[Third Person POV]
The next day, Clark walked through the school hallways with a half-empty drink in his hand and a miserable look plastered across his face. His steps dragged with every movement, and the weight of regret practically hung off his shoulders.
"Why the hell did I agree to this?" he muttered under his breath, glaring at the can as if it had personally betrayed him. "What the fuck was I thinking?"
"Language, Kal-El," Sol's stern voice echoed in his mind.
Clark rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, sorry, Father. Won't happen again," he muttered sarcastically before taking another sip.
He continued trudging toward the library, looking like a man heading toward his own execution. The halls were lively with students chatting and laughing, a sharp contrast to his gloomy mood. When he finally reached the library doors, he gave a resigned sigh and pushed them open.
The smell of books and paper hit him immediately. It was quiet—eerily quiet—and the faint scratching of pencils filled the air. He barely took two steps inside when a sharp "Ahem!" made him pause.
Clark turned his head, spotting the librarian at her desk giving him a pointed, disapproving look.
"What?" he asked with a raised brow, genuinely confused by her glare.
The woman sighed and jabbed a finger toward the can in his hand.
Clark tilted his head, then pointed the drink to her, "You want some?" he asked flatly, as if that were the most logical response.
Her expression soured further, and she jabbed her finger again, this time toward the large sign beside her desk that clearly read 'No Food or Drinks Allowed.'
"Oh, that's what this is about?" Clark scoffed, unimpressed. "Then say that next time. What's with the mime routine? You're a librarian, not a street performer."
Before she could respond, Clark tipped the can back and downed the rest of the drink in a single strong gulp. The sound of the empty aluminum crunching slightly as he crushed it with one hand echoed through the quiet room.
He walked up to the desk, grabbed the librarian's hand, and placed the can neatly in her palm. "Thank you for your service," he said with mock sincerity and flashed her a smile that was equal parts charming and infuriating.
He didn't stick around to hear her response. As he walked away, the librarian's eye twitched violently. She stared at the crushed can for a moment, then clenched her fist around it, her knuckles turning white before she finally exhaled sharply and tossed it into the trash.
"Clark!"
He turned at the sound of his name to see Miku standing up from one of the tables, waving her hand to get his attention.
Clark sighed through his nose, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like a curse before heading over.
At the four-seater table sat Miku, Nina, and Ichika. The only open seat left was beside Ichika, as Miku and Nina were already seated next to each other.
As Clark pulled the chair out and sat down, Ichika looked him up and down with wide eyes. "Woah," she said, her voice full of genuine surprise. "You're massive."
She'd seen him from a distance before and when dealing with Yotsuba but she wasn't paying much attention to his height at the time, but sitting next to him made her realize just how broad his shoulders were and how tall he really stood compared to everyone else.
Clark raised a brow and shot back without missing a beat, "Your forehead's massive."
Ichika gasped, both hands flying up to her head in reflexive horror.
Miku and Nina immediately broke into snickers, though Miku quickly tried to compose herself. "Clark," she said in a mildly scolding tone, "please don't start insulting people. I thought we talked about this?"
"My forehead is normal-sized, thank you very much!" Ichika protested defensively, brushing her bangs down to try and hide it.
Clark ignored her, leaning forward on the table. "Whatever. Let's just get started. Show me your mock exam results so I can see what kind of academic disaster I've signed up to fix."
The girls exchanged awkward glances but obeyed, each pulling out their test papers from their bags. They laid them out in a line across the table like some tragic display of failure.
Clark stared down at the results—and his face went blank. Zeros. So many zeros it made his brain momentarily stall.
"Okay…" he said slowly, dragging the word out. "Miku said you guys did bad, but I didn't expect this bad…"
"It's not that bad…" Nina mumbled, cheeks tinted pink as she pointed weakly at one paper that had a "15" scribbled on it.
Clark leaned forward and stared at it like it was some kind of rare artifact. "Wow," he said flatly. "Congratulations. You know how to greet people in English. Very impressive."
Nina's shoulders slumped, embarrassment washing over her face.
