Vol. 1 Chapter 26 – Exam Day

It was Sunday, the day of the exam. When I opened the curtains, I was greeted not by the sun, but by a dark sky shrouded in clouds. The weather forecast, pointed out by the lady I saw on TV every morning, indicated it would clear up in the afternoon.

I watched it out of the corner of my eye while eating breakfast, then went about my morning routine as usual. I dressed in my uniform and put the fox mask Nagisa had entrusted to me into my school bag.

“Well, I’m going to watch, so do your best, okay?” (Yuuto’s Mother)

As I was putting on my shoes at the entryway, my mom’s voice reached me from the washroom.

“I’m telling you just in case, don’t just casually go up and talk to him, okay? To Dad.” (Yuuto)

“I know, I know. Even if I do talk to him, it’ll just be as a fan, so it’s fine.” (Yuuto’s Mother)

Her light reply only made the anxiety in my heart grow. Letting out a small sigh as if to suppress that feeling, I reached for the door.

“I’m heading out.” (Yuuto)

When I opened the door, the same cloudy sky I’d seen from my room window met my eyes. At the same moment that scene registered, I heard the sound of a door opening from the house next door.

“Ah, morning.” (Nagisa)

“Morning.” (Yuuto)

We exchanged morning greetings, both surprised at having come out at the exact same time.

Once Nagisa confirmed her door was locked, she came to stand next to me.

“Shall we get going then?” (Nagisa)

We walked our usual route to school, making small talk like always. As we chatted back and forth, my tension gradually began to ease.

“There really aren’t many people around, huh?” (Nagisa)

Nagisa walked a little ahead of me on the path past the school gate, looking around restlessly. Indeed, the number of people was clearly small, and the visitor parking lot visible on the way to school was still only sparsely filled.

“Aww, man. But it’s so boring… We still have about four hours to wait, right?” (Nagisa)

“I’m grateful for it, though. Gives me time to mentally prepare.” (Yuuto)

“Huh? Do you really need that? Mental prep and all?” (Nagisa)

A look of genuine puzzlement floated in Nagisa’s eyes as she spun around to face me.

“I’m just a regular guy, you know. I’m not used to this kind of thing.” (Yuuto)

“Maybe you’ll graduate from being a regular guy today? What if one of the judges scouts you or something?” (Nagisa)

“That’s not gonna happen… The exam is for the Entertainment Course students, so they probably won’t even be looking at me and Aida, right?” (Yuuto)

“You think so? I think it’s totally possible.” (Nagisa)

“I’m honored to be acknowledged by the one and only Nagisa.” (Yuuto)

“Mm. You have my leave.” (Nagisa)

When I replied with a theatrical line, Nagisa nodded, looking satisfied.

“Actually, you know…” (Nagisa)

Her demeanor suddenly shifted from that regal pose to her usual smirking expression, as if she’d just thought of something.

“It’s kinda surprising, isn’t it? You always have this look on your face like you’re saying ‘I’m cool,’ but you actually get nervous?” (Nagisa)

“Hey, of course I do…” (Yuuto)

I’m a normal human being too.

“Hmm, let’s see, let’s see… I’ll check for you.” (Nagisa)

Saying so, she stopped walking towards the school building and turned towards me. I also stopped when Nagisa did, watching her with half-exasperation, wondering what she was up to now, when she suddenly threw herself into my chest.

“…What are you doing?” (Yuuto)

I asked Nagisa, trying to hide my agitation so it wouldn’t become material for her teasing. Incidentally, her arms were firmly wrapped around my back so I couldn’t escape.

“Can’t you tell by looking? I’m checking. To see if you’re nervous.” (Nagisa)

Nagisa said this with her eyes closed, pressing her ear against my chest. Even though it was Sunday and there were fewer students, there were still some around. My heart rate gradually began to climb from the surrounding gazes and the floral scent wafting from Nagisa.

“What do you think a current actress is doing, hugging a guy out here like this?” (Yuuto)

“It’s not like romance is forbidden or anything, and this is just teasing. Besides…” (Nagisa)

After listening to my quickening heartbeat, Nagisa pulled away from me with a satisfied smile and said:

“Right now, I’m just a normal high school girl!” (Nagisa)

Classrooms in the academic building, normally used for lectures, were serving as waiting rooms for the students taking the exam. Of the students participating in the morning and afternoon sessions, those in the morning session were to have roll call at 8:30 AM.

