Hey guys! Here's Chapter 3 of "March Paper Delivery"! I hope you'll all enjoy it! This is one of my very, very favorite chapters!

I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed the last update. I know it's been much too long since I updated the story, but I'm really happy to be back with it.

Anyway, enough of my ramblings! Let's get on with the story!

May Entrance Exams

"Summer's almost here!" Yahiko grinned as he rode his bike home from school. It was a warm day in the middle of May, and Yahiko was more then happy that summer vacation was less then a month away. "I can't wait until I can do nothing except sit on the couch and watch TV!"

"Hey Yahiko!"

Yahiko looked up to see none other then Kaoru and Misao walking down the sidewalk, both carrying books. Kaoru's nose was dug into hers, but Misao was busier with her ice cream cone. "Yahiko, school just got out?" Misao asked, smiling.

"Uh huh," Yahiko nodded, grinning. "What are you doing here Misao?"

"I told Kaoru we should go out for ice cream," Misao told Yahiko. "But Kaoru's all stressed about finals coming up. So we took our books."

"Finals?" Yahiko asked. "Good thing my school doesn't have those!"

"Yeah, you damn elementary schoolers don't have final exams!" Misao growled. "Gaah! It makes me wanna scream, you know that?"

"Heh, sorry Misao!" Yahiko stuck out his tongue. "It's good to be young!"

"ARE YOU IMPLYING THAT I'M OLD?" Misao and Yahiko were no entangled in a fight, and Kaoru was forced to come out of her book.

"Misao! Yahiko! Stop fighting!" she said, grabbing Misao away from Yahiko. "You'll only hurt yourselves in the gutter."

"I'm not a kid anymore, Kaoru," Yahiko growled. "Don't talk about me like I'm a little boy. The weasel girl is a different story though."

"GAAHH! I'M GOING TO GET YOU!"

"Yahiko, be nicer to girls!" Kaoru scolded him, growling herself. "And don't bother me either! I'm studying!"

"Like I said," Yahiko laughed. "Sucks to be you!"

"Don't you have tests coming up too Yahiko?" Kaoru asked. Yahiko looked at her with a confused expression.

"Uhh…no. It's almost summer."

"What about Middle School entrance exams?" Yahiko gulped. He had completely forgotten about those. Kaoru smirked. "Aha! So you do have tests to study for!"

"Oh please," Yahiko scoffed. "I'll just wing it or something."

"Yahiko! Those entrance exams are serious!" Kaoru remarked. "You really have to buckle down and study!"

"What's your first choice, Yahiko?" Misao asked. Yahiko stuck his finger in his ear.

"Uhh…I haven't thought about it Academy."

"This is no time for jokes!" Kaoru frowned. "You haven't picked a school you want to apply to?"

"Why should I?" Yahiko asked. "I'll just go wherever they take me. It's no big deal, right?"

"Yahiko Myojin, this is a BIG deal!"

"Uh oh…" Yahiko was sitting across the dinner table from Tae, who was currently doing her best not to ruin her glass with her forceful grip.

"You've got to pick a school to apply to right away!" Tae told him. "Entrance Exams are coming up in just a few weeks!"

"Today's Friday…" Yahiko whined. "Can't I have a little peace and quiet? I don't need you nagging me."

"YAHIKO!"

"Uhh…yes ma'am!" Yahiko gulped. "I'll pick a school soon, I promise!"

"Good," Tae smiled. "And while you're thinking, you can march right up to your room and start studying for those exams!"

"Man!" Yahiko sighed, looking very put out by Tae's demand. He didn't bother to clear his plate as he ran up the stairs to go and sulk. "Tae's such a slave driver! She knows I hate studying!"

Yahiko sighed. "I'm going to have to think of a school pretty fast…"

It was the next day, and Yahiko still hadn't thought of any school he wanted to apply to. His brainstorming had gone about as well as his studying, which consisted of him playing video games and then turning off the TV and rushing to his desk when Tae came to check up on him. He had learned little that would help him for the entrance exams.

"This sucks," Yahiko remarked, frowning. "Oh well…" It was Saturday, and Yahiko was on his daily paper route. He had delivered all of his papers except for Tsubame's, and he was now heading out towards her house with a smile on his face. "At least I get to see Tsubame!"