Ichika leaned in with a mischievous smirk. "You know," she began teasingly, "the reason she's even good at English is because she thought you two would grow closer if she learned your language. It's literally the only class she ever paid attention—Ow!"
Ichika winced mid-sentence, jerking her leg under the table as Nina shot her a death glare.
"She's lying," Nina said quickly, her tone icy and composed despite the faint red coloring her ears. "Don't listen to her. She doesn't know what she's talking about."
"Ah-huh…" Clark said, giving the three girls a long, unimpressed look before turning his gaze down toward the spread of exam papers in front of him. The table was covered in a colorful mess of red ink, zeroes, and what could barely be considered a score.
He dragged the papers closer with one hand, scanning each of them with an expression that was somewhere between disbelief and mild despair. After a moment, he exhaled through his nose and leaned back in his chair. "As far as I can see," he began dryly, "you're all hopeless… except in one subject."
The mood at the table dropped instantly. Miku, Ichika, and Nina all exchanged awkward glances before lowering their heads in collective shame.
Clark sighed and pushed the papers around with one finger, separating the ones that actually had a grade from the rest. "Alright," he said finally, "for now, forget all the other exams. I want you three to put all of your focus on the subjects you actually did well in. That's going to be your priority for this week."
"Huh?" all three of them said at once, confusion lacing their voices.
Ichika was still rubbing her shin under the table, glaring faintly at Nina for kicking her earlier. "Wait, shouldn't it be the other way around?" she asked, brow furrowed. "Shouldn't we be studying the subjects we failed instead?"
Clark shook his head slowly, leaning forward on his elbows. "No. That's a rookie mistake," he explained, tone steady and patient for once. "If you try to cram everything you don't understand all at once, you'll burn yourselves out and forget everything by the end of the week. Learning takes time — repetition, confidence, and pacing."
He pointed to the papers that had passing scores. "You start with what you know. Build your confidence there. Once your brain's warmed up, then we move on to the tougher stuff. Memorization and recall will come easier once your fundamentals are strong."
There was a beat of silence, then all three nodded slowly, starting to follow his logic.
"But…" Miku raised her hand timidly like a student in an actual classroom. "Wouldn't we still get zeroes on the other subjects if we don't focus on them?"
Clark gave a small nod. "For now, yeah," he admitted. "But these are mock exams — they don't matter as much. What matters is improvement. I don't care about the grade itself right now, I care about making sure you don't completely crash when the real tests come around."
He leaned back and crossed his arms. "That said… I'm not letting you off the hook. Before your next mock exam, you'll be getting a test from me."
The three of them groaned in unison, deflating like popped balloons.
"A test?" they muttered with dread.
"More than the one we'll already have?" Miku asked, looking at him like he'd just kicked her puppy.
Clark rolled his eyes. "Don't be dramatic. It's not a test-test, it's more of a challenge. Think of it like a pre-exam… except you're not just answering questions."
Nina tilted her head suspiciously. "Then what are we supposed to do?"
Clark pointed at them one by one. "The day before your next mock exam, each of you is going to teach your sisters everything you know about the subject you're best at."
They blinked in surprise, mouths slightly open.
"The ultimate form of understanding," Clark continued, his tone oddly professor-like, "is the ability to educate those who don't understand. If you can explain it clearly to someone else, it means you truly get it."
For a moment, the three sisters just stared at him — wide-eyed and silent. It was like they were looking at a completely different person.
Ichika finally broke the silence, leaning forward with a look of genuine astonishment. "That's… actually really smart," she admitted. "You're using our strengths to our advantage while also making sure we aren't totally helpless with the rest. You're basically killing two birds with one stone."
Nina nodded in agreement, smiling faintly. "I honestly didn't expect you to take this so seriously. I'm impressed."
Then Miku tilted her head, looking utterly confused. "Who are you," she asked deadpan, "and what have you done with the real Clark?"
That earned her an exaggerated eye roll from Clark. "Very funny," he said flatly. "Now take out your books so we can actually get started. We don't have all period to sit around."
"Hai, sensei~!" the three of them said in unison, giggling among themselves.
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