A sudden pop quiz can knock some people quite off-balance.

When the teacher sounded that declaration of war, a certain red-haired idiot mumbled something about how it wasn't fair that he had just stayed up all night cramming his math assignments, and he'd hoped not to have to see that monster's face again for a while.

He'd forgotten that the one tasked with 'raising' the monster could be just as scary.

"Sieghart!"

"Y-y-yes sir!"

"You waited until Thursday night to start on something I assigned on Monday?" A killer glint reflected off the teacher's glasses, suggesting that he'd better receive a good answer.

"Y-yes sir… b-ut I finished all fifteen pages of it! I'll still have turned it all in on time!" He attempted an oblivious kind of smile, the only kind you can really put on when facing someone aiming a killer glint at you. The kind that never works because everyone knows you can't smile at a math teacher. Suddenly he noticed that everyone was staring at him.

Even his teacher seemed taken aback. "All fifteen …?"

A derisive laugh ended the awkward silence. "Kheheh… you red-haired dolt, you knew that those fifteen pages are due next Friday, right?"

"…?!"

"Kim, I will tolerate no verbal abuse in my class."

"What? But he's really an idiot, so-" He froze as that killer glint switched targets.

"Kim… I can lower your grade to an A minus… I am sure there will be no more of that?"

"Y-y-yes sir!"


Thankfully, that class was the last one of the day. Everyone gathered up their belongings and slowly drifted away in little groups, while conversations drifted around like the autumn leaves that had left the trees empty. Meanwhile, that red-haired idiot was lying face-down across the top his desk.

"Ahhh, that was exhausting."

"Heh, the plebeian complains after he screws himself up? How amusing."

"Shut up! You made me look like an idiot in front of the entire class!"

"They all know you're an idiot anyways, so it should be fine, right?"

As the two high school students continued their childish bickering with each other, another of their classmates skipped over, schoolbag already packed, and ready to head home.

"Haha, Add is as honest as ever, hm~?"

The white-haired boy glanced beside him, and immediately froze. Ara was, by Add's opinion, one of the cutest girls he knew. The thought had flashed through his head that not even any 2D girl could stand up to her, immediately followed by, I actually just thought that? Am I that much of an otaku?!

At the moment, with her hands clasped behind her back, a mind-jumbling, heart-melting smile on her face, head slightly tilted, she looked impossibly pretty in the afternoon sun coming in the wide classroom windows. It was a sight that could tip your composure like a heavy vase off a high shelf.

Add was so preoccupied with fumbling to catch the vase before it shattered, that he failed to even say hello.

"Ara, I don't understand. Why is someone as nice as you friends with a jerk like him?"

"Hmm? Maybe because… Add's actually a nice person too?"

"What? You think he's nice?! Wait, don't tell me you've fallen for him!"

By now, Add had put the proverbial vase back in its proper place, but at that last statement he had to grab on to it to stop it from tilting again.

Crap, I hope Ara doesn't say something awkward. This would be a really bad moment for a first confession scene and I'd want something more romantic than a classroom setting! He stood up, putting his fingers to his forehead and feigning apathy.

"Heheh, I'll take that compliment from you, Ara, but even if you hold feelings for me, the only things I'm interested in are my grades!"

"Hey, Mr. Oh-So-Smart, you realize that everyone was laughing at you because you looked so frightened when the teacher threatened you with an A minus, right?"

"H-heh, well-" Even if it came from the red-haired idiot, a good point was hard to argue against, and while Add made a futile attempt to respond, Ara innocently compounded on his plight.

"Haha, I thought that was pretty funny too! Add usually have gone on mouthing off, but our teacher really is smart!"

"Ah, darn you two," he muttered, pointing a finger at the fiery plebian. "Well then, how many of the questions did you get right on that pop quiz?"

"…Well, nowhere close to yours, of course, but I think I did pretty well. I managed to get 72% even though I barely slept last night."

"I-I got a 68%… But numbers are really confusing, you know! Especially when there are letters mixed in the numbers too! Anyway, you've made me curious now, so tell us what you got!"

"Darn it Ara, that's exactly what he wanted you to say." muttered the third member of their conversation.

Add, brushing aside the thought of, she's really cute when she's flustered, too, dramatically reached for one end of the sheet of paper face-down on his desk.

"Kheheheheh… Well, I didn't do as well as I'd wanted, but even a genius is only human …" With a triumphant "Hah!" he drew up the sheet in a flourish and presented it to the two, then drew himself up, awaiting the expressions of awe that were sure to follow after the stunned silence.

But first, a rather puzzled silence ensued. Not that Add could tell, since one type of silence sounds rather similar to any another type of silence. A self-appreciating smile remained on his face.

On the bottom left of the page was a large, red, number 66.

Ara tentatively put her hand up and pointed at the sheet.

"Um, Add?"

"Khehehe… yes?"

"You're holding it upside down."

"What?!"

At this, the red-haired idiot could hold it in no longer, and burst out in laughter.