The next day dawned much like the one before—calm, serene, and with no hint of the impending storm. The sun peeked through the curtains, casting a warm glow over my room, but instead of filling me with the usual comfort, it only served to remind me of the ordeal that lay ahead: the second day of exams, and the dreaded subject of math.
As I made my way to school, the anxiety that had been a dull hum the day before now throbbed like a drumbeat in my chest. Math had always been a tricky subject for me. I could handle most of it, but there were always those few questions that seemed to exist just to make my life miserable. And from the way everyone else was acting that morning, I wasn't the only one feeling the pressure.
When I arrived at school, the usual pre-exam chatter was subdued, and a heavy silence hung over the classroom as students reviewed their notes one last time. The carefree attitude from yesterday was gone, replaced by a collective dread. Even Aizen, usually so confident in his math skills, looked a bit on edge.
"Morning," he muttered as he slid into the seat next to me. He was clutching his math notes like they were a lifeline.
"Morning," I replied, trying to muster up some enthusiasm, but it came out flat.
Heart and Jillian were already at their desks, deep in their books. Asher, who had arrived a few minutes earlier, was pacing back and forth in front of his desk, muttering formulas under his breath. The usual grin was missing from his face, replaced by a look of intense concentration.
"I hate math," he declared suddenly, stopping in front of us. "Why does it have to be so… complicated?"
"You and me both," I said with a sigh. "But complaining isn't going to make it go away."
"True," Heart said, looking up from her notes. "We just have to get through it. We've survived exams before, we can survive this one too."
Aizen nodded, though he still looked worried. "Yeah, we'll get through it. Just gotta stay calm and focus."
Easier said than done, I thought as I glanced at the clock. The exam was starting in less than ten minutes, and I already felt like my brain was short-circuiting.
As the teacher walked in, the tension in the room spiked. We all scrambled to our seats, clutching our pens and pencils like they were weapons in a battle. The teacher began handing out the exam papers, and as soon as one landed in front of me, I felt the chill from the day before return.
I took a deep breath and flipped the paper over. The first few questions weren't too bad—basic algebra and geometry that I could handle. But as I progressed through the exam, the problems became increasingly complex, each one more twisted than the last.
I could hear the occasional groan from around the room, a sure sign that others were struggling too. Every so often, someone would let out an exasperated sigh or mutter under their breath, clearly frustrated by the difficulty of the exam.
About twenty minutes in, I hit a question that made my brain freeze. It was a particularly nasty problem involving trigonometry, something I had never fully grasped. I stared at it, trying to make sense of the jumble of numbers and angles, but it felt like I was trying to decipher a foreign language.
"Come on, think," I urged myself, tapping my pencil against the desk. But no matter how hard I tried, the solution remained just out of reach. Panic began to set in as the minutes ticked by, and I hadn't even started on the next question yet.
I glanced over at Aizen, who was frowning at his paper. His pencil moved quickly, but there was a slight hesitation in his movements that told me he was struggling too. That was unsettling—Aizen was our math whiz, the one who usually breezed through these exams without breaking a sweat. If even he was having trouble, what chance did the rest of us have?
Heart was sitting next to him, her face scrunched up in concentration as she worked through a problem. Jillian, on the other hand, looked almost serene, though I knew that was just her usual calm exterior hiding the stress underneath.
Asher, who had somehow managed to snag the seat near the fan again, was scribbling furiously, his brow furrowed in determination. But every now and then, he'd stop, stare at his paper, and shake his head as if trying to banish the confusion.
"Focus, focus," I muttered to myself, trying to pull my attention back to the problem at hand. I scribbled down a few notes, hoping something would click, but it was no use. The numbers swam before my eyes, taunting me with their refusal to make sense.
The rest of the exam passed in a blur of frustration and desperation. I managed to answer most of the questions, but there were several that I had to guess on, and I knew my answers were far from confident. The hardest part was trying to keep my panic in check, to push through the overwhelming urge to just give up and leave the paper blank.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the teacher called time. There was an audible groan of relief from the class as everyone put down their pens, exhausted and drained from the mental exertion. I could feel the tension melting away, but it was replaced by a heavy sense of dread. I had no idea how I'd done, but it certainly didn't feel good.
As the teacher collected the papers, Asher leaned back in his chair, rubbing his temples. "Well, that was awful," he said flatly. "I'm pretty sure I got half of those questions wrong."
"Join the club," I replied, feeling equally defeated. "That trigonometry question? Yeah, I'm pretty sure I bombed it."
Aizen shook his head, his expression grim. "It wasn't just you. That was one of the hardest math exams I've ever taken."
Heart, who was usually so optimistic, sighed heavily. "I don't even want to think about it. Let's just hope for the best."
Jillian, who had finished early and was now packing up her things, looked around at us with a small, sympathetic smile. "I'm sure you all did better than you think. Sometimes it feels worse than it actually is."
"Let's hope so," Aizen muttered, but his tone didn't sound convinced.
The atmosphere in the room as we left was markedly different from the day before. There was no laughter, no joking about how we'd survived. Instead, we all filed out quietly, lost in our thoughts. The only consolation was that the worst was over—for now, at least.
As we walked to the cafeteria, the mood slowly began to lighten. The fresh air outside helped clear my head, and I could see some of the tension easing from the others as well.
"I think I need a week off after that," Asher said, trying to inject some humor into the situation. "Or maybe a month. That was brutal."
"Agreed," Heart said, her smile returning. "But at least we're done with math. The rest of the exams should be easier."
"Here's hoping," I replied, feeling a small flicker of hope.
We grabbed our food and found our usual spot by the window. The sunlight streaming in was warm and comforting, a stark contrast to the stress we'd just endured. As we ate, the conversation gradually shifted away from the exam and toward lighter topics—weekend plans, upcoming events, and the latest gossip.
Aizen, who had been quiet for most of the meal, finally spoke up. "You know, even though that was tough, I'm glad we're all in this together. It makes it easier to handle."
Heart nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I couldn't have gotten through that without knowing you guys were struggling just as much as I was."
Jillian smiled at us, her usual calm and collected demeanor back in place. "We'll get through the rest of the exams too. Just a few more days, and then we can relax."
"Right," I said, feeling a bit more confident now. "We've just got to push through, and then we can forget about all of this for a while."
As we finished our lunch and prepared to head to our next classes, the weight of the math exam slowly began to lift. We still had other exams to worry about, but the camaraderie we shared made the load a little easier to bear.
By the time the day was over, the morning's nightmare had faded into the background. We knew that math would still be waiting for us when the results came in, but for now, we were content to focus on the present, to enjoy the moments of peace and friendship that helped us get through even the toughest challenges.
As I lay in bed that night, the anxiety from earlier had dulled to a manageable level. The math exam was behind me, and tomorrow was a new day. Whatever challenges it brought, I knew I could face them with my friends by my side.
And that, I realized as I drifted off to sleep, was what made it all worthwhile. We might not have all the answers, and we might struggle through some exams, but as long as we stuck together, we could get through anything.