Chapter 58: Numbers, Nerves, and a Very Patient Teacher
(Jay Jay's POV)
The relief from finishing the English exam lasted exactly ten minutes.
That was how long it took for someone in Section E to remember something horrifying.
Blaster froze in the middle of eating chips.
Blaster:
"…Guys."
Felix looked up.
Felix:
"What."
Blaster slowly turned around.
Blaster:
"Tomorrow is Maths."
The entire classroom went silent again.
The kind of silence that feels like the universe itself paused.
Then the screaming started.
Calix:
"NO."
Eman grabbed his head.
Eman:
"WHY DOES MATH EXIST?!"
Eran looked equally traumatized.
Eran:
"I don't even remember the formulas."
Ci N dramatically dropped his bag.
Ci N:
"We celebrated too early."
Felix pointed at the ceiling like a betrayed hero.
Felix:
"WHY WOULD YOU REMIND US?!"
David sighed.
David:
"You people knew this already."
Denzel leaned toward him.
Denzel:
"That doesn't make it less painful."
Meanwhile Keifer stood beside me calmly.
Like tomorrow's math exam was just a minor inconvenience.
Jay:
"You look too relaxed."
Keifer shrugged.
Keifer:
"I like math."
I stared at him.
Jay:
"You're suspicious."
Keifer smirked.
Keifer:
"I'll help you."
Jay:
"You say that like I'm bad at math."
Keifer raised one eyebrow slowly.
Jay:
"…Okay maybe a little."
Behind us Blaster grabbed Keifer's arm dramatically.
Blaster:
"BRO."
Keifer blinked.
Blaster:
"Teach us."
Felix joined instantly.
Felix:
"Yes please."
Calix nodded.
Calix:
"We are desperate."
Keifer looked at all of them.
Then looked at me.
Keifer:
"…I regret standing here."
The bell rang before the chaos could grow even worse.
And within minutes…
Everyone was running home to study for survival.
Watson Mansion
(That evening)
The dining table looked like a battlefield again.
But this time…
It was covered with math textbooks.
Algebra notes.
Practice sheets.
Calculators.
More papers than I wanted to see.
I sat across from Keifer.
Staring at the numbers.
Jay:
"I hate math."
Keifer leaned back slightly.
Keifer:
"You hate things you don't understand."
Jay:
"That sounds judgmental."
Keifer smirked.
Keifer:
"That sounds accurate."
He slid a notebook toward me.
Keifer:
"Alright."
Jay:
"What."
Keifer picked up a pen.
Keifer:
"I'll teach you."
Jay:
"You sound like a professor."
Keifer:
"Focus."
He started explaining the first problem.
Step by step.
Slow.
Clear.
Patient.
I watched the numbers appear on the page.
One equation leading to another.
And surprisingly…
It started making sense.
Jay:
"…Wait."
Keifer looked up.
Jay:
"That actually makes sense."
Keifer smiled slightly.
Keifer:
"See."
We continued solving problems.
Equation after equation.
At one point I got stuck again.
Jay:
"Wait wait wait."
Keifer leaned closer.
Keifer:
"You forgot the negative sign."
Jay:
"Oh."
He reached over and corrected the step.
Our shoulders brushing slightly.
Jay:
"You're very patient."
Keifer shrugged.
Keifer:
"I have to be."
Jay:
"Why."
He looked at me.
That teasing smile appearing again.
Keifer:
"I'm teaching you."
I kicked his foot under the table.
Jay:
"Jerk."
Keifer leaned forward slightly.
Pressing a quick kiss to my cheek.
Keifer:
"Motivation."
Jay:
"You're abusing that word."
We kept studying.
Another hour passed.
Then another.
By the time we finished the practice sheet…
I looked at the final equation.
Solved.
Correct.
Jay:
"I did it."
Keifer nodded proudly.
Keifer:
"You did."
Jay:
"I might actually pass math."
Keifer leaned closer again.
Keifer:
"You definitely will."
Another quick kiss.
This time on my lips.
Soft.
Short.
Jay:
"You're distracting the student."
Keifer smirked.
Keifer:
"Teacher's privilege."
And somehow…
Math didn't seem nearly as terrifying anymore.
Tuesday Morning – Exam Day
(Jay Jay's POV)
The atmosphere at school was tense again.
Students whispering formulas.
Reviewing notes.
Looking stressed.
But Section E looked slightly more confident today.
Blaster walked into the classroom dramatically.
Blaster:
"I studied."
Felix gasped.
Felix:
"YOU studied?"
Blaster nodded proudly.
Blaster:
"For two hours."
Ci N looked impressed.
Ci N:
"That's a personal record."
Calix looked nervous but hopeful.
Calix:
"I reviewed formulas."
Eman sighed.
Eman:
"I practiced equations."
Eran nodded.
Eran:
"We might survive."
David looked calm as usual.
David:
"You will."
Meanwhile Keifer looked at me.
Keifer:
"Ready."
Jay:
"Ready."
The teacher entered again.
With another stack of exam papers.
Teacher:
"Today's final exam…"
She paused.
Teacher:
"Mathematics."
A few students groaned.
But not as loudly as yesterday.
Teacher:
"You have two hours."
Papers were distributed again.
The exam sheet landed on my desk.
I took a deep breath.
And started reading.
Algebra.
Equations.
Word problems.
Graphs.
And surprisingly…
I recognized most of them.
Because we had practiced similar questions last night.
My pen started moving.
Step by step.
Equation after equation.
Across the room students were actually working seriously.
Blaster whispered to himself.
Blaster:
"I know this one."
Felix nodded.
Felix:
"Yes yes yes."
Calix looked focused.
Eman was writing quickly.
Even Ci N looked determined.
David, of course, was already halfway through the paper.
Meanwhile Keifer worked calmly beside me.
Confident.
Precise.
At one point I got stuck again.
I glanced at him.
He looked at my paper briefly.
Then whispered.
Keifer:
"Check the denominator."
I looked again.
And realized the mistake instantly.
Jay:
"Oh."
I corrected it.
Keifer smiled slightly.
Keifer:
"Good."
Time passed quickly again.
The classroom quiet.
Focused.
Serious.
Teacher:
"Five minutes remaining."
Students finished their last problems.
Checking answers.
Fixing small mistakes.
Finally…
Time was up.
Teacher:
"Pens down."
Everyone leaned back in their chairs.
Exhausted.
But relieved.
Blaster raised his hands dramatically.
Blaster:
"I DIDN'T DIE."
Felix laughed.
Felix:
"I think I passed."
Calix smiled.
Calix:
"That was actually doable."
Eman nodded.
Eman:
"We studied."
David looked satisfied.
David:
"Told you."
I looked at Keifer.
Jay:
"That went well."
He nodded calmly.
Keifer:
"You did great."
Jay:
"Thanks to my teacher."
He leaned closer slightly.
Keifer:
"My best student."
And somehow…
Against all expectations…
Section E had completed another exam successfully.
But the week of finals was far from over.
And knowing Section E…
More drama was definitely coming.