The Academic Showdown

After the heated basketball match, the air around the school still buzzed with excitement. But the next challenge was already looming — and this time, it was Rin's home turf.

The academic competition was structured like a quiz bowl, with teams representing each class. Naturally, both Rin and I were leading ours. May sat in the audience, and just knowing she was watching made my nerves spike.

The first few rounds were a breeze. Math problems, history facts — I handled them without breaking a sweat. But so did Rin. Every time I got a question right, his hand shot up with the next answer. It was a battle of brains, and neither of us was backing down.

"Next question," the moderator announced. "What is the chemical formula for—"

"C6H12O6!" Rin answered before the question was even finished.

I gritted my teeth. The crowd cheered.

As the rounds went on, the gap between us stayed razor-thin. When the final question came, we were tied.

"For the win," the moderator said. "In literature, who wrote—"

"Haruki Murakami!" I blurted out, my hand in the air.

Silence. The moderator blinked. "Correct!"

The room erupted. My teammates pounded my back, and when I looked toward the audience, I saw May smiling.

After the event, I bumped into Rin outside the hall.

"Don't get comfortable," he said, his voice cool. "You won this round, but the competition's far from over."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," I replied, meeting his gaze.

But even as I walked away, a part of me knew Rin wasn't going to take this loss lightly. The real storm was just beginning.