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As summer continued and the days still hotter, the mid-year exams loomed just a few days away. Their teacher had warned that failing this exam would require taking remedial classes during summer vacation.
Even though Mizuha, Elly, and Shimizu had been having sleepovers to study together, it still wasn't enough for them. Mizuha and Elly, along with Zul and Hikaru, were discussing studying together at Shimizu's house, as she suggested.
"How about that idea, you guys? None of you has ever come to my house yet, right?" asked Shimizu.
"Oh, you're right. We've never set foot in your house yet," said Mizuha.
"But are you okay with us coming with you? You know both of us are guys," Hikaru asked quietly.
"Don't worry, if it's just for studying, there's no problem," replied Shimizu.
"Then, when do you want to do it, Shimizu-chan?" Elly asked.
"How about today after school? Just come directly from school to my house," suggested Shimizu.
"That's okay for me, but how about you guys?" asked Mizuha.
"We all agree too," Elly spoke for the group.
"So, we're counting on you, Mizuha-sensei," Elly and Shimizu teased, as Mizuha was their instructor for their weakest subject.
"Geez, you guys, please stop it. It's so embarrassing," Mizuha protested.
"By the way, today not only Mizuha-sensei is coming, but Zul-sensei too," added Hikaru.
"Hikaru, stop it, not you too," muttered Zul.
"That's right, Zul is great in most subjects too, similar to me, I think he also can help me for today" wondered Mizuha.
"So, it's decided - we'll go together to my house after school," concluded Shimizu.
After school, they went directly to Shimizu's house. As they arrived, Shimizu invited them to enter.
"Come on, you guys, let's go inside."
"Mom, I'm home!" called Shimizu as she opened the door.
"Oh, welcome home, Shimizu," replied her mother.
"Mom, today I brought my friends home. We're going to study together for the upcoming exam."
"Really? That's nice! Let me see them," said her mother, excited to meet Shimizu's friends.
"Here they are," said Shimizu.
"Oh, what do we have here? Two cute ladies and two handsome young men," her mother remarked.
"This is Mizuha and Elly, and this is Zul and Hikaru," said Shimizu, introducing her friends.
“Nice to meet you” said Mizuha and Elly.
"Nice to meet you too, so, you guys are her friends. I see. Anyway, thank you for taking care of my problematic daughter. I bet she must give you nothing but trouble," said her mother while looking at Shimizu with a smirk.
"This old hag, she's saying too much," thought Shimizu, upset with her mother's words.
"No, it's not like that! Shimizu always makes us happy and suggests many fun activities for us," Elly defended.
"Good job, Elly! Take that, you old hag!" Shimizu thought triumphantly.
"Really? I didn't know about that. She never says anything about school to me," said her mother.
"By the way, Elly-chan, you're so cute! I can't believe my daughter has a friend this cute," said her mother as she suddenly hugged Elly.
"You too, Mizuha-chan," she added, switching to hug Mizuha next. Both Mizuha and Elly's faces turned red after being hugged.
"Hey, what are you doing to them? Stop it," said Shimizu, annoyed.
Suddenly Hikaru smirked and said, "Good for you, Shimizu. You have a very interesting mother."
"Ah, shut up, Hikaru," Shimizu replied.
"Come on guys, don't waste our time with this middle-aged woman. Let's go to my living room," said Shimizu.
"That's so mean, Shimizu! I'm not that old," her mother protested.
Inside, they settled themselves in the spacious living room. "Sorry my room doesn't have enough space to fit many people, so we'll study here."
"Sorry about my mother, both of you. She gets too happy and has a habit of hugging cute girls," Shimizu explained.
“That really shocked me, but from what I see, she is a really kind person,” said Elly, smiling.
"Remember the day I acted all feminine and polite? That was her idea too," Shimizu continued.
"Oh, I remember that! I can't forget about it. It was so funny watching you act like that," Mizuha chuckled.
"Yeah, you almost made me fall in love with you that day. Hahaha," laughed Hikaru.
