The next day after school, Kaito arrived at the library early, like he always did. He preferred to work in a quiet place, usually alone. But Ryu was his partner. As he set up at a table by the window, he could already feel the weight of the project on his shoulders. He’d probably end up doing most of the work, anyway. Ryu wasn’t exactly known for his… dedication. Kaito had his research materials ready, though, and at least he could get started without waiting.
The door to the library creaked open, and Kaito glanced up. Of course, it was Ryu. He entered with that same careless swagger, tossing his bag onto a table like he’d just walked into a café, not a study space.
"Yo," Ryu said, flashing a smile as he approached Kaito’s table. "You’re here already, huh? Let’s do this!"
Kaito resisted the urge to roll his eyes. I’m going to regret this, he thought.
"Yeah, I’m here," Kaito replied, trying to keep his voice level. "We need to figure out how we’re going to split the work. I’ll do the research; you can focus on the presentation."
Ryu didn’t seem fazed by the suggestion. He sat into the seat across from Kaito, casually pulling out a bag of chips from his backpack and tossing them onto the table like it was no big deal. "Alright, I can handle the presentation part," Ryu said. "But I’m not doing all the talking. You’re way better at that than me."
Kaito gave him a sharp look. "Fine. But you need to actually work on it, okay? No last-minute stuff. I want this done right."
Ryu just shrugged. "Yeah, yeah. I’ll make it look good. You focus on the boring stuff, and I’ll handle the fun part."
Kaito wasn’t sure if that was comforting or not, but at least Ryu was willing to try. "Alright, deal. We’ll meet up again tomorrow and go over everything."
Ryu’s eyes glowed up, and he leaned back in his chair. "Cool. I’ll make it awesome. You won’t even know what hit you." He snickered, grabbing a handful of chips.
As they settled into their work, Kaito started pulling up articles on his laptop, determined to get something done. Ryu, on the other hand, had his own way of working. Sketching out ideas for the presentation, sometimes tossing a chip in the air and catching it in his mouth like it was no big deal.
By the time the library was about to close, Kaito couldn’t help but feel like they were making progress. Ryu hadn’t been as useless as he’d expected, and maybe just maybe they could pull this off.
Ryu packed up his things. "Not bad for day one, huh?"
Kaito gave a small nod. "Yeah, I guess it’s not a disaster yet."
Ryu shot him a wink as they both stood up. "It’s gonna be awesome. Trust me."
Kaito wasn’t sure if he trusted Ryu yet, but he had to admit, it wasn’t as bad as he’d thought. Maybe this project wouldn’t be such a nightmare after all.
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