(A... no, this one's B... isn't it?)

A student was wracking his brain over what the answer might be when suddenly-- 

Brrrring!!

A bell sounded faintly from outside of the classroom. Some students were relieved and stood up to pass their papers while some groaned as they were still writing.

The student paid no attention to the commotion unraveling in front of him and focused solely on his paper.

bam!

A hand suddenly appeared on his test paper, it was a thin and slender hand. He had the urge to smack it away and continue his test but he fought it back.

“Time's up, Yuu-kun. Better pass the paper or the teacher will leave. You really need to relax, you know?”

He already knew whose hand it belonged to so when he looked up, he already had a scowl on his face.

A girl with short black hair wearing their uniform stood in front of him, her face twisted with joy as she annoyed the student.

“Would you please move your hand away? What are you even doing here in the first place Saya-san?”

They stared at each other for a few seconds until Yuu gave in and suddenly stood up.

“Well, goodluck. See ya~”

Satisfied, she smiled one last time and walked away, waving her hand as she exited the classroom.

“Ah, she came again…”

“Yeah... are they together?”

“What!? No, who in their right mind would go out with him?”

Constant murmurs flooded the classroom right after Saya left. Yuu, although he could hear them, he chose not to pay attention to them and went straight to the proctor.

“Ok! I've collected all the papers. You all may go now.”

The students cheered as they picked up their bags, they finally finished their final exam so they have some free time until lectures resume again.

Yuu picked up his bag, went along with the crowd and stayed silent as he went home alone.

**

“Uff.”

Yuu lay down on his bed with his uniform still on. He had a blank expression on his face, still thinking about what happened after the exams.

“What the hell was she thinking?”

Yuu couldn't understand why the school's genius, Saya, suddenly became interested in him. They didn't have any prior meetings during the past 2 years of his highschool life hence his confusion. However, this year, she started bugging him out of nowhere. Not only was it distracting, it was also mortifying as he was garnering more and more attention from his classmates.

“Ugh... thinking about it will get me nowhere.”

He got out of bed and started changing his clothes. Once he was done, he pulled out a textbook from one of his drawers and started reading

(It’ll be more productive to study than worry about such things.)

**

*3 days later*

Early in the morning, people were chattering in the quadrangle.

The rankings and scores for the second semester's final exam were posted on a bulletin board.

“Ngh…”

A muffled sound came out of Yuu, his eyebrows were knitted together as he stared at the bulletin board.

1. Ikuno Saya - 500/500

2. Ogawa Yuu - 496/500

3. Amamiya kaede - 482/500

4.  Haruno Ikeda - 480/500

(She got a perfect score again...)

Yuu gnashed his teeth as he continued staring holes at the results.

“Staring at them all day isn't going to change the fact that you got 2nd place again you know?”

Yuu turned around to look at the source of the voice. Sure enough, Ikuno Saya stood behind him smiling as she mocked the boy in front of her.

She stepped closer to him much to the shock of the crowd. Seeing that Yuu was boiling with anger, they thought she would just add fuel to the fire and a fight might break out.

They stood face to face with each other. Saya's mocking smile has yet to fade, while Yuu's unyielding gaze rested on hers.

They stared at each other for a few seconds until Saya chuckled and pulled something from her pocket.

“Here.”

Saya thrusted her hand onto Yuu's chest, which surprised him.

“It's my number. Maybe next time I can help you study so that you can finally beat me hm?”

She had a smug smile plastered on her face as she took Yuu’s hand and put the paper inside. Afterwards, she walked away as if nothing happened.

OHHHHHHH!!!!

WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED!?

The crowd went into an uproar after the unexpected development. Some students patted Yuu's back, some congratulated him while others looked at him with malice. Regardless, Yuu didn't care about any of them so he glared at everyone within five meters of him. They all backed off as he radiated so much hostility it wouldn’t be surprising if he started throwing punches. After staring at the paper for a few seconds, He walked away as the people made way for him.

**

Yuu spent the rest of the day staring at the paper.

(Her number huh... why?)

Even after classes ended all he could think about was the piece of paper which contained the number of the School's most outstanding student as well as his rival (secret).

After getting home, he quickly changed, ate dinner, took a bath and went straight to his room. He had a puzzled look on his face as he pondered the meaning of the paper in his hand. Naturally, the thought of Saya having feelings for him crossed his mind, however, he quickly abolished the thought as he can’t imagine Saya to have any inkling of interest in romance at all.

(Did she want me to congratulate her? Or is she mocking me? Hmm, what to do...)

A multitude of reasons filled his mind. However, one question rose above all of them.

(Well, first I have to confirm whether this is real or not right? I mean, she could just be playing a prank on me. Yeah that must be it, I bet it is.)

He hurriedly took his cell phone and dialed the number.

(Oh? It's ringing.)

His heart raced for a reason unknown to him. Perhaps it was due to nervousness, he had no idea whether or not it was Saya on the other side after all. Or perhaps it was excitement, seeing as it was also his first time calling someone besides family, he’s getting more worked up than usual.

“Took you long enough, how did it take you 6 hours to finally call?”

From the other side of the phone he could hear a stern voice, it sounded somewhat annoyed which scared him a bit.

“S-sorry, I wasn't sure about what to do.”

“Wasn't sure? I gave you my number. What else were you supposed to do with it?”

A shrill voice filled his ears making him move it away from his ears. Regret instantly welled up from his heart.

 (Damn, I shouldn’t have called.) 

He didn’t really have to call her, merely sending a text was enough in order to know whether or not it was indeed Saya. But then again, she could have just called him after receiving his number via the text. Yuu rid himself of the needless thoughts surging in his brain and after calming down, he snapped back.

“Giving your number to me without us having any prior interactions surprised me ok? I mean, we're not friends, we didn't even greet each other until 3 months ago.”

“Ugh. Well, whatever. Onto the main topic. Want to study together sometime? Seeing as you're the only person closest to my level, I think you deserve some of my attention. You should be honored. I'm even taking time to help you. What do you say?” 

Yuu was so shocked about what he heard that his mouth gaped wide open. He shook his head and tried to think about what the hell she's talking about.

“Listen, I don't know why you're suddenly doing this but, my answer is no. I'll beat you on my own. I don't need anyone’s help, much less yours.”

“Hmph, you're pretty stubborn aren't you? Just accept it already. I mean, I'm offering to help you get what you want right? What's so bad about that?”

“Oh I don't know? That it sounds too suspicious? Someone I haven't conversed with suddenly wants to help me and I'm supposed to just let her?”

“Yes.”

“You're unbelievable, I'm hanging up.”

"Ah wai--"

Yuu suddenly ended the call. Saya attempted to call him 3 more times but he didn't answer his phone.

Yuu sighed and slumped onto his bed.

(I didn't know she was crazy. Then again some geniuses are oddballs.)

Tururuu~

His phone rang suddenly and the screen lit up. Saya left him a message. It said:

"Tomorrow, Astronomy club, 5pm. Don't be late."

Yuu laughed derisively at the message and looked at the time. It was Monday, 10pm. He switched the lights off and went to bed.

His heart raced as he lay in bed. His lips curled upwards a bit, thinking about their late night conversation.

(Crazy woman...)

After one last thought, Yuu finally fell asleep.