The day had finally come. Monday morning: the day of the test. The day of the bet.
Ayano had been studying as hard as she could, but unfortunately had been quite distracted by events that had transpired the prior Saturday. One particular event especially.
Ayano had woken up early this morning to get extra studying in, despite staying up late the night before, but couldn't stay focused on the task at hand.
Ayano hadn't had any contact with Kyouko since the incident and her heart started pounding every 3 minutes. At first, Ayano thought the obvious response would be to show Kyouko her reciprocated feelings, but due to her disbelief, she started over-thinking the situation. What if Kyouko meant love in a really fond way, like a sibling, or close friend? Or maybe she was just teasing her like Kyouko always liked to do with friends. Yet the seriousness of the discussion they had shared and Kyouko's voice told her otherwise. Unlike usual, Ayano was dreading to face Kyouko today at school.
Noticing the time, Ayano packed her books and started to get ready for school. She left home and almost ignored Chitose on her way to school.
"Ayano-chan! What's wrong? Is it something to do with Kyouko?"
"Hmm? Oh sorry Chitose-chan I was jus- Ahh! What's wrong Chitose?"
Chitose was already bleeding, her glasses taken off.
"Go on without me! If I'm going to die, at least I saw a glimpse of heaven." said Chitose kneeling over.
"C'mon pull yourself together; we're going to be late."
The two girls arrived at school not a minute too early. They managed to sit down before the bell rang.
Ayano was breathing sighs of relief when she realized that sitting right behind her was Toshinou Kyouko. What was she going to do if Kyouko tried to talk to her about the weekend? She had been thinking about it constantly ever since it happened, but had still not come to a decision on what she would do if confronted.
Fortunately Kyouko seemed to be keeping quiet during class. Foolishly, Ayano decided to take a peek back at Kyouko. Kyouko's attention was not focused on her book, nor the teacher, but on Ayano. She gave a look of surprise when Ayano's eyes met her's, but quickly changed it into a casual smile. Ayano whipped her head back forward, in a most conspicuous way.
Once class was dismissed, Ayano bolted out of the classroom, not even giving Kyouko a chance to talk to her, even if she wanted to. Ayano made her way to the Student Council room and took some pudding from the fridge to calm herself down.
It was funny. Ayano had always gone crushing on Kyouko, but even though her chances of rejection were significantly lower, she was more scared than ever of Kyouko finding out.
The bell rang, forcing Ayano to put her half-eaten pudding in the fridge. She got up to move on to her next class when a sudden realization made her heart skip a beat. It was finally time to write the test.
Ayano took her seat feeling the panic spread. She ran through her mind reviewing the subjects she had studied, but it felt hazy and most of her memories were of her freaking out thinking about Kyouko.
Kyouko walked through the door and before her taking her seat brushed Ayano's ear with her lip and whispered, "Good luck" arousing her slightly.
The class started and the test began shortly after. For whatever reason, Ayano decided she could not lose here. However, Ayano found herself struggling much more than she expected. Each question was difficult and for lots of the questions she had to use critical thinking to come up with an answer. The further she got into the test, the more she doubted herself.
She finished the test and double checked her answers, though it didn't help much considering how unsure she was. She felt a sting in her eyes and the bitter feeling of defeat. She got up miserably, to hand her test to the teacher, and when she sat back down the smug look on Kyouko's face did not help.
She waited patiently in her desk, very aware (like most days) how close Kyouko was to her. Being a short test, the teacher marked them during class. Finally, after painful minutes of waiting, the teacher announced he had marked the test.
He went around the class handing out the tests. Ayano sat straight up anxiously, while Kyouko leaned back with a dopey grin on her face.
Feeling all her nerves squeeze on her as the teacher walked by, Ayano felt a jolt of shock as the teacher handed her the test and commented "excellent job as usual, Ayano"
Ravenously, Ayano took her test to behold a big red "30/30" printed on her test. Relief enveloped Ayano, as she stared at the mark. Excitedly she swivelled around to face Kyouko.
"I did it! I got 100%! The rules were if you got a higher mark on the test you win, but I got one-hundred!"
"Good job Ayano" applauded Kyouko, her face unchanging.
Something about her grin unnerved Ayano, but she was in the clear, right?
