The days of examinations had finally passed, and now the moment everyone had been anxiously waiting for had arrived—the day of the results. The atmosphere in the classroom was heavy with tension. Almost every student carried a worried expression, and Arashi and his friends were no different.
Takumi stood beside Arashi, nervously shifting his weight from one foot to the other. His face clearly showed how uneasy he felt.
"Man… I'm really scared," Takumi said, his voice filled with anxiety. "I have no idea what's going to happen. What if I fail?"
Miyu, who was standing nearby, immediately nodded in agreement.
"Same, bro," she said. "I'm seriously worried too."
Satoru, on the other hand, seemed far calmer than the rest. He folded his arms and looked at both of them with a slightly amused expression.
"Why are you two so scared?" he said casually. "You guys studied at least a little. That alone almost guarantees you'll pass. So just relax."
Takumi dramatically placed a hand on his chest as if he had just been deeply offended.
"Easy for you to say," he replied in an exaggerated tone. "You might pass. But we're the kind of people who can fail even after studying."
While they were talking, Arashi's attention drifted away from the conversation. His eyes slowly scanned the classroom, observing the students around him. Then his gaze shifted toward the clock on the wall.
A small frown appeared on his face.
"Wait… what's this?" Arashi muttered. "Mizuki still hasn't come?"
Hina, who was nearby, also seemed surprised when she realized it.
"Yeah… that is strange," she said thoughtfully. "She usually arrives earlier than everyone else."
Ayane nodded in agreement.
"Yeah," she added. "She should've been here by now. Maybe she got late."
A few more minutes passed, and soon the bell rang, signaling the start of class.
One by one, the students returned to their seats. The classroom gradually grew quiet as everyone waited. A moment later, the teacher entered the room.
She walked toward the desk at the front of the class and placed her books down before looking at the students.
"Today, Mizuki is absent," the teacher announced calmly. "She isn't feeling well. Please pray for her good health."
The moment Arashi heard this, his thoughts immediately began to race.
She's sick? he thought. But why didn't she tell me?
After a brief moment of reflection, another possibility crossed his mind.
Maybe… she didn't want to worry me.
The class continued normally, and eventually the lesson came to an end. As the teacher prepared to leave, she turned toward the class once again.
"Your exam results have been posted on the notice board outside the classroom," she said. "You can go check them there."
With that, she left the classroom.
The moment she stepped outside, the entire class erupted into movement. Students rushed out of their seats and hurried toward the door, eager to see their results.
However, Arashi and his group—Satoru, Takumi, Hina, Miyu, and Ayane—remained in the classroom.
Instead of rushing like the others, they chose to wait.
Their plan was simple: once everyone else had finished checking their results, they would go and look at them last.
Miyu turned toward Arashi with a concerned expression.
"Arashi… what happened to Mizuki?" she asked. "Do you know anything?"
Arashi shook his head slightly.
"No idea," he replied. "She didn't tell me anything."
Hina then spoke up, a thoughtful look on her face.
"Why don't we go see her?" she suggested. "Maybe we should check on her."
Takumi nodded immediately.
"Yeah, that's a good idea," he said. "Let's go after school."
The others quickly agreed with the plan. For now, all they could do was wait and hope that Mizuki would recover soon.
After some time had passed and the crowd around the notice board finally began to thin, the corridor outside the classroom slowly grew quieter. Most of the students had already checked their results and left.
Seeing that the board was now almost empty, Arashi and his group decided it was finally their turn.
They walked out of the classroom together and stopped in front of the notice board.
Takumi crossed his arms and looked at the long list of names pinned to the board.
"Alright guys," he said. "Let's start reading from the top, okay?"
Everyone nodded.
Their eyes moved toward the very top of the list.
And the moment they saw the first name, they immediately recognized it.
1st Place — Mizuki: 96%
Arashi stared at the name for a moment before a small smile appeared on his face.
"Wow… Mizuki got first place," he said.
