Chapter 9: The Greatest Enemy of a Warrior… Midterms (Parts 3-4)

Chapter 9 Part 3

— Could you lend me your math notebooks? I think we're going to continue with that.

Miru-chan asked Hiroki and me for our notebooks.

— Well... it's not like I have much, Miru-chan...

— Me neither...

— Yeah, but I still need to see what we can get out of them.

Well, it's not that I don't have much, it's that I don't have anything at all...

Just like Hiroki, I lend her my notebook anyway.

First, she checks Hiroki's with a look of discomfort as she observes half-finished problems and blank pages.

— W-well... at least you tried, I suppose...

She sets Hiroki's notebook aside and picks up mine.

The look of surprise on her face is so intense that it wakes up Neko-chan with her shout.

— Y-you don't have anything!

— Ah!

— What have you been doing all this time, you idiot?! — Hiroki yells at me, clearly annoyed.

When they opened my notebook, they found a stick figure drawing, its head like a can with two eyes and a poorly drawn mouth, lots of tic-tac-toe games I used to play by myself, random circles, and a mocking drawing of an angry person sticking out their tongue that says, "I'm not some evil fatty!"

— You're irresponsible, senpai! — Neko-chan says, very upset.

I pretend they're not talking to me in response to their verbal attacks.

— In El Salvador, they used to check notebooks. When I saw they didn't do that here, I didn't see the need to write down what the teachers said.

Hiroki stands up, grabs my hair, and pulls it.

— This isn't your dirty country, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't do anything!

— Ouch, ouch, ouch!

I stand up, very angry, and face him.

— Come on, say that about my country again, and I'll kill you! Besides, I'm more responsible than you think. I could do everyone's homework perfectly if I wanted to!

After saying that, Hiroki and Neko-chan throw their math notebooks at my face.

Wait, Neko-chan too?!

— Hey, Neko-chan! Why do you have a notebook?

Feeling embarrassed but still smiling, she says:

— I wanted to do my homework since I came here, but I forgot... hahaha!

— ...

And she called me irresponsible...

I sit at my desk again and put the notebooks on it.

— Whatever, I can do it thanks to the power of the internet.

— Don't even think about using the internet! — Neko-chan and Hiroki shouted at the same time.

— G-guys, aren't you being too harsh on Uraseku-senpai? — says Miru-chan.

— Don't worry about it, I'll show them what I'm capable of.

Kibō and Yasuragi enter the room, very dirty. Kibō had flour all over his body, and Yasuragi is all brown and sad.

— Hey, Rasec, we couldn't find the churros and made a mess...

— I can see that... they're in the storage room, the door across from the bathrooms on the first floor.

Wait, I can't use the internet to solve this, but no problem... because I have the Diamond of Hope!

— Hey, Kibō, can you hear me? — I ask Kibō through my mind.

— Yes... — he replies mentally while looking at me intently.

I return his gaze very seriously.

— I need you to do me a favor. Do you see this phone?

I take my phone out of my pocket and put it on my desk.

— Put it in the bag of churros you'll bring me and then seal it. I've already shown you how to do it.

— Haha, Rasec Zaid! Are you planning to cheat? But that's bad...

— Do me this favor, and I promise I'll make you the legendary pupusa just for you...

— Ah! Um, fine...

Kibō takes my phone while we stare at each other.

A silence takes over the place while Kibō and I speak in our minds.

— Why are you staring at each other?! — Hiroki yells, desperate.

— And why is he taking your phone? — asks Neko-chan.

— Ah, it's because I'm going to charge it for him since he's busy, hahaha!

— Yes, I told him mentally.

Miru-chan, very confused, asks:

— Couldn't you just tell him normally?

— Hehehe...

Kibō and I laugh slightly while he leaves with Yasuragi to do what I asked them.

After a while, Yasuragi returns with my coffee, and Kibō comes back with the churro that has the phone inside, just as I requested.

Kibō goes to my bed and looks at me intently while I pretend to ignore him to disguise that we're talking mentally.

— They didn't hesitate to force me to do their homework, it's clear they expect me to do it without cheating...

— Ah, what I want to know is what the legendary pupusa really tastes like...

— Obviously, it's impossible now, right, Kibō?

— Ah, of course, you can't talk to me directly, but we have to think about how to copy the answers from the internet without anyone noticing.

— Oh, sure, I'm getting this! — I exclaim out loud to make it clear to the others that I have everything under control.

Then, I continue communicating with Kibō and myself mentally.

Judging by the way they're watching me, they expect me to make a mistake. Anyone would make mistakes under these circumstances, but don't count on that in my case, buddy...

You won't catch me cheating!

Saying that, I open the bag in what I think is a pretty epic manner, Kibō and I start laughing softly while everyone looks at us strangely.

I start writing with my left hand.

— I arranged everything to copy the answers to these tests within this hour, and they know I was trying to cheat, so to avoid suspicion, they must see that I can do the problems from their notebooks, even if the answers aren't directly on the internet.

