"95?" An astonished Layla pointed out, still in disbelief. A proud Yuna sat triumphantly with her legs crossed, a smug smile on her face.
"And I scored 49," a disappointed Lucy said, shaking her head. "I was hoping that at least Yuna and I would get the lowest score."
Yuna had never been the brightest when it came to biology; in fact, among all her subjects, biology was the only one that was lacking. Otherwise, she would have been among the top 3 of the class.
"Hey! Yuna, what did you choose for number 34?" Ana asked, holding her pen in one hand and her practice book in the other, ready to take notes on some corrections.
"Ermm..." Yuna was struggling to remember the question. "What was the question again?" Ana showed her the question on her practice book, and Yuna read it carefully. With her index finger, she pointed out the answer she had chosen.
"C?" Ana queried in confusion unable to accept it as the correct answer
"That can't be the answer; it's what I chose." Rachel corrected, "Maybe I got that wrong," Yuna said, realizing she hadn't gotten full marks and could have gotten that one wrong.
"You're probably right, even after making some research I still couldn't get it" Ana seconds
"No..." Kae, who had been checking through Yuna's practice book, cut in. "You got it right, and you chose A, not C."
"Really? Let me see" Kae handed Yuna's practice book back to her. Yuna, who had been sure of what she had chosen, looked at her own workbook in confusion.
As she looked through her workbook, Yuna's expression changed from pride to shock and finally to guilt. She knew she hadn't done it alone, and the evidence was right in front of her. Someone had helped her, and she had a pretty good idea who it was. The realization hit her like a ton of bricks, and she felt her face flush with guilt.
She had been so focused on her own pride and embarrassment that she hadn't even had the chance to reflect on her little recent and impactful behavior. Now, she couldn't ignore the truth any longer.
- - -
As the school closed, everyone packed up their belongings and headed home. Yuna, however, stayed behind with Kae at the library, determined to get some homework done.
Kae eventually left, bidding Yuna farewell as she went.
"Bye," she said, closing the door behind her. Yuna remained, lost in her books and thoughts.
After a while, Yuna decided to call it a day and packed up her things. Walking towards the school gates, her mind began to wander. She couldn't shake off the feeling of guilt that had been nagging her since her encounter with Kaida earlier that day.
"Was I too harsh?" she thought to herself, regretting her actions.
As she approached the school gates, a pen rolled out from nowhere and stopped at her feet. Yuna looked down, puzzled, wondering where it came from. That's when she heard a faint voice behind her.