15th January, 2024
THe morning sunlight entered through the window, filling the dark room. Shuhi was standing in front of a mirror. She kept looking at the mirror and thinking, "Finally, after a long time, I am going to school again. I wonder if my friends forgot me or were waiting for me."
After having breakfast with a fresh mind, she waved to her mother and slammed the main door open.
"Bye, Mom! I'm off."
The roads were as usual filled with chaos. Vehicles everywhere with some students going by cycle. After walking for a few minutes, she suddenly paused. Something was off.
"…Eh?" She spun around, confused.
The realization hit her that she had completely forgotten the way to school. Panic built in her head. The school bell would ring soon. If she didn't make it in five minutes, the teacher's fury would eat her alive. She walked along one street, one after another through alleys like a lost kitty.
Then she noticed someone. Ahead, a girl in the same school uniform hurried along.
"Perfect!" Shuhi muttered, jogging forward. "Now I just need to follow her."
The girl had shoulder-length brown hair that bounced as she ran, she had a noticeable athletic tone in her legs, like someone who ran track. Shuhi sped up to match her pace.
"We're late, aren't we?" Shuhi called out, half-expecting the girl to ignore her.
The girl glanced back, grinning.
"Ya, Shuhi-chan, we're pretty much screwed. But if we hurry, we can make it!"
Shuhi blinked. "By the way… do I know you?"
The girl laughed, puffing lightly as she ran. "What? You forgot your best friend? You really did have serious memory loss!"
"Wait… are you by any chance… Miniko-chan?"
"That's it! So you do remember me!"
While doing some small talks, they dashed through the school gates, slipping into the building just as the classroom door slid open. The teacher stepped inside. They were saved from getting the label late for this time. Shuhi exhaled with relief.
The break time was overwhelming.
Shuhi sat at her desk, surrounded by curious faces. Classmates pressed her with questions—about her health, about whether she remembered this person or that incident.
"Do you remember when we went to the aquarium?"
"What about the cultural festival?"
"How is your health now, Shuhi san?"
She answered each question with a calm smile, as though she were brushing aside cobwebs. But a few moments later it became noisy for her.
Suddenly someone came up about the upcoming exams. Shuhi's lips curved ever so slightly. "Perfect. The best opportunity to test my abilities. I wonder how much I remember after escaping from there."
The afternoon sun streamed through the classroom windows. That afternoon, she went to the library and approached Izumiya, one of her classmates.
Izumiya sat poised with a book in her hand. Eyes were like intercepting the pages. Books were stacked like walls on her desk. Shuhi leaned in casually, her voice smooth, like silk with hidden thorns.
"Say, Izumiya-san… the exams are coming up. Everyone says you always get the highest grade, right?"
Izumiya's brows lifted, looking at the questioner and returning to reading "Of course. In fact, I've never fallen from first place." she said pridefully.
Shuhi nodded slowly, almost innocently, then tilted her head. "Hmmm… I wonder, If you're really the best, then how about you prove it. Against me."
Izumiya blinked, her composure cracked for a moment. "Proving… what?"
Shuhi smiled, her voice dripping with feigned admiration. "Let's see who scores higher." Her smile stayed kind, but her eyes carried a spark that made it sound like a challenge.
Izumiya's eyes remained on the book, "Why should I bother? Competing with you is pointless. You know what? Go read a book instead of wasting time on challenging me."
"Oh?" Shuhi's voice softened, almost pitying. "I thought you were confident. But maybe you're worried. Maybe you think of the risk of losing against me."
The last words slithered into Izumiya's ears like poison. Her pride bristled. She slammed her book shut, her eyes closed with a pissed off face.
"You got a death wish, girl. Don't think that just because I gave you flowers back at the hospital, I will become generous about hearing your nonsense."
Shuhi leaned closer, lowering her voice. "Then prove it. Unless, of course, you'd rather admit you're afraid of losing to someone like me."
Izumiya's face flushed. Her pride couldn't allow her to back down. She slammed her hand against the desk. "Fine! I'll crush you so badly you'll regret even saying this."
Shuhi's smile widened just a little, her voice like silk. "Perfect.This is what I want. A real challenger."
She stepped back lightly, as if the matter was already closed, leaving Izumiya simmering with anger and determination.
The next day, Izumiya sat in the art club room with two boys known for their underhanded ways. The smell of paint thinner hung in the air as one slid an envelope across the table. Apparently, the two boys belonged to a group of question leakers.
"Here is your paper." One of them spoke, handing Izumiya an envelope.
Izumiya's hands trembled slightly as she opened it. The numbers and equations inside glowed like treasure. Her lips curved into a victorious smile.
"She thinks she can stand against me? Ridiculous. I'll humiliate her so thoroughly, she'll never dare challenge me again. I am not gonna miss even a single mark." Her ego swelled. In her mind, she was already celebrating her flawless victory.
