Episode 34 – A former genius and a pitiful childhood friend fall into despair again
Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/16818622172789075625/episodes/16818622174838227618
A few days after the mock exam.
Takagi Rio heard a rumor.
“Did you hear about Edano kun?”
“Oh, you mean his self-scoring on the mock exam? He got a perfect score in math.”
“That’s it.”
As he walked down the hallway, he heard the voices of the girls talking.
Takagi listened to their voices and slowed her pace.
“But it’s self-scoring. You can lie about it, right?”
“No, no, it was Amakusa-san who scored it.”
“Really? Anyway, Nagisa chan and Edano kun have been together a lot lately, haven’t they?”
“Yeah. I wonder if they’re dating.”
The conversation suddenly shifted from studying to gossip about romance, so Takagi stopped listening.
He took his textbooks out of his locker in the hallway and prepared for his next class.
When he entered the classroom, Takagi was approached by a group of male students.
They put their arms around his shoulders and spoke to him familiarly.
“Hey, did you hear? Edano got a perfect score in math on the last mock exam.”
“I heard. But even if you get a perfect score in one subject, it doesn’t mean anything if your overall score is low.”
Takagi said with a faint smile, and then another boy chimed in.
“On that day, they were grading each other’s tests at a family restaurant, and according to someone who heard about it, he got almost perfect scores in all subjects.”
“…Well, it’s just a national mock exam for first-year students.”
“Oh, that’s right, Takagi. You’re the hope of our class, so don’t lose to that guy !”
“Of course not.”
Takagi felt awkward.
After all, from what he had just heard, it was clear that Edano Tsukushi had once again made a remarkable showing.
Takagi escaped from the boys and returned to his seat.
He was sweating profusely and feeling despair.
No way. There’s no way I lost twice.
He wanted to grab his head and grind his teeth, but this was a classroom.
He couldn’t afford to make a scene where someone might see him.
Of course, Takagi had already graded his own test and had a rough idea of his scores.
According to his calculations, his scores were 83 in Japanese, 91 in math, and 97 in English.
Not only did he fail to get a perfect score in any subject, but there were also subjects where he fell significantly short of 90 points.
This was just a guess based on rumors, but he suspected that Edano Tsukushi was far ahead of him.
Having suffered two defeats and had his pride shattered, he felt like he was going mad.
Originally, Takagi had been quite confident about this mock exam.
Although he scored lower than last time, he knew that the company that created the mock exam was different this time, the scope was broader, and the difficulty level was higher.
Even so, he had averaged over 90%, so he had no doubt that he was the top student in his class.
Until this very moment.
“…No, the results haven’t been announced yet. It must be some kind of mistake.”
He muttered under his breath, trying to calm himself down.
However, the only thing that stuck in his mind was the almost certain information that Tsukushi had scored a perfect score in math, and he couldn’t shake off the feeling of regret.
No matter how you looked at it, he had lost in math, and for the perfectionist Takagi, that was something he couldn’t accept.
What on earth did I do?
Takagi cursed his circumstances.
From the time he entered school until summer, he had maintained the top position, and before summer, he had even started dating the girl who was rumored to be the second prettiest in his class.
During summer break, they met multiple times and had sex, and he felt mentally and physically fulfilled.
Little did he know that this was the biggest trap of all.
Everything fell apart after he started a relationship with Amane Kako.
His study time was wasted on her idle chatter, and when he tried to teach her, she was so slow to understand that it was frustrating.
As a result, his grades steadily declined.
In the end, he broke up with Kako, and all that remains for Takagi now is the pleasure he experienced during summer.
Even that is no longer something to be proud of.
[For real? Nagisa chan and Edano kun have been together a lot lately, haven’t they?]
[Yeah. I guess they’re dating.]
The rumors from the female students earlier flashed back, and Takagi’s face twisted in disgust.
Yes, Edano Tsukushi now has two popular beautiful girls at his beck and call, acting like he’s in a harem.
It feels ridiculous that he was satisfied with Kako.
