A loud buzzing filled the room. Ken groaned, blindly reaching out to smack the alarm clock. It was way too early for this. He blinked at the ceiling for a moment, letting out a deep sigh before finally sitting up. His hair was a mess, sticking out in every direction. Another day. Another test.

  Dragging himself out of bed, he got ready in his usual lazy manner—half-asleep, half-functioning. His uniform was slightly wrinkled, but he couldn't care less. After a quick breakfast, he slung his bag over his shoulder and stepped outside.

  The walk to school was uneventful. The usual morning chatter of students filled the streets. Some were hurriedly flipping through notes, some were groaning about how they were definitely going to fail. Ken just shoved his hands in his pockets, staring at the sidewalk as he walked.

  At School

  The classroom was already lively when Ken stepped in. Students were either chatting, panicking, or both.

  Daichi was already in his seat, dramatically slumping over his desk. "Ken, man, I’m done for."

  Ken raised an eyebrow. "You say that before every test."

  "This time, I mean it!" Daichi whined.

  Ryo was beside him, flipping through his textbook with a serious expression. He barely even looked up when he said, "If you actually studied, you wouldn’t be panicking."

  Daichi gasped, placing a hand on his chest. "Et tu, Ryo?"

  Ken smirked a little before taking his seat. As expected, Tetsuo was perfectly calm, sitting there like the test was no big deal. He looked up from his book.

  "Ken, you ready?"

  Ken leaned back in his chair. "Not really. But at this point, I don’t care."

  Tetsuo sighed, but before he could respond, a voice from across the classroom called out.

  "Mai, stop flipping through your notes! You’re gonna psych yourself out!"

  Across the room, Aria’s group was gathered near the windows. Mai,the most energetic girl, was aggressively scanning her notes while Yui, the most relaxed of the group, lazily sipped on a juice box.

  "But what if I forget something?!" Mai cried.

  Hinata, their third friend, playfully ruffled Mai’s hair. "If you forget, you forget. It’s too late to cram now."

  Aria, as usual, looked completely unbothered by all of it. She leaned against the window, arms crossed,eyes closed. Her confidence was unshaken. Of course, the top student wouldn’t be worried.

  Ken glanced over at her for a second before turning back around. For some reason, seeing her so calm kind of annoyed him.

  The bell rang.

  It was time.

  The classroom, which had been buzzing with conversation just moments ago, fell silent as the teacher walked in, holding a stack of test papers.

  "Alright, everyone. You know the rules," she said, placing the papers on her desk. "No talking, no cheating, and if I catch anyone trying to peek at their neighbor’s answers—" she shot a particularly sharp glance at Daichi, who immediately sat up straight, "you’re getting a zero."

  A few students chuckled nervously.

  Ken let out a quiet sigh and leaned back in his chair. He wasn't completely unprepared, but he wasn’t exactly confident either.

  "Alright," the teacher continued. "I’m handing out the test now. Good luck."

  During the Test

  Ken stared at the paper in front of him.

  Question 1: Calculate the acceleration of—

  I don’t care.

  He blinked. He read it again. But His brain refused to cooperate.

  Question 2: Mitochondria is powerhouse of ---

  "Of course whole world knows this." Ken smiled

  He stole a glance to his right. Tetsuo was already flying through the test like a machine. His pen moved effortlessly, no hesitation.

  To his left, Daichi was gripping his hair, muttering, "I am so screwed," while Ryo, as expected, was calmly trying to solve problems but still seemed to struggle a bit.

  Ken sighed and tried to focus.

  Halfway through the test, he glanced at Aria. She looked completely relaxed, solving the questions with a composed expression.

  Of course.

  Ken shook his head and went back to his paper.

  After the Test

  The bell rang.

  A collective sigh of relief filled the room. Some students stretched, others groaned.

  "I am never doing that again," Daichi whined, dropping his head onto his desk.

  "You have to," Ryo said. "We have more tests next month."

  Daichi groaned even louder.

  Ken leaned back in his chair, feeling drained. He had managed to answer most of the questions, but whether they were right was another issue.

  As the students started chatting, the teacher began calling out names and handing back graded papers.

  Aria’s name was called first. She walked up, took her paper, and glanced at it. Her face remained neutral, but there was the slightest hint of a smirk.

  Ken didn’t even need to look. Of course, she ranked first.

  Tetsuo was next. Second place. No surprise there.

  Then the teacher called Ken’s name.

  He stood up, walked over, and took the paper from her hands.