Hina nodded calmly.
"Yeah," she replied. "But that was expected. She studies really well."
None of them seemed particularly surprised. Mizuki's dedication and intelligence were already well known among them.
Their eyes then moved down to the next name.
2nd Place — Satoru: 90%
Takumi immediately turned toward him with a playful grin.
"Oh bro," he said teasingly. "You lost this time. You couldn't take first place."
He then patted Satoru on the shoulder.
"But still… impressive. Good job."
Satoru simply shrugged as if it didn't bother him much.
Their attention shifted down again.
3rd Place — Hina: 88%
Hina looked at her result quietly without showing much reaction, though a faint smile appeared on her face.
The moment they saw this, the group instinctively exchanged surprised glances.
For a brief moment, no one spoke.
Then Miyu widened her eyes.
"Wait… what?" she said.
Takumi looked back and forth between the names on the board.
"Hold on… this is crazy."
Arashi looked at the list again carefully.
"Top three… are literally all from our group."
Hina chuckled slightly.
"Well… that's kind of surprising."
Satoru smirked.
"Looks like our group is carrying the class."
Takumi placed his hands on his head dramatically.
"Bro… this is insane. People are going to start thinking our group is full of geniuses."
Some nearby students who were still standing around the board also began whispering to each other after noticing the same thing.
Their attention then continued moving down the list.
Further down the list—
5th Place — Ayane: 85%
Seeing this Miyu says Wow! Ayane you are in top 5 congrats and Ayane in return just smiles and thanks.
Soon—
7th Place — Arashi: 80%
Arashi froze.
He blinked once.
Then again.
"Wait… what?" he muttered.
He leaned closer to the board just to make sure he wasn't reading it wrong.
"Seventh…? And with 80%?"
He stepped back in disbelief.
"That's crazy. I barely even studied."
Takumi immediately pointed at him with an accusing expression.
"This is so unfair!" he complained loudly. "Arashi always passes without studying!"
Arashi shrugged calmly.
"That's because I use common sense during exams."
Satoru smirked slightly at that response.
"Somehow that sounds both impressive and annoying."
They continued scanning the list.
Soon they spotted another familiar name.
10th Place — Miyu: 76%
The moment Miyu saw it, she suddenly jumped into the air.
"Yes!" she shouted happily. "I passed!"
Her excitement was impossible to hide as she clenched her fists in celebration.
"Let's go! I actually did it!"
Now only one person remained who hadn't found his result yet.
Takumi.
And the nervousness on his face had returned.
He slowly swallowed.
"Guys…" he said quietly. "My parents told me something."
The group turned toward him.
"If I don't get at least 65%, they told me not to come home."
Hearing that made the others slightly concerned.
Takumi nervously began scanning the list again, his eyes moving rapidly down the names.
For a few tense moments, he couldn't find his name.
His anxiety grew stronger.
Then finally—
His eyes stopped.
And his name appeared.
20th Place — Takumi: 67%
For a second, he just stared at the number.
Processing it.
Then suddenly—
His expression exploded with joy.
"I DID IT!"
Tears immediately started forming in his eyes.
Before anyone could react, he suddenly grabbed both Satoru and Arashi and pulled them into a tight hug.
"I passed, guys!" he shouted emotionally. "I passed! Finally, I passed!"
His voice was so loud that several nearby students turned to look at them.
Tears were literally running down his face.
Arashi looked completely confused.
"Dude… why are you literally crying?"
Takumi wiped his eyes but was still smiling widely.
"You wouldn't understand," he said. "These are tears of happiness."
He sniffed once before continuing.
"I haven't gotten marks this high since elementary school!"
Satoru sighed and gently pushed him away.
"Alright, alright… calm down," he said quietly. "Everyone is staring at you."
Takumi finally looked around and realized several students were indeed watching him.
He awkwardly rubbed the back of his head.
But the smile on his face still hadn't disappeared.
And just like that, the long-awaited exam results had finally been revealed.