"How does the phloem of a plant differ from the xylem?"
The question mocked Joey as he read it again for the third time. C'mon brain, help me out here, he thought. It's the last one; you know this! We studied last night!
Joey sighed in frustration as he combed his fingers through his thick, golden locks of hair. He read over the answers one by one, looking back at the taunting question after each one. When in doubt, go with the longest choice. He selected "B", which was the longest answer, and set down his pencil, relieved to have finished. Flipping over the paper, Joey looked around the room. Dazzling light streamed in from the windows, giving the room less of a prison feeling. The classroom was flooded with silence, with the exception of the air conditioning up above. Most of the other students in his class were already finished, but that was something he had gotten used to. Biology wasn't his best subject anyway.
Joey slid his chair back and craned his neck around to find one of his best friends - Yugi. The young boy with wild, tri-colored hair was finished, just as Joey had expected. His head was resting on his folded arms across his desk, but at the sight of his treasured pal, he grinned.
"Hey, Yug," Joey whispered.
Yugi waved in reply.
"How do you think the test was?" Joey whispered again.
Yugi only shrugged. He eyed the teacher across the room. She had a brow raised in their direction.
"What do you-?" Joey tried to continue, but was cut off.
"Mr. Wheeler!" The teacher stated loudly, catching everyone's attention.
The blonde turned slowly, knowing he had been caught. He tucked his lips in his mouth as her enraged eyes bore into his.
"Why are you talking? There are people still taking a test." She scorned.
"Eh, sorry, Miss." He rubbed the back of his head and turned back to his test.
The woman shook her head in disappointment. "How inconsiderate." She muttered to herself. Her glasses glowed with the light of the computer screen in front of her, but her venomous eyes kept watch over Joey.
Joey propped his head on his hand, waiting for all the class to be finished. He didn't turn to Yugi; instead, he quietly brought out a sheet of paper and grabbed his pencil. He scribbled something down, often checking for the teacher's glare. He folded the paper in half a few times, leaned back in his chair, and when he was sure no one was looking, casually tossed the folded paper over his shoulder to Yugi.
Surprised, Yugi lifted his head and unfolded the paper. "Man, Miss Muns sure is grouchy today, huh?" he read to himself. He looked over to the woman behind the desk, who was click-clacking away at the keyboard. "Yeah, why do you think that is?" he wrote down. Re-folding the paper, he tapped Joey's shoulder and handed it to him.
Joey unfolded it, checked for Miss Muns' icy glare, and replied. "Well anyone named Miss Muns would probably be grumpy, I guess." He wrote with a sly smirk. As soon as the teacher was finished surveying the class, he tossed the paper back over. Yugi could only read and snicker to himself before the woman called, "Alright, pencils down."
A wave of groans and dropped pencils ran through the room. Murmurs sprouted from several seats as students turned to friends and discussed the test. Miss Muns asked a student to collect the papers, which would go into a machine and be automatically graded within seconds. Meanwhile, Joey turned to Yugi and grinned.
"Joey, that's terrible." Yugi half scorned-half giggled.
"It's true, though!" The blonde smiled to himself proudly.
"Anyway," the shorter one tried to change the subject. "So how do you think you did, Joey?"
"Eh, I winged it on a couple of 'em," he admitted. "But I think I got a… at least an eighty."
"That's not too bad, I guess," Yugi encouraged. He knew that his friend was struggling in this class, so anything above a seventy would send him over the top with felicity. "I thought it was pretty easy."
"You think every test in here is easy." Joey frowned
"Not true. I only got an eighty-nine on the DNA test."
"Only an eighty-nine!" Joey raised a brow.
Yugi chuckled. "Well on this one I think I'm going to get… maybe a ninety, if I'm lucky."
"If he's lucky, he says," Joey mocked playfully. "You've been pretty lucky as of late." He noted, eyeing the Millennium Puzzle held in a chain around Yugi's neck.
The latter held it in both hands. "Well, when you think about it, it's not just me – it's us."
Miss Muns returned with the tests in hand. "You all know the drill. Wheeler, turn back around. Say 'yes' if you want to know your grade, no if you don't." she glanced at the surprised blonde.
"Why does she only target me…?" Joey grumbled.
Miss Muns stood at her desk and called names. "Ms. Chang?"
"Yes." A girl in the class replied.
"Ninety." the woman read aloud. She continued with each student, some cheered, some groaned in detest.
"Alright, callin' it right now," Joey leaned over to Yugi. "It's gonna be… eighty-four."
"Eighty-four?" Yugi repeated.
"Yup, just watch."
The teacher turned to the pals. "…Mr. Wheeler?"
"Yeah!"
"Eighty-four."
"Nailed it!" Joey cheered a little louder than he should have. He turned to a beaming Yugi, who fist-bumped him.
"Way to go!" the boy with tri-colored hair smiled proudly.
The malicious woman continued. "Mr. Moto?" The teacher eyed him.
"Yes." Yugi clenched his fists, hoping for a good score.
Miss Muns did a double-take on his test. "Why, Mr. Moto-!" she gasped.
"Oh no," Joey held his breath with the rest of the class. "What's it gonna be?"
"This is the first one hundred I've had in all my classes!" she announced. "Excellent work!"
Joey frowned and swung his head back at his friend. "I hate you." He growled with a strand of teasing.
Yugi could only smile sheepishly and rub the back of his head as murmurs from the other students washed over the room.