The train to school was packed, and in the women-only car, Ebina Nana was squished chest to back with others, swaying constantly with the train's movement.
This typical scene of daily life in Tokyo made Ebina Nana miss her hometown of Akita.
In a city with only 300,000 people, you'd never experience this kind of crowding.
Even though she'd been in Tokyo for nearly a year, she still hadn't gotten used to it.
I don't know how Umaru manages this every day...
Ebina Nana turned to look at her best friend beside her.
The girl had waist-length hair, doll-like features, large eyes with long lashes, and fair, rosy skin—a textbook beauty.
She held onto the overhead ring with one hand and read with the other, her profile so beautiful it looked like a painting.
Umaru is seriously stunning...
No matter how many times she looked at her, Ebina Nana was still in awe of her friend's beauty.
And it wasn't just looks—she was also a top student, good at sports, kind, talented in every way—an absolutely flawless high school beauty.
How could one person be this perfect?
Ebina Nana couldn't understand it.
What baffled Ebina Nana even more was how some boys could have such a perfect girl in their life and still not be satisfied—going out and fooling around.
Thinking about the trending news she saw before bed, Ebina Nana couldn't help but feel indignant on her friend's behalf.
"Yotsuya Station, arriving at Yotsuya Station."
Ebina Nana mustered her courage and spoke up. The train had arrived.
Umaru stuffed the workbook of mistakes that Doma Taihei had compiled into her backpack and stepped out of the train car.
Ebina's courage instantly vanished as she followed Umaru out.
Pushing their way out of the crowded train and stepping onto the platform, the two of them barely had time to breathe before a wave of heat rushed over them.
Though it was already late August, the weather was still scorching, with no sign of autumn at all.
Even in the morning, just moving a little more vigorously made their bodies uncomfortably hot.
After tapping their cards and exiting the gate, Umaru smiled and turned her head to Ebina.
"The six-school joint exams are coming soon. How are you planning to prepare, Ebina?"
"Ugh, I think I might fail this time."
The mention of academics made Ebina whimper like a puppy, her back slumping.
Her grades weren't terrible exactly—just kind of bad.
If she didn't study at all, bad grades would be expected.
But she had been working hard—yet her results were still mediocre, often even failing. That frustrated her deeply and made her doubt if she was even cut out for academics.
"Don't worry, just do your best. I believe you'll pass," Umaru gently reassured her.
"B-but this time, the test papers are being written by teachers from all six schools!"
Ebina's voice quivered with a hint of tears.
When she first heard that news, she felt like the heavens were abandoning her.
Each school had different teaching progress, quality, and content.
If all the schools were really on the same academic level, parents wouldn't be spending so much money sending their kids to private schools.
Take Aoba and Shuchiin for example—their first-year students were already on par with second-year students at Arayata High.
Just a few days ago, their teacher had borrowed a past Aoba monthly test paper and handed it out as practice.
No exaggeration—Ebina felt like she was reading an alien language. She couldn't understand a thing.
"Aoba and Shuchiin's papers are definitely hard," Umaru also smiled bitterly.
She had done that paper too.
She still scored full marks—but it had taken a lot out of her this time.
There were several questions she even struggled with.
To get a high score, she had stopped playing games entirely and dedicated all her time to studying.
This had made Doma Taihei start wondering if Umaru had been body-snatched.
"I should just prepare myself to fail."
Ebina sighed in defeat.
At this point, she had stopped hoping to pass at all.
The two girls chatted as they walked to the school gate.
Passing under the tall oak trees, they could hear the sports clubs shouting from the field.
As Umaru walked by, her eyes met those of Izuno Ren, who was jogging around the track.
He quickly looked away.
It was already embarrassing enough that the girl he confessed to had run off with another guy.
To make it worse, his team had been knocked out of the tournament by that same love rival.
And right before the crucial match, he had even declared he'd "teach Takashi a lesson."
Now Izuno Ren had no face left to show Umaru.
He'd even asked his father to help him transfer classes just to avoid her.
Though honestly, he didn't have to go that far.
Because Umaru really didn't care about him.
"She's gone, stop hiding."
One of Ren's teammates gave him a look and glanced toward Umaru. He understood everything.
"What am I hiding from?"
Izuno Ren glared at him and kept running.
But his gaze still involuntarily followed Umaru's retreating figure.
"Still not over her, huh?"
His teammate ran beside him.
Ren said nothing and just kept running.
The truth was—he wasn't over her.
Umaru was his first crush when he was young.
How could it be that easy to forget?
"I heard Takashi got a new girlfriend. Doma-san might be single now."
"What's that got to do with me?!"
Ren suddenly sped up and left his teammate in the dust.
Seeing Ren like that, the teammate just chuckled.
He's clearly itching inside but still pretending he doesn't care.
At the shoe lockers, after changing into their indoor shoes, Umaru and Ebina Nana arrived at their classroom door.
Dozens of eyes silently turned to look at them. The classroom went dead quiet. The whispers between classmates instantly stopped.
Umaru felt the stares around her were… strange.
There was sympathy. Outrage. Pity.
"What's going on with everyone?"
Umaru instinctively touched the area around her eyes, wondering if staying up late had given her dark circles.
Everyone glanced at one another but said nothing.
"Sylphynford-san, did something happen?"
Umaru asked Tachibana Sylphynford.
She knew Sylphynford couldn't keep a secret. If she asked, Sylphynford would definitely spill.
Sylphynford looked conflicted.
Umaru quietly waited.
After an intense inner struggle, Sylphynford glanced at her and said, "Doma-san… Takashi has a girlfriend now. Did you know?"
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