A few minutes later, Yahiko pulled up in front of Tsubame's house and walked over to the door. He rang the doorbell, and a few moments later, Tsubame opened the door, a wide smile on her face. "Hello there Yahiko."

"Hey Tsubame," Yahiko smiled as well and sat on the stoop. Tsubame followed him and sat next to him. "So what's going on with you?"

"Oh, I was just studying," Tsubame smiled and Yahiko grimaced.

'Ugh…studying…' he thought to himself. "For entrance exams?" he asked her and she nodded.

"Yes. The school I'm trying for is very competitive, so I have to study extra hard in order to get in," she told him.

"Is it an all girls school?" Yahiko asked and Tsubame shook her head.

"It's a co-ed school. It's public, but it's still competitive when it comes to admission."

"Which school is it?" Yahiko asked.

"Oikawa Middle School," she told him. Yahiko's eyes widened and a little light bulb went off in his head. "Where are you applying, Yahiko?"

"O-Oikawa too!" he told her. "What a coincidence, right?"

"That's great Yahiko!" Tsubame gave a wide smile. "We might be going to same school! Wouldn't that be great?"

"Yeah!" Yahiko nodded. "Umm…I forgot. When are their entrance exams?"

"Two weeks from today," Tsubame told him. "The last Saturday in May."

"Oh…good thing I already started studying!" laughed Yahiko nervously. "That isn't a long time, is it?"

"I've got an idea Yahiko!" Tsubame smiled. "Let's study together! Next Saturday. That is…uhh…i-if you want to…" Tsubame said shyly.

"Oh, I'd love to!" Yahiko told her, smiling. "That would be great Tsubame. It would really help."

"Okay," Tsubame smiled. "Then next Saturday, we'll study together for the entrance exam?"

Yahiko nodded to Tsubame and gave her a wide smile. "It's a promise!"

"How are you doing Yahiko?"

"Umm…fine!"

Next Saturday, after delivering papers, Yahiko had stayed over at Tsubame's house to study in her living room. However, Yahiko found it hard to concentrate on the material in front of him when Tsubame was sitting across from him.

"How about we quiz each other Yahiko?" Tsubame offered and Yahiko looked up.

"Uhh…sure!"

"I've got these questions from the last entrance exam," she said, pulling out a box of flashcards. "We'll take turns asking each other questions, okay?"

"All right," Yahiko said, nodding. "Go ahead."

"Convert the following mixed number into an improper fraction," Tsubame read. "It's 2 ¾ Yahiko."

"Uhh…" Yahiko froze up. "Umm…that's when you add all the numbers right?"

"Not really," Tsubame shook her head. "You multiply the denominator by the whole number and then add the numerator."

"What are those again?" Yahiko asked. Tsubame pushed forward the card and explained.

"The two is the whole number," she told him. "The three is the numerator, and the four is the denominator. You keep the denominator when finding an improper fraction."

"What's an improper fraction again?"

Tsubame smiled. "It's when the numerator is higher then the denominator. Fractions are, by definition, pieces of whole numbers, so it doesn't make sense that the numerator is higher then the denominator. That's what mixed numbers are for."

"Oh!" Yahiko nodded. "I get it! It's like a circle, right? So that means that the answer should be… 11 over 4?"

"That's right!" Tsubame nodded, smiling widely. "You did Yahiko! Okay, ask me a question."

Yahiko pulled out a card from the box and read it. "It's Japanese History. Name acitythat was the target of a nuclear missile launched by the Americans during the end of World War II."

"Hiroshima," Tsubame smiled. "That's an easy question."

"Even I knew that," Yahiko laughed. "Your turn."

After the quiz session, Yahiko had gotten a total of two right, including Tsubame's question about Hiroshima. "Don't worry Yahiko," Tsubame assured him. "I'm sure you'll do great on the exam! I mean, you know lots of new stuff now!"

"I'm not sure, Tsubame," Yahiko sighed. "I hope I pass."

"You'll pass for sure, Yahiko!" Tsubame told him. "We're going to the same school, so don't you worry, okay?"

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Yahiko sighed, shaking his head and getting up. "I'll finish studying at home. See you next Saturday, Tsubame."

"Goodbye Yahiko," Tsubame said, standing up as well. "Hey…don't get upset, okay? You'll do great, I can feel it!"

Yahiko looked over at Tsubame and smiled. "Thanks Tsubame. That's really nice of you."

