An hour went by, and Yuki was losing it. The hallway was still a zoo, with students swarming the results board like it was a free concert. But Yuki was playing hide-and-seek with her anxiety, chilling in the shadows. To cope, she'd found the vending machine, and it was getting *worked*. Coins went in, snacks came out. It was her go-to stress reliever: vending machine therapy. A whole graveyard of empty chip bags, cookie wrappers, and even a lonely iced tea can was growing at her feet.
"Okay, okay," Yuki mumbled, looking at the snack pile. "Just a little longer, then I'll face the music. Breathe, Yuki. Just breathe. Maybe one more pack of Pocky for good luck?"
She took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart, and peeked at the board again. Still too many people, way too loud. Her stomach did a flip, reminding her this wasn't her scene. She didn't belong in this spotlight, this social rollercoaster.
Finally, after what felt like forever stuck in snack limbo, the crowd started to thin out. A gap appeared, like a path opening up. Yuki saw her chance.
She walked to the board carefully, her heart pounding like a drum solo. The names on the list were blurry at first, just a bunch of letters. But then, her eyes landed on something at the very top.
"Yuki Hageshi."
*Wait.* Yuki Hageshi?
She got a jolt of adrenaline and read it again, making sure she wasn't seeing things. The name was *exactly* hers. No way it was a coincidence. Could it actually be…?
With a mix of shock and pure hype, Yuki checked again, tracing the letters with her finger. It wasn't just *any* Yuki. It was *her*. At the very top. Number one. She actually did it!
"OMG, I'm number one!" she whispered, barely able to believe it. A wave of excitement washed over her, making her forget about being anxious for a sec. Her head was buzzing. She wanted to jump, scream, do a victory dance. But she managed to keep it together (mostly). A huge grin spread across her face as she tried to catch her breath.
Before she could even process what happened, she grabbed her phone. She *had* to tell her mom back in California, ASAP. Her hands were shaking as she dialed, her mind totally hyped.
The phone rang a few times, and Yuki paced back and forth, still staring at the results board like it would disappear. She was so in the zone she didn't even notice the call connecting.
"Mom, Mom!" she whispered to herself while messing with her phone. In her excitement, she accidentally turned on the front camera. The call picked up, and she didn't even look at the screen.
Then, her mom's voice came through the speaker. "Hey, Yuki, how's the first day—OMG, what is *that*? Yuki, what's up with your face?!"
Yuki froze, her eyes widening. *Huh?* She finally looked at her phone. The camera was showing her face from the worst angle: wide eyes, open mouth, a perfect snapshot of shocked disbelief. Her mom started laughing.
"OMG, you look like you just saw a ghost… or maybe you just remembered you have a pop quiz!" her mom teased, still giggling.
Yuki's heart skipped a beat. "No!" she yelled, her face turning red. "I—uh—I wasn't—I mean, it's—!"
She fumbled with her phone, her fingers slipping. She accidentally switched to the back camera, then back to the front, then almost dropped her phone before finally fixing it.
Finally, she was on camera, her face still red but trying to look normal. She sighed. "M-Mom… I'm… I'm number one! I passed the entrance exam… I actually did it!"
Her mom's voice changed, the teasing gone, replaced with pride. "Oh honey, that's amazing! I'm so proud! You're incredible! Just don't burn yourself out, okay? It's gonna be tough."
Yuki nervously chuckled. "Yeah… I know."
After hanging up, Yuki looked at her phone, the excitement fading. She'd made it to the top. But it didn't feel like a total win.
The reality hit her hard. Being number one… in a school full of strangers… meant attention. It meant everyone would be watching her. It meant being in the spotlight, which was her worst nightmare. The pressure of being the top student, of being *seen* by everyone, felt like it would swallow her whole.
This was *so* not the life of a hikikomori, or a secretly famous Vtuber who just wanted to chill online.
For the first time since seeing her name at the top, she wished she could just disappear, go back to her room where she could be *Yuki* online, not Yuki Hageshi, the unexpected academic star. Her new reality was scary AF, a challenge she wasn't sure she was ready to face.