The teacher came back around and dropped off Kyouko's test. Kyouko didn't even bother to touch it. In front of Ayano sat Kyouko's test emblazoned with a "31/30"
"How? That's impossible" gasped Ayano, dread taking over.
"Sorry Ayano, but there was no way I was going to lose this competition. It took a lot of begging and a few chores, but I managed to grovel a bonus mark off the teacher before hand." said Kyouko smirking, clearly proud.
It was so unfair. Of course, why did Ayano expect Kyouko to play with no tricks. She may complain, but there was no actual cheating that took place. Ayano could just stare in disbelief until finally the bell rang.
"Well, that's our cue. Come on, let's go find somewhere private" said Kyouko who was by now elated.
Seeing no way out of it Ayano started to walk to the Student Council room, still partly in shock.
"C'mon there's usually no one in here until after school" said Ayano, opening the door.
To their awe the open door revealed two girls standing very close together. Sakurako and Himawari had their bodies pressed against each other. Sakurako had her arms clasped around Himawari's shoulders and her right leg was wrapped around Himawari's lower body.
In an awkward moment the two girls shrieked and jumped across the room apart from each other.
"Oh, sorry Kaichou-san. We were just, umm fighting. Haha"
Ayano closed the door wordlessly and started to walk away.
"I know let's go to the roof!" said Kyouko, excitedly.
Taking her suggestion Ayano changed her route and headed for the stairs.
"Kyouko-chan!" came a shout from down the hall. Out of thin air popped Akarin who said "Hey Kyouko, how's it going? I've got a hilarious story to tell you about the fight Himawari and Sakurako had this morning. I guess they'll never change."
"I wouldn't count on that" said Kyouko, obviously in a hurry. "Anyways Akarin I'm kind of busy right now so maybe some other time-"
"Oh I get it" said Akari, looking at Ayano as realization dawned on her face. Then, turning to Kyouko, with a grin on her face, she mouthed the words, "Good luck" trying to be discreet although it was plain as day.
With that, the girls continued on once again and the dread started to come back. Why was Ayano getting so worked up? Kyouko confessed right? Maybe. So there shouldn't be anything to worry about. But Ayano didn't want to lose Kyouko as a friend. Her life now felt too valuable to sacrifice.
Finally, the girls emerged through the dull, grey doors and out under the blue sky with an occasional white cloud. The season matched the temperature today and the girls noticed the chill.
Trying to think of a way out of it in a last ditch attempt, Ayano looked around until Kyouko finally said "Whenever you're ready"
Ayano took a few deep breaths and felt the nerves pile up when she noticed Kyouko biting her lower lip. There was a peculiar expression on her face Ayano had never seen before. Then she realized it was apprehension.
Ayano realized how silly she had been. Of course that had been a confession Kyouko gave her, and now here she was waiting for the girl she liked to tell her who she liked. Ayano realized that it must be even more nerve wracking than confessing to the person you like, and immediately felt a strong sense of guilt.
How long had Kyouko been dealing with this for? Ayano should have given a response the moment Kyouko confessed instead of running away from it. After all, this was supposed to be the girl she was in love with, yet Ayano had left her in pain.
Ayano realized now, that for Kyouko's sake, she had to be honest to her heart. She had always been wishing she could, but never even tried. Now she had to do it for the person she loved. Ayano realized that she was ready for a change.
So without further hesitation Ayano gathered more courage than she ever had before and without realizing it started shouting "Kyouko! I am in love with you! I've loved you for over two years since the day we met! And I-"
Ayano was cut off by Kyouko's soft embrace. Kyouko rested her head on Ayano's shoulder, burying her face and the warmth of her body lessened the chill of the air, along with the blood rushing to Ayano's cheeks.
"Is it okay for me to hug you like this?" asked Kyouko, her voice muffled.
"O-of course" stuttered Ayano, feeling happiness stockpiling, ready to burst out her chest. To her surprise, Ayano started to feel tears on her shoulder. Kyouko's emotions affected Ayano and she started to feel her own tears of joy dampen her eyes, but she dare not let them fall.
"Ayano? I'm going to tell you I love you every day. All right?"
"Of course" Ayano repeated, gripping Kyouko in her own arms. "I love you."