Me and Nora arrived seconds just before Chabashira-sensei did.

"W-we barely made it..."

Nora huffed, completely out of breath after running so hard to beat Chabashira-sensei to the door. If we entered class after she started homeroom, we'd be marked down as late.

Looking around, it seemed the school did the bare minimum to fix our room. The graffiti was removed, the door and window were reinstalled, and everyone had a brand new chabudai and zabuton to sit at.

"You two certainly cut it close this morning."

Offhandedly commenting on our tardiness, Chabashira-sensei sat down at her desk.

"S-sorry, Chabashira-sensei... i-it won't happen again, I-I promise...!"

Nora bowed apologetically, but Chabashira-sensei sighed.

"It's alright, go to your seat."

"Y-yes ma'am..."

Just before Nora could make his way to my seat, Mikitaka got up and hugged Nora tightly.

"My best friend! What happened?! Are you okay?! Where were you?! We were looking all over! My best friendooooooooo!"

"M-Mikitaka-san?!"

Nora squeaked, receiving an unexpected warm welcome back to class.

"It wasn't just Mikitaka-san, we were all worried about you! Gosh, where did you run off to? You had me so scared!"

"S-Shouko-san... sorry... to both of you... I-I didn't mean to, I just..."

Nora trailed off, mumbling. Shouko sighed, smiling at his cute reaction.

"Ah, whatever. I'm just happy to see you back. Now Mikitaka-san, let go of him before you crush that poor boy's rib cage!"

"And I'll crush it even harder if it means never letting go of Takayuki-san ever again! I won't let go of you, my best friend!"

"M-Mikitaka-san, I can't breathe..."

Nora wheezed, making Katsumi laugh. She was standing behind me, joining everyone else.

"Yo, Yuki-kun! Welcome back! Where'd you go this morning? We couldn't find you at all!"

"K-Kou-chan... um..."

Upon seeing her, Nora started blushing.

"Actually, didn't Yuki-chan come to class with Yuu-yuu? That meant you found him, right?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah..."

"Where the heck was he then?"

"Oh... Nora-san was in the special wing."

"Ehh, for real?! That's the only place we didn't check! And I was so sure he'd be in the library too..."

Shouko crossed her arms, disappointed in herself.

"In any case, I'm glad that you're okay. I was scared Machida-san might've done something to you..." Katsumi said.

"If he did, I would've head butt him straight into the teacher's lounge so they could deal with him, ya ha ha ha!" Mikitaka said.

I couldn't tell if that was a violent or sensible way of handling things.

"I-I'm so sorry for all the trouble I've caused you four... I-I didn't mean to... I promise..."

"Hey, stop acting so guilty. You've done nothing wrong." Shouko said.

"Yeah! We're happy that you're here safe and sound!" Katsumi said.

"No, I should be the one apologising... I should've been the one to find you, not brother Takanori-san. Forgive me, Takayuki-san!"

"I-I forgive you, M-Mikitaka-san! P-please let go of me, I-I can't breatheeeee..."

As those four were having their happy reunion, I quietly slipped myself into Nora's seat. Immediately, I noticed the disgusting insults engraved in the wall aimed at Nora that the school couldn't erase.

Even though they weren't meant for me, it felt like they were. Machida really didn't hold back at all...

"Ehh, Yuu-kun, what are you doing in Nora-chan's seat?"

Nora's usual neighbour, Taiga, noticed I was sitting in his place.

"Me and Nora-san decided to switch seats. That's all there is to it."

"Brother, you and me had the same idea!"

Releasing Nora, Mikitaka interjected in our conversation.

"We did...?"

"Yeah. I saw those awful insults and thought... there's no way I could let my best friend read that! So I was planning on sitting there myself, and giving my seat to him."

"...I mean, if you want it, I don't mind."

To be honest, I was already missing my old seat. There was something special about sitting at the back of the class, in the corner seat next to the window.

"Perfect. Besides, this'll get Takayuki-san and Katsumi-san to sit next to each other, giving them a chance to get closer."

Mikitaka whispered into my ear, before switching seats with me. He was still trying to play matchmaker for Nora, huh?

"I see..."

After taking roll call, Chabashira-sensei got up and stood behind the teaching podium, grabbing our attention. Our class, which was rowdy from the return of our classroom, became deathly silent as she began her delivery.

"Good morning everyone. I hope you've been studying lots over the weekend. After all, your finals, and by extension your special exam, are starting today. Try your best not to fail, alright?"

Talking down to us in a condescending tone, Chabashira-sensei smiled sadistically. It's times like this that remind me of how cruel she could be sometimes.

"If you remember from last time, the structure of this week will be the exact same as the midterms, with the only difference being that D Class have made your exams instead of the school. However, knowing you lot, you've probably forgotten everything, so I'll repeat what's going to happen so you defects know what's going on."

Chabashira-sensei began writing the details on the whiteboard behind her.

"This week, you'll be sitting two exams per day, meaning altogether you'll be taking fourteen exams in total. Your morning exams will be straight after homeroom, while your afternoon exams will be straight after lunchtime."

Just like last time, we had to come to school on a weekend. A few students groaned as Chabashira-sensei reminded them of this fact.

"You're not allowed to bring anything with you into the exam hall except a black pen and clear water bottle. Having anything else on you, other than these two items, will immediately disqualify you."

I'll probably have to rely on using Ikeda's locker in C Class to store my items. I could've left everything here in my bag in E Class, but that sounded too risky.

"Usually, you'd make your way down to the gymnasium fifteen minutes prior to the exam to receive a prep-talk, but since the school hasn't prepared these papers, you'll head straight to the exam hall to get ready to do your final exams instead. The invigilators will be there, waiting to screen you to make sure you have no contrabands."

That's how Kouji got disqualified last time. He brought his phone into the exam hall. Considering he was trying to fail on purpose, he chose the most surefire way to do it.

"I know this sounds like common sense, but don't talk or mess about once you're inside the exam hall, even before the actual exam starts. Otherwise, you'll be immediately disqualified, and your paper will become null and void— in other words, you'll fail. I'm sure all of you are aware of the consequences if that happens in this special exam."

Our class would lose 50 Cl and D Class would gain 30 Cl.

"If you have any questions, it's best to ask them now. Otherwise... try your best."

It wasn't much, but it was Chabashira-sensei's silent way of encouraging us and telling us good luck.

"The finals are already here, huh...?"

Daydreaming, Yukina mumbled that to herself.

"Yeah. Time flies by when you're having fun."

"You're having fun being stressed out?"

"Just a little. It's not the worst situation I've been in."

"Fair enough... still though, you can really feel the pressure in the air."

The atmosphere of the class, while still energetic, was more gloomy than usual.

"It was like this last time too. Everyone was on the edge of their seats, nervous and anxious as each other."

"Mhm. I certainly felt that way too back then."

"How are you feeling now?"

"Strangely... relaxed. I don't know why, but I feel like I've done everything I can to prepare for these exams. Since there's nothing more I can do, there's no point in worrying unnecessarily. I just have to go out there and do my best!"

Yukina smiled, pumping her fist.

"You're right. We'll just have to put our skills to the test in the real thing, and see how it plays out."

"I bet you're feeling confident though. The English paper's in the afternoon, you're going to ace it."

"The same can be said for you, but for Japanese. We'll clear these two exams no problem."

"I'm going to go put away my stuff now. How about you?"

"...I'll probably do the same. I need to talk to Ikeda-san about it."

"Alright. Meet you in the gymnasium?"

"Yeah, sounds good. See you there."

And with that, me and Yukina parted ways before heading off to do our first exam.