The corridors buzzed again, but not with the usual chaos of feet and chatter.
Instead, there was a tight, expectant silence in the air—as if the walls themselves were holding their breath.
After a week of grueling exams, with sleepless nights, skipped meals, and bleary-eyed mornings, the entire third-year class was summoned to the auditorium.
The Results Board was pinned up at the front like a silent judgment altar.
Whispers built like static in the room.
"Do you think they'll separate the exam and project scores?"
"They said they're being released together this time."
"Ugh, kill me now."
"I swear, if I don't pass math—"
At the front, Ms. Nishida adjusted her glasses and cleared her throat. Everyone fell silent instantly.
"Results have been compiled," she began. "Both academic exams and your collaborative project scores. Together, they form your final standing for this term."
The murmurs started again, too loud to suppress.
Ms. Nishida tapped her clipboard once. "The top scorers will be recognized. Group scores will reflect individual contribution, based on peer assessments, attendance, and initiative."
"Whoa, so the project did matter," Will Ethan whispered to Kenji Suguru.
"Told you," Kenji muttered. "That's why I threatened to duct-tape you to your chair until we finished."
"Romantic," Will said, grinning.
Names flashed across the board, scrolling alphabetically. First were the individual rankings:
Top 5 Academic Scores:
1. Yuuji Aikawa – 98.5%
2. Ren Sakamoto – 96.7%
3. Kenji Suguru – 94.8%
4. Ian Moore – 94.0%
5. Minji Park – 92.9%
Gasps and applause broke out, mixed with claps and surprised exclamations.
Rio leaned toward Ian. "You didn't even study the last day."
"I did. While you were snoring into my hoodie," Ian said dryly.
Yuuji, from the front row, sat still—but his lips twitched into a rare smile. He turned to Ren beside him. "You did it."
Ren blinked at his own name. "I… thought I bombed math."
"You stress over everything," Yuuji said quietly. "But you're brilliant."
Ren's cheeks flushed. "Coming from the genius of the century, that's rich."
Then came the project rankings.
Best Project Group: "The Perfectionists"
Yuuji Aikawa
Ren Sakamoto
Ian Moore
Rio Wilson
Kenji Suguru
Will Ethan
Second Place: "Team Chronos"
Sayo Takeda
Hiro Aoyama
Makoto Chiba
Ayaka Kinoshita
Emiko Tanaka
Riku Honda
Third Place: "The Conceptors"
Minji Park
Sakura Fujimoto
Kai Murata
Arata Nishimura
Nari Ueno
Daichi Kobayashi
Applause thundered through the room, with some reluctant claps from the more competitive students.
Ren stared in disbelief. "We got first place?"
"Of course we did," Ian said smugly.
"Don't act like you didn't almost punch me halfway through that coding segment," Rio said.
"You kept drawing unicorns in the margins of the slides," Ian shot back.
"They were conceptual metaphors!"
Kenji rolled his eyes. "I'm glad I had the foresight to reformat everything. You're all children."
Will laughed. "But successful children."
Ms. Nishida raised her voice once more. "Those in the top five will have opportunities to apply for early university endorsements. Project leads may include this achievement in their portfolios. Guidance counselors will be contacting your guardians."
A murmur of awe rolled over the group.
"Free endorsements?" someone gasped.
"Portfolio credit? We're actual adults now," another muttered in disbelief.
Yuuji looked at Ren again. "Told you your talent would matter."
Ren smiled shyly. "Still can't believe it. Our work… got recognized."
"Because it was ours," Yuuji said softly. "And because you stopped hiding behind hesitation."
Meanwhile, Ian and Rio bumped shoulders lightly.
"See?" Rio said. "We were good together."
"Better than I expected," Ian muttered.
"You mean you didn't think I had project leader material?" Rio feigned hurt.
"I thought you had 'spontaneous disaster' energy," Ian replied.
"But a charming disaster," Rio winked.
At the back of the auditorium, Kenji crossed his arms. "I suppose this means you were right," he muttered to Will.
"Obviously," Will said. "So… when do I get a reward?"
Kenji raised a brow. "The reward is I didn't murder you halfway through the final edits."
"Hot."
Kenji blushed. "You're ridiculous."
---
As students began dispersing, results in hand, the hallway outside was flooded with buzz, joy, relief—and a touch of melancholy.
Yuuji and Ren lagged behind the others.
"Feels weird," Ren said. "Like… we're walking toward the end now."
"Maybe," Yuuji replied. "But maybe it's just the beginning."
Ren looked at him sideways. "You're too poetic sometimes."
"You love that about me."
"…Yeah," Ren whispered. "I really do."