That Mood-Wrecking Thing Called Midterms (3)
(Me… in love, huh…)
Back in middle school, I was just your average gloomy introvert.
Then came the “hero” days, where I fought with everything I had.
I’d always been the furthest thing from romance.
And yet, somewhere along the way… I’d fallen in love.
I finally realized it—those vague feelings I’d had, thinking “she’s kind of nice,” they were love all along.
I like Hasumin. I like this girl named Hasumi Kana.
“Nyu? What’s wrong? You suddenly got all quiet.”
“Eh? Oh—sorry, it’s nothing. Anyway, if you manage to make it into the top 20, you’re treating me, right?”
“Huh? W-Wait, is that how it works? Really?”
As we chatted about nothing in particular, I quietly sorted through my own feelings.
Just seeing Hasumin smile fills me with this warm, fuzzy feeling.
Hearing her call me by my name without honorifics makes my heart skip a beat.
Simply talking with her is fun—so fun, I could keep going forever.
So this is what love feels like…
While I was quietly basking in that realization, each class began handing back the midterm results.
And the results were…
I got a perfect score in every subject—practically guaranteed to be top in our grade level.
“Wait, Shuhei-kun!? You got a perfect score again? Like, in every single subject!? That’s insane!”
“Uh, y-yeah… But hey, let’s calm down a little, okay?”
“You don’t even need to wait for the official results this weekend—it’s obvious you’re ranked first overall! There’s no other explanation!”
“Yeah, maybe… but seriously, deep breaths, okay?”
“Your brain is just on another level! Like, why are you even at a normal public high school like this?! Shouldn’t you be in some elite private academy or something!?”
“Alright, alright, I get it. I’ll treat you to a cake set at the café by the station—so please, please calm down, Hasumin. We’ll talk more after that.”
She was genuinely thrilled for me—maybe too thrilled. I ended up promising her a café treat just to settle her down.
A few days later, the top twenty rankings were posted. My name was right at the top.
And that afternoon after school, my homeroom teacher called me to the staff room.
“A perfect score in every subject… That’s a first in our school’s long history. Congratulations.”
“Thank you very much. So… what was it you wanted to see me about today?”
“Oh, that’s all. I just wanted to personally tell you that you made school history.”
“I see. Thank you for going out of your way.”
“Ah, and just in case you were worried—we discussed it in the grade-level meeting, and everyone unanimously agreed: there’s no chance you cheated. No concerns there. You’ve always shown excellent understanding in class, and the teachers all say you can answer anything perfectly.”
“Thank you. Honestly, I was a little worried that people might think I cheated.”
“Haha, well, no need for that. You’ve done a great job as class rep too—keeping everyone together. If you keep this up through third year, you could aim for Tokyo University, Kyoto University, or even go for the one designated recommendation spot we get each year for Teiou University. I know you haven’t decided on a specific path yet, since you’re just a first-year, but I’m rooting for you. Keep it up.”
“Yes, Sensei. I’ll do my best to live up to your expectations.”
After bowing and leaving the staff room, I returned to the classroom… where I found Hasumin waiting alone.
“Oh, you waited for me?”
“Ah… yeah. I thought maybe we could walk home together. Was that okay?”
“Of course it is. Thanks for waiting. Let’s head out.”
“Mm! Let’s walk home together~”
We’d just started walking when—
“Hey, hey. So, what did the teacher want to talk to you about?”
Hasumin looked at me with curious eyes.
Lately, she’s been asking about me a lot more.
And even though it’s natural—it still makes me ridiculously happy that the girl I like is interested in me.
(More than anything, it means that in her eyes, I’ve become someone worth caring about…)
Compared to the start of the semester, when she’d even forgotten my name, the difference is night and day.
“Nothing major. It was just about the midterms. Apparently I’m the first in school history to get a perfect score in everything, so they wanted to let me know.”
“Fwehh, the first ever, huh? That’s really amazing…”
“Well, you made it into the top 20 too, didn’t you? And it’s your second time in a row, counting the finals from first semester. That’s pretty impressive.”
“Barely squeaked in at twentieth, though. I got a lot of partial credit—like, stuff that was kinda right but not totally. Especially in math… I’m really not good at it. It just keeps getting harder and harder.”
“Well, let’s forget about studying for now. We don’t have to think about tests again until the finals in December.”
“Totally~ Oh, right! Mei said something yesterday—”
And just like that, I headed home, chatting about nothing with Hasumin the whole way.