  She sighed. "Ken, I expected better from you."

  Ken didn’t respond. He just looked at the score.

  57.

  He wasn’t surprised, but that didn’t mean it didn’t sting.

  The teacher continued, shaking her head. "You used to be one of the top students, Ken. What happened?"

  Ken remained silent.

  From across the room, Aria frowned slightly.

  The teacher moved on, calling out more names. Ken walked back to his seat, shoving the paper into his bag.

  Daichi leaned over. "What did you get?"

  "57," Ken muttered.

  Daichi scratched his head. "Damn… Well, at least you passed?"

  Ken sighed. "Barely haha."

  The room was still filled with students discussing their scores. Some were celebrating, some were complaining. Ken just wanted to get out of there.

  "Hey," Daichi nudged him. "Let’s go somewhere after school. Clear your head."

  Ken raised an eyebrow. "Where?"

  "You’ll see," Daichi grinned.

  "Are Ryo and Tetsuo coming?" Ken asked

  "No, They got some errands to run they said," said Daichi looking over to Tetsuo and Ryo leaving hurriedly.

  After school, Ken and Daichi walked through the quiet streets of their town. The sun was beginning to set, casting a warm glow over the rooftops.

  "Where exactly are we going?" Ken asked, his hands in his pockets.

  Daichi grinned. "There’s a small mountain nearby. The view is insane. Trust me man, you need this."

  Ken sighed. He didn’t have any other plans, and honestly, getting away from everything for a bit sounded nice.

  As they walked, Daichi kept the conversation going.

  "Okay, let’s be real," he said. "That test sucked."

  Ken shrugged. "Yeah."

  Daichi leaned in. "Also, what’s up with that teacher? She acts like she’s disappointed in you specifically. Like, what about me? I’m always failing. Where’s my special treatment?"

  Ken couldn’t help but smirk. "Maybe she gave up on you already."

  "Bro." Daichi clutched his chest dramatically. "That hurts bro."

  They finally reached the base of the small mountain. A well-worn hiking path led upward.

  "You sure this is a good idea?" Ken asked, eyeing the path.

  "Stop thinking so much," Daichi said. "Let’s go!"

  At the Mountain Viewpoint

  After a short hike, they reached the top. The town stretched out below them, bathed in golden light. The sky was a blend of orange and pink, the sun dipping behind the horizon.

  "See? Told you it was worth it," Daichi said, grinning.

  Ken exhaled. "Yeah… the view is pretty insane, I didn't knew we had this heaven-like place near us."

  They stood there in silence for a moment, just watching.

  Then Daichi chuckled.

  "Man," he said. "Isn’t this too romantic for two dudes?"

  Ken snorted. "We don’t even have girlfriends."

  Daichi sighed dramatically. "You’re right. We’re just two lonely idiots watching a sunset together."

  Ken smirked. "Pretty much."

  "Ken," he said, voice way too soft. "Even if we don’t have girlfriends, we still have each other, right?"

  Ken immediately tensed up. "What the hell are you doing?"

  Daichi grinned mischievously and placed a hand on Ken’s thigh.

  Ken flinched. "OI! GET YOUR HAND OFF ME, YOU PERVERT!" He smacked Daichi’s hand away and scooted a foot away.

  Daichi burst out laughing. "Relax, man! Just trying to set the mood."

  Ken glared. "Save your romance for when you actually get a girlfriend, idiot!"

  Daichi wiped a fake tear from his eye. "Man, rejected before I even confessed."

  Daichi leaned back on his hands. "Alright, but seriously. Who do you have a crush on?"

  Ken narrowed his eyes. "Not answering that."

  Daichi smirked. "Oh, come on, man. Spill."

  Ken crossed his arms. "Only if you go first."

  Daichi didn’t even hesitate. "Hinata Sakamoto."

  Ken raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

  "Yeah. She’s got this cool vibe, y’know?" Daichi said. "Like, she doesn’t care what people think. Plus, she’s smart. I need that in my life."

  Ken shook his head. "You just want her to tutor you."

  Daichi gasped. "How dare you expose me like this?, okay now you turn to answer."

  "Not answering that." Ken chuckled.

  "You Traitor, how dare you?" said Daichi while dramatically falling on the grass they were sitting on.

  They sat there a little longer, enjoying the view. For the first time in a while, Ken felt at ease.

  Maybe Daichi was right. Maybe he did need this.

  Does seeing someone so calm during test piss you off ?