Part 5: When No One Notices
Haruto slipped into the classroom quietly.
At the back of the room, a group had already formed.
Amaya sat sideways on a desk, legs swinging slightly as she spoke.
"I swear, that last question was unfair," she said, laughing despite herself.
Arashi leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. "It wasn't. You just rushed."
Ayame sat on the edge of a seat near Izumi. "The timing messed me up," she admitted softly.
Izumi stood beside her, calm as always. "At least the practical part went smoothly."
Kaito was perched on a desk, arguing with Souta. "You overthought it," Kaito said.
Souta shook his head. "No, you underthought it."
Misaki sat on a chair pulled slightly away from the desks, smiling as she listened. Yuna stood nearby, back against the wall, adding a few quiet comments as the tension of the exam slowly drained from the group.
No one noticed Haruto enter.
He walked to his seat in silence.
When he sat down, he didn't lift his head.
His shoulders folded inward. His hands came up, curling against the desk as his forehead rested on his arms. A soft, broken sound slipped out before he could stop it.
Then another.
His body trembled as tears soaked into his sleeves, quiet but uncontrollable—while laughter and voices at the back of the room continued on, unaware, sharp against his breaking silence.