s empty chair.

“And the other miss Mikami, where did she run off to?” said Fuyoko and looked at the class.

“Maybe she went to the bathroom,” said one of the students and Fuyoko let out a sigh.

“I sure hope so,” whispered Fuyoko and moved on to the next topic.

Shuya looked at the empty chair and checked his phone under the table. He nearly forgot about her disappointment after receiving his own grade. Where did she go?

***

Half a day later, Shuya still hadn’t found an answer to his question. Iyori never came back to class, she didn’t check in on the app either, and he wasn’t able to get in touch with her no matter how many times he texted or called.

I really messed up, thought Shuya as he walked inside his house, quickly greeted by his mother.

“You’re home early,” said Himiko with a smile on her face. She hurried to Shuya’s side and took his jacket out of his hand, hanging it on the coat rack.

“Mom, I can hang my jacket myself,” said Shuya, slightly annoyed, even though he knew his mother was only trying to be helpful.

“I can’t stop myself,” said Himiko and let out a laugh. “Now, this is a wonderful afternoon. You’re back early, you’re father is back early. The whole family is together for the first time in a while.”

“Dad is home?” said Shuya and gulped. Himiko nodded and pulled on Shuya’s arm.

“Come on, we’re having tea in the living room, you should join.” Shuya tried to think of any possible reason to refuse, but before he knew it, he was sitting on the sofa and his mother was in the middle of pouring him a cup of tea.

He looked to his side where his father was sitting in his usual armchair, his face buried in his phone, a stack of papers in front of him. 

“Honey, put that away,” said Himiko and pushed the phone away from Hayato’s sight. “We’re having a lovely moment together as a family, don’t think about work right now.”

“Yes, you’re right,” said Hayato and put his phone down, sparing his son a glance for the first time.

“So how are things going in school?” asked Hayato and looked at Shuya.

“G... Good,” said Shuya, a little nervous.

“You don’t sound so sure,” said Hayato and leaned forward. “Don’t tell me you’ve been making trouble.”

“I haven’t, nothing of that sorts,” said Shuya quickly.

“Then what is it?” asked Hayato, but Shuya stayed silent and diverted his eyes.

“Shuya, what’s wrong?” asked Himiko, finding herself getting worried as well.

“Nothing is wrong,” said Shuya with a sigh. “I just... I got my results back today, for my midterms. They... they didn’t go as I expected.”

“How so?” said Hayato and Shuya looked up. He thought about responding, but in the end, he reached into his bag and pulled out the papers. Hayato grabbed them and looked through them with Himiko glancing over his shoulder.

“But dear Shuya,” said Himiko while looking. “These grades are amazing.”

“Not the last one,” said Shuya, referring to the paper placed at the back of the pile. Hayato skipped over the rest and looked at the grade.

“99 out of 100,” read Hayato and Shuya felt a stab in his heart when he did. 

“My my, is that what you’ve been worried about showing us?” said Himiko and placed her hand on Shuya’s. “But dear, you’re allowed to make mistakes. This is still a really good grade.”

“No, I always get every question right,” said Shuya and reached for his head in frustration. “And I knew the answer to that question, I just crossed off the wrong box. I don’t make stupid mistakes like that, I never do.”

“Shuya–”

“No, honey,” said Hayato and interrupted Himiko who was about to console Shuya again. “I think I get where our son is getting at. He’s taken a step down, it might be a small one, but it’s still a step in the wrong direction. Now he’s scared he will keep going down, and his grades will keep dropping. Is that correct?” Hayato looked at Shuya who nodded in silence.

“Well, that’s not gonna happen,” continued Hayato. “You made a mistake. We all do from time to time. Your head wasn’t in the game and you missed a mark. But if you just take this experience to the heart, you will learn from it and you will climb back up again.”

“Really?” said Shuya and looked at his father in uncertainty.

“Of course, you’re going to inherit me, so of course you’ll do well, you have to.”

“Hayato,” said Himiko in a harsh tone.

“He knows what I mean, don’t you, son?” Shuya nodded, even though Himiko was looking at him in worry.

“I won’t disappoint you, dad. I promise."

Hello everyone!

Things aren't going too smoothly for either of our two main characters, let's hope they can help each other through it.

What about you, how are you doing? I hope whoever is reading this is happy and healthy and having a nice day. All the best wishes from me!

Love, Annalise~