Tuesday morning arrived with the specific kind of dread that only midterm season could produce. Kawakami High looked like a war zone; not the supernatural kind Akira was used to, but the academic variety.
Students gathered in every available corner, burying their heads in notebooks and scrolling through revision apps. Their voices carried that particular edge of panic that no amount of coffee could fix.
Akira walked through the main corridor with his bag over one shoulder, watching a girl from Class 1-C actually cry over a flashcard deck. Normal… completely normal.
Rina fell into step beside him. "Chemistry practical tomorrow."
"I know."
"You ready?"
"More ready than most people here." He nodded toward a second-year boy stress-eating onigiri while reading from three textbooks at the same time. "That guy is going to pass out before third period."
Rina laughed, which was nice to hear after the last few weeks.
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