***
The next day, Ken rode his bike to school as usual, enjoying the morning breeze. Unlike when he went for his morning runs, he wasn’t covered in sweat. There was also the fact that most of the ride was downhill, making it quite enjoyable.
After arriving at school, Ken saw his friend pull up in his Silverado.
Steve was seemingly in a great mood, his face looking fresh and healthy as if he’d partaken in a day spa before arriving.
“Wow, you look fresh as a daisy.” Ken commented, smiling inwardly. He of course knew that Steve was now the beneficiary of the Fatigue Management skill.
“Right!? It was so weird, last night I collapsed while I was in the shower, but I felt fine around an hour later.” Steve said, his face showing his confusion.
Ken flinched, feeling his face heat up.
‘Why the hell are they always in the shower when it happens?’ He cursed inwardly.
“Yeah, my dad had to break down the door when I wasn’t responding to his calls. Thankfully mom wasn’t home and didn’t see me on the floor butt naked.” Steve added, his face reddening in embarrassment.
“Ahem… Well I’m glad you’re all good now. I’m surprised you aren’t sore from our workout yesterday.” He said, quickly trying to change the subject and prevent the laughter from escaping his lips.
“Yeah me too! I think I might be able to keep up with your training if I can recover like this.” He replied with excitement.
“Yes yes, very good.” Ken patted his friend on the shoulder, smiling slyly.
The two made their way to class, only to see that the atmosphere was gloomy. Ken felt like he was walking on eggshells as he walked over to his desk. He saw that his desk which was usually next to Steve’s was now a few feet away.
He looked around the room, only noticing now that everyone’s desks were now apart, leaving a few feet in between.
Thinking it was odd, he sat down with a frown on his face. Not long later, the bell rang.
Not long after, Mr. Johnson walked into class, holding some paperwork in his hand. He looked over the class, a small smile touching the corner of his lips.
“Morning all. I can see we’re all prepped for the SAT today.” He said in almost a sing-song tone.
Both Ken and Steve’s face dropped. Without a word, they both looked at each other in horror. They had both seemingly forgotten about the test, too busy with training and the travel team.
“Did you study?” Steve whispered, his voice quivering.
Ken didn’t even respond with words, silently shaking his head. However, he had a bit more hope than Steve, who unfortunately did not share the Academic trait like him.
Still, Ken was feeling a bit nervous. The last time he had properly studied was before the system upgraded, since he wanted to make the most of the trait while he could.
The problem was, he didn’t know what to expect. In Japan, they would sit for 5 days straight and complete multiple exams in each of their subjects. If the SAT exam was anything like this, he might have a hernia.
“We’ll be taking roll, then I’ll hand out the tests.” Mr. Johnson said before calling out the names of the class.
Both Steve and Ken stewed in anxiety, sharing in their worries.
A few minutes later, the teacher grabbed a pile of paper from his desk and started to walk around the room, his footsteps echoing against the walls.
“The first test is reading and writing and will last no longer than 64 minutes. We’ll then take a 10 minute break before resuming with the Math test. You’ll have 70 minutes to complete it.” He stated, placing a sheet of paper on each students desk.
Ken listened to the teacher and raised his eyebrow in question. He turned to Steve who still seemed to be sweating bullets, his anxiety evident.
‘Is that it?’ Ken thought. However, judging by his friends expression, it was likely to be very difficult.
Eventually, he received a stack of paper placed upside down on his desk. Ken gulped, feeling that he was wholly unprepared for today’s exam. This had to be the first time he hadn’t studied for a test in his whole life.
“Alright, when I say so, turn your exams over and begin. I’d suggest not trying to cheat, otherwise I’ll remove you from class immediately and you’ll be spending the day in the Principal’s office.” He said threateningly.
“And your time starts… Now.”
The moment he said the word, the sound of paper being handled rang out in the room. Apart from this, everybody was dead silent.
Ken hesitantly turned over the paper and looked down at the sheet. He read the first question and his expression froze.
‘What is this?’ He thought, feeling incredulous.
However, he shook his head, moving onto the next question. But the same expression remained on his face.
Ken quickly scanned the remaining questions on the first page and frowned. He looked up at his friend who was deeply engrossed in his exam, sweat already dripping down his face.
‘Is Steve actually stupid?’
The questions were almost too easy. Even in Japan he was familiar with the English reading and writing questions that were asked in the exam, yet Steve looked like he was struggling.
There was also the fact that they were multiple choice questions. Even if he didn’t exactly know the answer, he could always eliminate a couple of options rather easily before making an educated guess.
With his confidence restored, Ken breezed through the first few pages of questions, almost as if he had access to the answers in his mind. Even without his Academic trait, he believed that he could get most of the questions right.
Before long, he had already completed the first part of the exam and turned his sheet back over. He looked around the room and saw that everyone was still focused on their papers.
‘What now?’
Poor Steve, not having a good run at the moment.
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