Then the exam day came. The classroom buzzed with tension. Shinichi, assigned as referee, stood at the front with a clipboard. His voice carried authority as he explained the rules, each competitor signing the agreement.
When the papers were distributed, Shuhi's eyes scanned across the room, landing on Izumiya. She sat on the right side, her shoulders squared with confidence.
Shuhi lowered her eyes to her own paper. A small smile tugged at her lips.
"Okay, no problem with it. Even philosophy classes were harder back then," she murmured under her breath.
Izumiya, however, froze. Her eyes darted across the page, her face sweating, breathing unsteadily. "How…how is it possible? Not a single question matches with what I got!"
Her confidence crumbled instantly, panic seized her.
Meanwhile, Shuhi's thoughts were calm and razor-sharp.
"It was too predictable. I knew you'd do anything to crush me. So you rely on the leakers. That's why I kept an eye on you. And just as expected… you walked straight into the trap. I joined another group the day before, and with just a little persuasion, the entire set was swapped. Watching you take the bait—it was almost too easy."
She remembered the boy in the library. It was the day before the exam. At first, he refused her request. But her wide eyes and soft pleading smile melted his defenses. By the end, he took Shuhi in the group and handed her another set of question papers.
Her plan was to change the set of questions completely so that the leak Izumiya got would be useless. After the exchange, she returned home. This time she had kept a note in her phone on her location.
But before going to her room, she entered the bathroom and shoved some papers in the tub.
"These are the leftovers."
She said with the tap opening and the water soaked the papers completely, destroying the writings.
"It would not be a real challenge if I knew the questions before, would it?"
And with that, Shuhi lowered her pen and began writing, the quiet scratching of ink cutting through the suffocating silence of Izumiya's despair.
The result day came after a few days. The classroom buzzed with excitement as envelopes were torn open and result cards unfolded. Students compared scores, laughter and groans mixing in the air.
Izumiya's fingers trembled slightly as she opened hers. When she saw the numbers, her lips stretched into a victorious smile.
"Ha…haha. My lowest is only 86. That whole leaking mess ruined one subject, but the rest are solid. I doubt she can even dream of matching this!"
She held her card proudly, her chin high.
Shuhi approached, Shinichi walking just a step behind her like an appointed judge. Shuhi's face gleamed with an almost childlike happiness.
"Look, everyone! I got 85! The best I've ever done!" She raised her result card as if it were a trophy.
Shinichi gave her a polite nod. "Congratulations, Shuhi-san. You've really outdone yourself this time."
Izumiya scoffed, her pride swelling. "Hah! Stop celebrating. Even my lowest is more than your 85."
Shuhi tilted her head innocently.
"So tell me," Izumiya continued, her voice sharp, "what did you get in English?"
"Eighty-five!" Shuhi answered, beaming.
Izumiya smirked and shoved her own card forward. "See that? Ninety-eight. Not even close, bozo!"
Shinichi folded his arms, but before he could speak, Izumiya pushed again, "How about the others then? Science? Social Studies?"
Shuhi interrupted with her sweet tone, "I got eighty-five in both of them."
The air stilled for a second. Izumiya blinked rapidly. "What the… What is with this 85 thing? Let me see your card."
Without hesitation, Shuhi handed it over. Shinichi also took a peek.
And there it was. Perfectly lined numbers. From Mathematics to Arts, English to Social Studies, every single subject glared back with the exact same score: 85.
Izumiya's eyes widened. Her grip on the paper faltered. "H-how… How is this possible? Nobody scores like this… not by chance. Did you—? No… No, it's impossible…" Her lips quivered as she muttered, shaking her head, the disbelief clawing at her pride.
Shinichi didn't hesitate. He clasped Shuhi's right hand and raised it high.
"I declare Shuhi the winner. Though Izumiya's total marks are higher, Shuhi has achieved something far more difficult. Getting eighty-five in all is harder than topping a single paper."
The crowd who heard them erupted in whispers, some clapping, some just stunned.
Izumiya's face flushed crimson. "U-unfair! How can that be considered better? I outscored her in nearly everything! This isn't right!"
Shinichi's eyes narrowed. "Izumiya san, let me ask you a thing. Can you bring exactly 85 in all of your subjects?"
This line shut her up completely. Izumiya bit her lip, her pride of being the best student completely shattered. Others who were watching this started to whisper all the good-bad things among themselves. A sudden pressure built on her. She couldn't take it anymore.
With small tears in her eyes, she slammed the classroom's door open and left the place. She clenched her fist so tight that her nails entered into her palm.
Behind her, Shuhi only smiled faintly, her eyes glinting.
Dead Logic © 2025 by Muntasib_Ihshan789 is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International