"Ah, stop it, both of you. I'm never doing that again," said Shimizu. "Tch, these two look like they want revenge on me after I teased them before," thought Shimizu, a bit upset with Mizuha and Hikaru for making fun of her.
Five of them then started their study session. Mizuha sat between Elly and Shimizu, continuing to help them with their weakest subjects.
"Mizuha-chan," Elly called softly, pushing her notebook across the table. "Could you check these answers for me?" She sounded nervous but hopeful.
Mizuha studied the work carefully, her expression brightening. "Elly, this is amazing! You seem to have improved a lot. Keep it up.”
"Thanks, Mizuha-chan,” Elly said, blushing at the praise and fidgeting with her pencil. Nearby, Shimizu smiled, motivated by her friend's success. She showed her own math worksheet to Mizuha, revealing neat rows of solved problems.
“Here, Mizuha-sensei, please check mine too.”
“Let me see. Hmm, good Shimizu, you also have a bit of improvement. Look at how you solved this problem here," she pointed to a complex equation. "A few weeks ago, you were struggling with the basics, but now you're handling these advanced concepts so well!"
“Haha, I know that. I can do it if I try hard,” said Shimizu, proud of her improvement.
“Then, good for you, Shimizu, but don’t forget it during the exam,” replied Mizuha.
At the other end of the table, Hikaru looked up from his textbook. "Speaking of progress," he said, moving closer to join the conversation with Mizuha. They discussed their current subjects, sharing insights and different approaches.
"Mizuha, I don't understand this part. Can you show me how to do this?" said Hikaru.
"Sure, let me show you the steps for that," replied Mizuha.
Zul turned his attention to Elly, his eyes curious and caring. "How are your studies coming along?"
Elly's face lit up with pride. "I actually understand most of the subjects that used to give me trouble now," she replied, thanks to Mizuha-chan. "It's starting to make sense, finally."
Zul's face softened with warmth. "I know you can do it," he encouraged. "Keep it up."
The sincerity in his words touched Elly deeply. "Thank you, Zul," she responded softly, her voice filled with trust. “Umm, can you teach me this too? I still don’t understand it,” said Elly.
“Understood, let me teach you that,” replied Zul.
As the group immersed themselves in their studies, they punctuated their hard work with bursts of laughter and shared jokes. Shimizu's mother kept them fueled with snacks and tea, turning the study session into a blend of productivity and joy.
The warm, supportive environment created a sense of camaraderie, driving everyone to put forth their best effort for the exams.
A moment later, Shimizu's little brother, Shinichi, returned from playing soccer at his school. As he entered the house, he noticed many pairs of shoes at the entrance.
"Huh, do we have guests today?" he wondered.
"I'm home," he called out, entering the living room. He was shocked to see so many people there.
"Huh, Shin-chan, you're back already," said Shimizu.
"Who are all these people, Nee-chan? Are they your friends?" asked Shinichi.
"Yes, they are all my friends. We are doing group study. Don't disturb us, go to your room," replied Shimizu.
Shinichi then turned to Mizuha and Elly. "Who are these two? They are such beauties," he said, attracted to them.
Shinichi approached Mizuha and Elly and introduced himself. "Nice to meet you, I'm Toyama Shinichi, Shimizu's little brother."
"Nice to meet you, Shinichi," said Mizuha. Then Shimizu suddenly grabbed Shinichi's neck with her arm. "Hey, hey, what are you doing? Trying to flirt with my friends?" said Shimizu.
"No, I was just introducing myself to them," said Shinichi, denying Shimizu's words.
"Don't even think about it. See those two handsome guys over there? They're their boyfriends," said Shimizu intentionally, wanting to scare her little brother.
Shinichi looked at Hikaru and Zul. Both of them were just smiling at Shinichi.
"You're Shimizu's little brother, nice to meet you," said Hikaru, smiling.
From Shinichi's perspective, Hikaru and Zul were giving him scary glares, and he suddenly became scared and started shaking.
"Umm, nice to meet you too," he stammered. "What's with these guys? Why are they glaring at me like that? Are they angry that I made a move on their girlfriends?" Actually, neither Hikaru nor Zul was glaring at him; it was just his perspective.