I position the churro so that I can slip my right hand with the diamond in it to see the information with my third eye and through the artificial intelligence that solves the problems.

— No, Rasec is cheating! — Kibō yells mentally while actually laughing his head off.

— You'll see, everyone...

I start solving the problems while a kind of eerie opera song begins to play in my mind.

— With the information from the artificial intelligence and my preparations, I can continue copying the answers, which the website provides me while I pretend to be just a student preparing for the midterms...

The evil grin on my face becomes more and more noticeable.

— Just watch me... I solve complex equations with my left hand while my right hand is in the bag, using the power of the diamond to copy the answers from the phone I hid inside...

Very seriously, I reach my hand into the bag to keep copying.

— Now, I just grab a churro... and eat it!

The sound of a bacon-flavored churro being bitten into invades my room. 

The opera music intensifies, Kibō chokes with laughter. Eating churros is just a facade for what I'm actually doing! I'm writing and copying furiously, not even the pressure of this moment can stop me!

— Does Kibō always get this weird? — Hiroki asks, seeing Kibō coughing and laughing uncontrollably.

— He's not usually this cheerful... — Miru-chan replies.

Neko-chan, Chikara, and Ai watch me seriously.

Finally, I drop my pencil and finish the churros.

— I've finished copying, and my alibi witnesses will be... my friends in person... and Hiroki.

I take the bag with the phone, crush it, and throw it into the trash can.

The sound of the phone breaking as it falls from such a height was unexpected...

— O-okay... I'm done... — I reply nervously.

Nyakoshi goes to see what happened and takes the phone out of the bag, handing it to Neko-chan.

— Senpai, why was your phone in that bag?

Neko-chan sees the browser tab I used to copy open, I've been caught...

Everyone looks at me very seriously.

Hiroki approaches me and cracks his knuckles loudly.

— This is the end, Rasec...

— Hehehe, this is the end, Rasec... — Kibō says, as if he hadn't collaborated.

A brief moment of awkward silence fills the room, but I have the perfect defense...

— Ah... I can explain.

Before I can say anything, Hiroki gives me a big hit on the head. With all the caffeine I've consumed, that hit is enough to leave me dazed...

Part 4 Chapter 9

— So, you were cheating? That explains everything...

That was Seji-sensei's voice. Slowly waking up, I find myself with many band-aids and a big bruise on my head.

— Yes, that's what happened... because Hiroki hit me, I have this big bump...

— Stop using nonsense words! — Hiroki shouts angrily.

Neko-chan is playing outside happily with the spirits of our diamonds and her cat, Miru-chan is serving tea to herself and Seji-sensei.

— Bah, in my time there was no internet, I had to walk from my ranch to the national library under a rain of bullets and read forty books to get a little information from each one. — Seji-sensei says.

— I don't think you're that old, Seji-sensei... wearing a Che Guevara shirt doesn't mean you lived through the war...

Miru-chan, very worried about my situation, says:

— Sir, every time we're with Uraseku-senpai, he ends up hurt...

— And even when they're not, hahaha! — Seji-sensei says jokingly...

Neko-chan gathers the others and they come inside.

— He deserves it. — Hiroki responds.

Miru-chan stands up very seriously and says:

— The next person who hits Uraseku will have to put money in this jar.

Miru-chan takes out a big glass jar. Seeing this, Hiroki and Neko-chan get annoyed and pout.

— Did you find his hentai mangas and games? Did you check well under the bed? — Seji-sensei says.

Gah!

— S-Seji-sensei! How do you know about that?!

— Ha! Anyone who knows you wouldn't be surprised.

Everyone starts laughing, but Chikara interrupts with something very revealing.

— They're just like the ones Hiroki has hidden in his room!

Very angry, Hiroki gets up and starts chasing her around the house.

— Hey, don't spread that around!

Now we all laugh about it. It seems he and I have something in common after all...

— Senpai... — Neko-chan said, tugging on my shirt.

— I saw that you have many consoles and games I've never seen before. Maybe I'll visit you again to play together.

— Yeah, that would be nice.

— Ah, really?! — Hiroki says, annoyed. — Well, I'll prove I'm better than you and can beat you at your games. I'll come over to give you what you deserve!

It seems he invited himself...

Hiroki extends his fist as if he wants to hit me, but then Miru-chan stops him by showing him the money jar.

— If you want to hit him, deposit a thousand yen, please.

— Why so much?! Tch...

Why did he want to hit me?!

— You can come too if you want, Miru-chan. — I say cheerfully.

— W-well... okay, but I'm not really into video games.

— Eh! I wanted to spend time alone with him to see what his room is really like!

Neko-chan said very annoyed, but what's done is done.

However, it's something we'll do after the exams...

We spent the rest of the afternoon studying. At night they went home, and I stayed up late "studying"...

The next morning, Makoto and Hiroki are walking behind me, talking to each other.

— Hiroki, remember that if you fail, you won't be able to go on the school trip.

— I know, I'm confident I'll do well.

— Yeah, sure... — Makoto replies, very skeptical of his answer. — Ah, look, there's Uraseku and Kibō!

