Jay POV
Two weeks.
Two whole weeks since everything calmed down.
And now?
Exams.
I swear the universe said, "You survived drama? Great. Now suffer academically."
I stood at the school gate staring at the building like it personally offended me.
"Why are you looking at it like that?" Keifer asked, appearing beside me with a juice box like this was a picnic.
"Because," I said, narrowing my eyes at the building, "it's hiding pain behind those walls."
Keifer sipped his juice dramatically. "Deep."
"Shut up."
We walked inside and the atmosphere was insane. People revising like their lives depended on it. Someone crying near the lockers. Someone else saying, "I didn't even study" in that suspiciously calm voice of someone who studied 12 hours.
Ci-n rushed up to us. "Did you revise Chapter 6?"
My brain froze.
"There was a Chapter 6?" I asked slowly.
Ci-n blinked at me. "Jay."
Keifer leaned in. "Don't worry. Panic improves memory."
"That is not scientifically proven."
He shrugged. "Feels true."
First Exam: Mathematics
We sat down.
The paper landed on my desk.
I flipped it over.
Silence.
My brain left my body.
Question 1 looked friendly. Question 2 looked suspicious. Question 3 looked like it had personal issues with me.
I started solving. Slowly. Carefully.
Behind me, someone whispered, "It's over."
It was ten minutes in.
Ten.
Minutes.
I bit back a laugh.
Halfway through, I realized something horrifying.
I actually knew most of it.
I KNOW IT.
Who am I???
I glanced at the clock. Still time left. For once, I wasn't fighting for survival. I was… stable.
This feels illegal.
When the bell rang, the whole class exhaled like we just escaped war.
Outside the classroom—
"How was it?" Ci-n demanded.
"I didn't die," I replied.
Keifer grinned. "That's character development."
Break Time Chaos
We gathered under the big tree near the field.
Felix was dramatically laying on the bench. "If science asks about chemical bonding, I'm bonding with the exit."
Yuri crossed his arms. "You're dramatic. It won't be that bad."
Calix pointed at him. "You said that last term and I almost failed."
"That was your fault."
"It was the teacher's handwriting!"
I laughed, watching them argue like siblings.
For a second, I thought about Hex.
Different school. Different exam hall.
Probably sitting there looking calm but secretly overthinking everything.
I pulled out my phone and texted him:
Surviving so far. You alive?
He didn't reply immediately.
Typical.
Second Exam: Science
This one… tested my patience.
Question 5 was three paragraphs long.
Who writes like that in an exam??
I read it twice.
Then three times.
Then I understood it.
Then I doubted myself.
Then I erased.
Then I rewrote.
Exam stress is basically arguing with yourself in silence.
At one point, Keifer dropped his pen.
It echoed like a gunshot.
The whole class turned.
He slowly picked it up like nothing happened.
I almost laughed.
Almost.
Lunch
Everyone looked half-dead but weirdly proud.
"I think I passed math," Rory said carefully.
"I think I negotiated peace with it," I replied.
Kiefer nudged me. "Did Hex message?"
I checked.
One notification.
Hex: These people are fighting over calculators like it's a tournament. I'm tired.
I laughed out loud.
Keifer leaned over. "What?"
"Hex said his school is turning calculator borrowing into a battlefield."
Ci-n clapped dramatically. "Different school, same suffering."
I typed back:
Good. Suffer with honor.
He replied almost instantly:
You sound too happy. Suspicious.
I smiled at my phone without meaning to.
Keifer noticed.
"Ohhh."
"Don't start," I warned.
"I didn't say anything."
"You didn't have to."
Final Period
Literature.
Normally my safe zone.
But my brain was now 40% functional.
I wrote. Slowly.
Actually thought about my answers instead of panicking.
Maybe… just maybe… I matured.
Or maybe I just studied properly for once.
When the final bell rang, the hallway exploded with noise.
"ONE DOWN!"
"WE SURVIVED!"
"Tomorrow is worse!"
I stepped outside into the evening air.
The sky was turning orange.
Exams were stressful, yes.