Tsukushi even got Amakusa Nagisa, a girl he had given up on from the start, thinking she was beyond his reach.
That fact only intensifies his sense of defeat.
“What’s wrong? You’re making a funny face.”
“Tch ! What do you know, Nishiho Mika?”
Startled by the sudden voice, Takagi couldn’t help but mutter in annoyance.
The woman whose voice it was, whose true intentions were unknown, continued in a tone that seemed to carry a hint of mockery amidst its coldness.
“Nothing? I just noticed you were staring at the copy of your mock exam answers with teary eyes, so I thought maybe you did badly.”
“…….”
Takagi realized he had tears in his eyes.
Unconsciously, he had even taken out the mock exam answer sheet he had checked over and over again and placed it on his desk.
Watching the woman with the pigtails laughing cheerfully at the desk next to him, Takagi put everything away.
◇
[Kako’s perspective]
A few days before Rio kun was in despair.
I had no idea about that, so after school on the day of the mock exam, I started grading myself as soon as I got home.
And immediately, a smile spread across my face.
“I might be amazing. This is the first time I’ve gotten such a high score in math !”
On the answer sheet with many circles marked, I confidently added the score of 62.
This is likely a remarkable achievement, with a national deviation value close to 60.
Moreover, the fact that I achieved this on my own, without anyone’s help, brings me endless joy.
After all, Nanamura and Tsukushi are all idiots.
They underestimate me, so they end up losing the competition.
Nanamura is the queen of failing grades, and no matter how much she learns from Tsukushi, it’s only so much.
There’s no way she can beat me with such a good score.
“Kyahaha ! You’re just a weakling with a small brain, aren’t you?”
My scores in Japanese and English are 46 and 48, which are a bit low, but when you add in my math score, I should end up around the middle of the class.
My grades are slowly improving from last time, and I can finally breathe a sigh of relief.
But at the same time, I narrow my eyes at the pile of printouts left on my desk.
The study materials I used late into the night last night were none other than the ones Tsukushi had prepared for me long ago.
Since this mock exam covered the material up to summer, the previous printouts were just right.
By studying these, I was able to score 60% in math for the first time, which had been my weak subject.
I said I got the points on my own, but to be honest, I have to admit this.
“Hmph. It’s annoying, but maybe I need him after all.”
I hadn’t used them properly before, but recently, I’ve been taking them seriously and have come to realize Tsukushi’s usefulness.
I don’t like him personally, but if I can get such good scores, learning from him again seems like the best solution for me right now.
Well, even without thinking about that, I won the bet.
There’s no way I’d lose to that empty-headed girl with this score.
I defeated that Nanamura, and now I’ll learn from Tsukushi again.
My grades will probably go back to normal, and Nanamura won’t be able to get close to Tsukushi anymore, which is also satisfying.
You have to get rid of those annoying flies buzzing around your face.
That woman was saying some ridiculous things, like I like Tsukushi.
I couldn’t stop laughing when she said that.
What on earth is she talking about?
She doesn’t know anything about me.
“Anyway, now that it’s decided, I’ll go to Tsukushi’s house later. His study materials were helpful, so maybe I’ll be a little nice to him? Kyahaha.”
It’s better to go at night.
Dinner will be served too.
I’ve always liked the food Tsukushi’s mom makes.
If I said it was bad, he’d look shocked, so I always lied to Tsukushi just to see that face.
It’s his fault for making such a mockable face.
I was excited for this rare treat.
Little did I know that despair awaited me.
In fact, I had no idea at the time that there had been significant scoring errors in Japanese and English, and that the total score had been calculated incorrectly.
◇
【Post-test notes, like an afterword】
Tsukushi: Japanese 92, Math 100, English 96, Total 288/300 points
Nagisa: Japanese 94, Math 92, English 88, Total 274/300 points
Takagi: Japanese 83, Math 91, English 97, Total 271/300 points
Reisa: Japanese 61, Math 74, English 74, Total 209/300 points
Kako: Japanese 38, Math 62, English 28, Total 128/300 points
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