— Tch, how can you hang out with him?

— Chisato told me you hang out with him too, besides he's my friend.

— Umm... whatever.

— Why is Uraseku trembling...?

I'm on my way to school, with my super sweetened coffee and big dark circles under my smooth, fine, beautiful, and shiny face.

— Damn it, since I studied all day, I had to stay up late playing because the game subscription was expiring today...

— We should have slept instead... — Kibō says, also with big dark circles...

I became dependent on that game subscription. At least I have the original games in physical and digital form... but I really wanted to try that game... I don't regret it and I'll buy it later!

— Let's see what's up with him. — Makoto says to Hiroki.

They approach me and Kibō.

— Good morning, Uraseku. Are you okay?

Kibō and I turned to look at them with wide eyes and our huge dark circles.

— Ah, yeah. Good morning... I'm fine...

— What's wrong with you guys? — Hiroki asked.

— Rasec stayed up all night playing, it was interesting, so I stayed up too...

— I see. Are you idiots or something?

— Why would you do that right before midterms? — Makoto asked.

I stopped walking, and struck my famous Jojo pose! Then slowly, I collapsed to the ground from exhaustion...

— Because I'm brave...!

— Careful, you idiot!

Hiroki and Makoto caught me before I fell.

— Coffee, coffee, if I drink coffee, I'll be fine! — Kibō shouted out of nowhere.

They helped me get to school. I was surprised that Hiroki decided to help me too.

The next five days were all about these exams. 

In the afternoons, Neko-chan and Miru-chan helped at the pupusería while Hiroki and I trained alone. Neither of us used our full strength since we were mentally exhausted...

The good thing was that during the exams, I felt confident in my answers.

— Hmm... this question looks familiar... but I need more coffee!

Well, actually, I wasn't confident at all...

— Which of the following subatomic particles is found in the nucleus of an atom...? A: electrons, B: protons, C: positrons, D: none of the above...

Hmm... I don't know...

— Should I choose "C" for Christ? "D" for God? "B" for Big Mama? Or "A" for Alliance...?

Alliance lost recently, so that can't be the answer, and positrons are formed through some kind of nuclear decay process...

How do I even know that?!

So it can't be "C" for Christ and it can't be none of the above...

— I guess I can always trust Big Mama!

I marked "B" as the correct answer. Believe it or not, that entire mental process happened in just a few seconds.

Well, that's how I got through midterms.

— Pew... it's over...

Kenji, hearing me say that in Spanish, approached me, very confused.

— Eh? What are you saying with those weird words again?

— Eww, I'm not in the mood for jokes today.

— Me neither, buddy. These exams killed me, I think I did badly...

The worst part of all this wasn't the exams themselves, it was leaving school to go straight to work at the pupusería or to train.

We always went to the same place as a group, and today was no exception.

The bright side is that we found a good use for the uniforms Miru-chan made; apparently, we'll use them for work.

I was helping Seji-sensei prepare pupusas, Miru-chan and Neko-chan took orders from customers, and Hiroki washed dishes.

— Excuse me. — Neko-chan said as she passed by with four dirty plates, finally handing them to Hiroki to wash.

Hiroki looked at her seriously as she left the plates. They stared at each other for two seconds, and finally, Neko-chan stuck out her tongue, which annoyed Hiroki.

— Why do I have to do this?!

— Hahaha! Because there's nothing else you can do.

While we worked here, the spirits of our diamonds were outside having fun with Neko-chan's cat.

In Japanese, it's weird to say "Neko-chan's cat," it's like saying "cat's cat."

— This pupusa uniform is very comfortable and efficient. Good job, Miru-chan.

I responded, praising the test uniform she made. Despite being designed for battles, it's not very durable. This use is much better.

— I didn't plan to use it for this, but... thanks! — Miru-chan replied cheerfully.

While most of us were having a good time despite working, Hiroki seemed annoyed by something I said.

— The pupusas? Is our group's name "The Pupusas"?!

— Well, it's not that bad! *hic* — replied one of the drunk customers.

— You're drunk!

Seji-sensei approached Hiroki and pulled him by the hair.

— Don't talk to customers like that, idiot.

Well, at least I'm not the only one who gets treated that way.

I guess it's a requirement to be a disciple of Seji-sensei.

Final part Chapter 9

— The Pupusas... — Neko-chan said softly. — I can accept that name if we're just here. In battle, we'd be pathetic.

— To begin with, that's a terrible name no matter where we use it.

Neither Neko-chan nor Hiroki seemed very fond of my suggestion for our group name.

— How about... The Hole Diamonds?

— Hahaha!

— Good one, Uraseku-senpai!

Everyone in the restaurant laughed at my proposal.

— I wasn't joking...

With that, everyone fell silent, seeing me disappointed.

— So, how about "The Mountain Diamonds"?

— Anything is better. — Hiroki replied, still annoyed, washing dishes.

Let's not complicate things, and I guess from today, everyone will know us by that name.

Besides, why do we need a name? Just to look cool?

Anyway, I guess working with your friends is really fun.