"Goodbye Yahiko!" Tsubame called as Yahiko walked out the door. "I'll see you on Saturday!"

That Saturday, Yahiko had shown up at the testing center, said hello to Tsubame, and had made his way to his classroom as quickly as possible. "Man…what am I even doing here?" he asked himself, looking around at all of the other students in the classroom. "This school is so competitive, no way I could get in."

"Hey…don't get upset, okay? You'll do great, I can feel it!"

"But I at least have to try!" Yahiko told himself, sitting up in his desk and taking out a pencil. "Yeah! This test is going down! I, Yahiko Myojin, will make sure that I come out on top when it comes to this stupid test!"

"I totally failed…" Yahiko muttered to Tsubame as he came out of his classroom. Tsubame had come out of hers a few minutes before and was waiting for her. "Those questions were super hard! I barely got any of them!"

"They're going to announce the results of the test tomorrow," Tsubame told Yahiko.

"Fine," Yahiko sighed. "I'll walk you home."

The two of them walked down the sidewalk slowly as the sun began to set behind them. The test had taken longer then Yahiko had expected, and the pink sunset was already spilling over the terrain around them.

"Yahiko!" Tsubame piped up and Yahiko stopped to look at her. "I-I just wanted to say…that…that's it okay if you don't get in."

"Huh?" Yahiko looked at Tsubame with a confused expression on his face.

"I won't think any less of you Yahiko," Tsubame told him earnestly. "You're a great friend, and a wonderful person. It doesn't matter what school you get into!"

"Tsubame…"

"I just thought it would be fun if we went to the same school…" Tsubame told him. "But…but now I see that all I was doing was forcing my own wants on you. I pressured you and made you upset." Tsubame bowed to Yahiko. "I'm so sorry. Please forgive me."

"Tsubame, it's not like that," Yahiko assured her. "I-I…I just wanted to go to Oikawa so we could go to the same school."

"Huh?" Tsubame looked up, and Yahiko sighed.

"The truth is, I had never even heard of Oikawa Middle School before you mentioned it," Yahiko said. "I was selfish and I lied to you. Sorry."

Tsubame looked a little surprised, but then smiled and took Yahiko's arm in hers. "That's all right Yahiko. I forgive you."

"And I forgive you," Yahiko smiled at her. "Hey, you never know! We might've BOTH failed!"

"Yahiko!"

"Ha ha! Just kidding!"

"Oh! You're so mean!"

"Okay, Yahiko," Tsubame closed her eyes, grabbing her slip. Yahiko also had his exam slip in his hand. He glanced at the number "112". "On the count of three we'll look at the board." In front of the two children was a large board that listed all of the accepted applicants by exam number. Yahiko saw a large label that said "100-150", but didn't dare look down the list. "One…two…" Tsubame gulped, grasping her slip. "Three!"

Yahiko looked up and started to head down the list of accepted applicants. '101…103…104…108…110…111…' Yahiko gulped, closed his eyes, opened them and looked straight under.

"One hundred and twelve!" he shouted, jumping up and down and pointing. "I made it! I made it!"

"I did too!" Tsubame gasped, pointing to the number "43" on the board. "I made it too Yahiko! I told you that you would make it in!"

"It must be a mistake!" Yahiko exclaimed. "I failed that test for sure!"

"Oh Yahiko!" Tsubame laughed, hugging Yahiko, making him blush. "This is great! We're both going to the same school now!"

"This is awesome!" Yahiko announced, grasping his slip tightly in his hand. "No more studying!"

"Yahiko!"

"What?"

"C'mon!" Tsubame laughed, grabbing Yahiko's hand and leading him off. "Let's go and celebrate!"

"Right!" Yahiko nodded, running along with Tsubame. "Ice cream on me! Let's go Tsubame!"

With that, the two ran off through the crowd, Tsubame smiling warmly at Yahiko. Yahiko, on the other hand, had a huge grin on his face and couldn't keep laughing as she ran along. Finally, as they reached a speed bump in the parking lot, Yahiko leapt up into the air and shouted to whoever would listen. "Ha! Eat that world! Here I come!"

The end of the chapter! Short, I know, but I'm on a schedule and I've still got loads to write. (cries buckets of tears.) Anyway, please review!

Until then,

Ciao for now!