Although there were still about twenty minutes until roll call, all the classrooms designated as waiting rooms were reasonably full.

“Oh, good morning.” (Aida)

When our group entered the classroom assigned to us as a waiting room, we were greeted by several gazes from those already inside and Aida’s greeting.

“Morning, Aida!” (Nagisa)

Nagisa replied cheerfully to the greeting and sat next to Aida, who was in her usual seat at the front by the window. I also took my usual spot behind Aida and took a breath.

As I hung my school bag on the hook on my desk and glanced at the two in front, Nagisa had slumped onto her desk with a loud sigh.

“Aww, man. So we wait here for like four hours now, huh…” (Nagisa)

“Well, we are the last group in the morning session, after all.” (Aida)

“…So bored.” (Nagisa)

Nagisa complained, looking dissatisfied at Aida, who was replying while skimming through her script.

“Shouldn’t you kill time by reading your script or something?” (Yuuto)

I took my script out of the school bag hanging on my desk and offered it to Nagisa, who didn’t seem to feel the pressure of exam day in the slightest. …However, Nagisa waved her outstretched left hand dismissively, indicating she wouldn’t take it.

“I’m the type who relaxes and doesn’t think about the real thing until an hour before, you see.” (Nagisa)

“Huh… That’s interesting.” (Yuuto)

It probably meant that not cramming too much was more suitable for Nagisa to enhance her performance. Through her acting experience, which had continued since she was a child actor, she knew how to bring out her best performance. I somewhat tried to imitate her, closing my script and putting it back in my school bag.

“Well, it’s just copying Yuuya-san, though.” (Nagisa)

“…” (Yuuto)

Hearing those words, Aida quietly closed the script she was holding and placed it on her desk.

“…Somehow, the thought of Mr. Hokujou hearing my voice makes me suddenly nervous…” (Aida)

Aida, with a cool expression that seemed to know no such thing as nervousness, placed a hand on her chest and took a deep breath.

“Hey Nagisa, don’t go making her unnecessarily nervous.” (Yuuto)

“Huh? Is it my fault?” (Nagisa)

As we were having this conversation, there was a knock on the classroom door, and a woman in a suit entered. The conversations in the classroom, audible until a moment ago, stopped, and the space became quiet.

“I’ll take roll call now. After this roll call is finished, please move to the waiting room in the event hall thirty minutes before your turn.” (Woman)

She stated this concisely, then called out the names of the representatives of the groups assigned to this classroom, checking attendance. After the roll call was conducted mechanically, the woman quickly left, but a sense of tension still lingered in the classroom.

And it was no wonder. It was just that I, Nagisa, and Aida were special cases; for many Entertainment Course students, this was an exam that could significantly change their lives.

A silence continued for several tens of seconds, and just as I was starting to lose the timing to speak, the door at the back of the classroom burst open.

“Hmmmm… Ah! There you are!” (Akari)

The one who broke… no, shattered the tense silence was, as usual, my ridiculously laid-back childhood friend.

“Honestly! Yuutooo! You should have told me where the waiting room was!” (Akari)

Akari, slightly out of breath, walked over to us and plopped down in the seat next to mine, saying, “I looked all over for you!”

“Hinata told me properly, but this childhood friend of mine…” (Akari)

She sighed theatrically, giving me an exasperated look.

“Which classroom is Murai in?” (Yuuto)

I cut off my childhood friend, who was about to continue, and changed the subject. At that, her disgruntled expression instantly vanished, and she said, “Umm…” tapping her chin with a finger, feigning thought.

“Next door to the next door to the next door… Huh? Was it one more next door?” (Akari)

The answer didn’t come immediately. She seemed to think for a few seconds, then dismissed it with a “Oh well, whatever!”

“Yume, Nagisa. Please take care of Yuuto.” (Akari)

My childhood friend, performing a pre-evolutionary form of dogeza by resting only her head on the desk while her hands dangled below, was her usual self. Nagisa agreed with a slight laugh, but Aida straightened her posture seriously and gave a reply of acknowledgment.

I chuckled wryly at the scene, feeling a slight sense of respect for my childhood friend who had, as a matter of course, become friends with Aida from a different course…