"I'm going back to my room," said Shinichi, immediately heading to his room.
"You have a nice little brother, Shimizu-chan, and he looks similar to you," said Elly.
"Well, we're siblings, but you'd better not be deceived by his looks and attitude," said Shimizu.
"Huh, what do you mean?" asked Mizuha.
"You see, he actually likes to approach girls and tries to flirt with them if he's attracted to them. I think he got that from my mother," laughed Shimizu.
Her mother heard that and suddenly spoke, "What is it, Shimizu? What did you say about me? Shimizu, we'll have a talk after this," said her mother, giving her a scary smile.
"Erk, oh no, I'm finished. I made the demon lord angry," thought Shimizu.
They continued studying until the sun began to set.
"I think that's enough for today," said Mizuha.
"Yes, it's almost dark," said Hikaru.
"Elly-chan, how about your Japanese literature? Do you understand most of it now?" asked Mizuha.
"Yes, I understand most of it now, thanks to you, Mizuha-chan," replied Elly.
"And how about you, Shimizu?" asked Mizuha.
"I can solve the problems I couldn't before, but I still have more to study," said Shimizu.
Mizuha and the others packed their belongings and made their way to the door.
"Leaving already?" asked Shimizu's mother.
"Yes, thanks for having us today," said Hikaru.
"Please come again. I'm glad to have you all here, and be careful on your way back," said Shimizu's mother.
After Mizuha and the others left, Shimizu's mother spoke.
"Good for you, Shimizu. I'm glad for you," said her mother.
"Huh? What do you mean, Mom?" asked Shimizu.
"You see, this is the first time you've had so many friends. They're all nice people," said her mother.
"You're right. I've never had this many friends before because of my looks, but things are different now. People accept me more," said Shimizu before heading to her room.
Her mother smiled at Shimizu's words. "You really have changed now, Shimizu. I'm glad to see that," said her mother.
After leaving Shimizu's house, the group split into different directions heading home. Zul naturally fell into step beside Elly, while Hikaru and Mizuha headed the opposite way as usual.
"Today's study group was really fun," Hikaru said as they walked down the familiar route. He glanced at Mizuha with a smile. "You were amazing today, teaching everyone. I didn't know you could explain things so clearly."
Mizuha felt her cheeks warm slightly at the compliment. "It's nothing special. I just try to explain things the way I would want them explained to me."
They walked in comfortable silence until they reached Mizuha's house.
"Well, this is where we split up," Mizuha said, stopping in front of her house.
"Yeah. Thanks again for all the help today," Hikaru smiled. "Should we do another study session tomorrow? Maybe we could all meet at the library?"
"Good idea. I'll message the others about it tomorrow. I bet they'll all be glad to have it," said Hikaru, adjusting his school bag.
"Okay Mizuha, I'll go now. See you," said Hikaru.
"Be careful on your way home, Hikaru," said Mizuha.
"You too, Mizuha. See you tomorrow!"
A few days later, finally, the long-awaited day of the examinations arrived, casting a mix of anticipation and nervousness upon Mizuha and her friends.
"Let's do our best, Elly. I know you can do it too," said Zul.
"Yes, you too, Zul. Good luck," replied Elly.
Both Shimizu and Elly now had determination and confidence and didn't worry about their weakest subjects anymore. "Mizuha-chan has taught me so many times, so I will not disappoint her. I will do my best," thought Elly.
"Let's show this paper what I have learned from Mizuha-sensei a few days ago," thought Shimizu.
"Good luck, both of you. Let's give our best for this exam," thought Mizuha.
"The exam has begun now," said the teacher as the clock struck 8 A.M.
As the exam began, the atmosphere buzzed with a sense of intensity and determination. Each student took their designated seats, surrounded by hushed whispers and the occasional rustling of exam papers.
They took deep breaths, picked up their pencils, and turned over their test papers. One by one, they began writing their answers, ready to face whatever challenges lay ahead.
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