Epilogue

The big semester test was here before long.

There wasn’t a single cell in my body that felt any sort of nervousness. I felt refreshed. Like new really. This test would be nothing more than a slight distraction from my bigger goal.

“You ready?” Totoro asked as soon as I crossed the door.

“Of course,” I answered.

Today was the end of whatever was holding me back. I was finally starting. Maybe I wasn’t ready to go full swing yet, but at the very least I would try. That much was certain.

As expected, the test was nightmarish, but there wasn’t a single subject where I felt like I’d done any less than great.

Well, history did have a few curveballs, but overall, I knew I had it in the bag.

The test happened one day before the end of the school week. That last day wasn’t required, but many clubs met that day to do…something. I couldn’t say what that something was, I’d never been in one.

But more importantly, they also posted grades on that day.

“You sure you didn’t mess up on something, Ari?”

“Are you doubting my abilities?”

“Do you blame me?”

“Well, this time I have someone who can vouch for me. Tell her, Ze’Seki.”

“Hmm…maybe.”

“Maybe?”

“Maybe.”

“You see! Even she doubts you!”

The three of us laughed as we crossed the school gates. There, waiting for us, was Totoro waving, his ears perked up.

“Sup, TsuTsu, Koko, Zeki.”

“You’re not very original with your nicknames, are you?” I critiqued.

“I think they work well, thank you very much.”

We were all nervous. Our little banter was just to relieve some of that.

The entire school body was bustling. An especially large crowd was gathered near the entrance of the school. As far as I understood that’s where the grades were supposed to be posted.

“Have you checked yet?” I asked Totoro.

He shook his head, “Even if I wanted to, do you think I could make it through that?”

“Guess we’re waiting,” I said, but Kokoro immediately grabbed my wrist.

“Wait? I think we’ve waited long enough. Let’s rush in there!”

“What?” we all said at the same time.

Like magic, Kokoro walked through the entire crowd. She greeted many of them which gave her a chance to slip right through. And since we were with her, that gave us a chance to sneak through as well.

“This is unfair,” I complained.

“She’s…more popular than I thought,” Ze’Seki commented.

Within a few seconds, we made it to the front. The entire first year’s names were lined up in the first column, their test scores set right next to them. The text was really small, but it contained every score for every test neatly laid out one number next to each other.

I feel like there should be a better way of displaying all of this.

For some reason, my first instinct was to look for Ze’Seki’s score first. She’d entered much later into the school year so I feared that there was a possibility she didn’t do well.

Upon finding the name Evy Ze’Seki, I looked to the right and read the scores:

8, 8, 9, 10, 9, 10

The math score, the one I was most responsible for, she’d received a 9, but with the rest f the scores being so high…

I turned to Ze’Seki who was standing to my right.

“You passed all of them.”

“Y-You did it!”

We both said at the same time.

That’s when it hit us that we both decided to look at each other’s scores instead of our own.

We laughed at the conclusion we both had arrived to but were cut short as soon as both Kokoro and Totoro hugged us at the same time.

“We all passed!” Kokoro yelled.

“Yeah!”

Both Ze’Seki and I were squished in the four-person hug, but neither of us did anything to get out of it.

---

A few hours later, Araldo and Evy were in the living room relaxing. After the excitement of finding out they’d passed, they all basically deflated from the stress of working towards that test.

Kokoro had originally joined them, but along with Ina, she’d gone to get some stuff to celebrate. So for now, all they could do was wait until they came back. Not that they minded in the slightest.

Ze’Seki had closed her eyes for a bit to rest, but she’d nearly fallen asleep. She snapped awake and took a deep breath.

“Hey, Tsutsumi,” she turned to Araldo but found he still had his eyes closed.

Did he fall asleep? She wondered.

She poked his arm, but he didn’t react.

“Did you fall asleep?” she asked but got no response.

Huh, guess he did.

She didn’t blame him in the slightest, but she wondered how he could fall asleep so soon after waking up. Maybe he hadn’t been able to sleep last night because of how nervous he was.

Evy stared at Araldo’s sleeping face.

Recently, he’d looked much more cheerful than before. A part of her really hoped she’d been even a reason for that, but she couldn’t be certain.

For now, he only saw her as a friend, but at least he’d confirmed it.

Evy chuckled, “Idiot.” Bringing her face closer to his, she planted a small kiss on his cheek. Her lips barely even touched him, but she could still feel her entire face redden. “Thank you.”

She’d already said it before, but she felt it was only appropriate to say it again.

---

Did she kiss me?

I’d fallen asleep for only a moment, but I had just started to wake up when I felt a soft sensation against my cheek.

I—I didn’t know that that’s how she felt about me!

I guess the best course of action was to stay ‘asleep’ until maybe a minute or two. Only then it might seem that—

My eyes snapped open.

“Did you just do what I think you did?”

“H-Huh?! Y-You were awake!?”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“J-Just forget about that!”

“Oh yeah totally. As if I could just forget something like that.”

Ze’Seki’s face and ears turned bright red, and she slammed her face against the couch to cover herself.

I burst out laughing.

That was about how I expected her to react.

I guess my original assessment of the relationship Ze’Seki wanted with me was slightly off. But that was for future me to deal with. For now, I would live trying to get better in every way.

Maybe one day I would come to understand…everything.

< End of Arc 1: Prologue >