There was no such thing as time during the test.
Just a series of questions that broke the silence between each other.
---
Yui stopped counting time in the hall.
She stopped thinking about any kind of measurement.
All that mattered was the next question.
---
Outside, time behaved strangely.
Each second weighed down heavier than it should.
---
The first problem was Akari.
---
She paced since the moment Yui stepped into the test hall.
Left, right, turn, stop, repeat.
---
"I swear, this is worse than the exam."
she said under her breath.
---
Mina glanced at her.
"That makes no sense." she said.
---
"Emotionally."
---
"You’re just stressing yourself out."
---
"It is stress management." Akari clarified.
---
"It is not."
---
"And that is how stress management works." Akari insisted.
---
They didn’t argue with her anymore.
It wouldn’t make things better.
---
Mina took a step toward the bench once.
Spent thirty seconds on it.
Then jumped off and kept pacing.
---
"I think I left my lucky charm in my bag." she said.
---
"You gave it to Yui." Aoi remarked without lifting her head.
---
"...Right." Mina repeated and took her seat.
Then immediately got up.
Then sat again.
Then rose again.
---
"Oscillation." Aoi noted.
---
"Medical term?"
Rika wondered.
---
"Anxiety." Aoi clarified.
---
Rika nodded seriously.
"I’ll draw it."
Nobody tried to change her mind.
It was too late for preventative measures.
---
And Rika already sketched something.
---
Conspiracy Theory #1 – The Exam Has Consciousness
---
Akari looked at it.
"Why did you give the exam eyes?"
"Because it needs to judge us." Rika declared proudly.
---
"That’s not helpful." Mina whispered.
---
"I need something." Rika protested.
---
Aoi put her book down.
"The exam doesn’t have eyes."
---
"You don’t know that." Rika argued instantly.
---
Aoi looked at her intently.
---
"...I do."
---
Meanwhile, Kuro stayed on the distance from the rest.
Observing the entrance to the hall.
His expression stayed calm.
Almost as silent as he was.
---
Minami stood next to him.
Arms crossed.
Her face remained controlled.
Way too controlled.
---
Kuro looked at her.
---
"She’s fine." he said at last.
---
Minami didn’t say anything for a while.
---
"That’s not what worries me." she finally confessed.
---
Kuro glanced at her questioningly.
---
"What worries you then?"
---
"For a second there..."
Minami stopped herself.
Then finished.
"If she panics again..."
---
Kuro nodded.
---
"She won’t."
---
"That’s not something you can guarantee." Minami said sternly.
---
"And I know it." Kuro replied.
---
Silence ensued.
But it was an honest silence.
---
Yui lost any kind of time perception in the test hall.
Though time continued passing anyway.
Slowly but steadily.
---
Question papers flipped.
Pencils scribbled.
Breathe stayed measured.
Even though thoughts tried to interfere.
---
Occasionally...
Moments when fear arose.
---
Did you miss something?
Misunderstood the question?
What if...?
---
But Yui interrupted these thoughts before they could finish forming.
Without fighting them.
Without denying them.
With the help of repeating.
---
Again.
And again.
---
At some point, the test stopped feeling like a challenge.
And started feeling repetitive.
---
In this repetition, fear lost its space to breathe.
---
Not entirely disappeared.
Just decreased in size.
Was limited.
---
On the outside, Mina suddenly glanced around.
---
"We’ve been here for a long time." she noted.
---
"It’s been three hours."
Aoi corrected her politely.
---
"That’s quite a bit of time." Minami added.
---
"Yes, it is." Aoi agreed.
---
"...She’s still in there."
Akari said quietly.
---
They didn’t comment.
Since it was obvious.
Saying it out loud made them feel it.
---
Rika added new pages to her drawings.
Conspiracy Theory #2: Yui is FIGHTING THE EXAM DIMENSION.
---
"Pleasant, please stop drawing." Mina pleaded.
---
"I cannot." Rika denied.
---
"Why?"
---
"It’s becoming a good piece." she admitted.
---
"...This is why education system fails." Aoi sighed.
---
Hours blended into each other eventually.
Lunch break happened unnoticed.
Students were arriving and leaving.
Some announcement reached their ears.
But the group stayed.
---
Waiting.
---
Now in silence.
Just steady waiting.
---
Once, Akari suddenly took a seat.
Uncharacteristic behavior.
---
"My legs are sore." she confessed.
---
"That’s because you were pacing aggressively." Aoi pointed out.
---
"No, I was supporting her."
"You were pacing like a wild predator."
"That’s still called supporting her."
---
Mina handed her bottle of water without words.
And Akari drank it without making a comment.
That was already an unusual event.
---
Kuro stood still.
And kept observing the entrance.
---
Minami noticed.
---
"Aren’t you worried?" she asked.
---
"Yes."
Kuro answered without hesitation.
---
"But it won’t help her." Kuro added.
---
"Of course." Minami agreed quietly.
---
Inside, Yui turned the last papers.
Her hands remained steady.
Neither fast.
Neither slow.
Just steady.
Confident.
---
The last part appeared.
She paused.
Briefly.
Then answered.
And stopped.
---
The test was over.
---
"Stop writing."
Papers were collected.
The test hall started waking up.
Shifting chairs.
Scratching feet.
Breathing became audible again.
---
The time came back to normal flow.
---
Outside, the students started emerging from the hall.
Opening doors.
Going outside one after another.
Some relieved.
Others exhausted.
And many emotionless.
---
Yui appeared.
---
Her steps were steady.
But somehow slow.
Like her body knew that the test was over
long before she realized it with her mind.
---
Her expression showed fatigue.
Not emotions.
Not anything.
Just exhaustion.
Pure and simple.
Like all the energy burned out inside the room
and nothing was left behind.
---
Akari straightened immediately.
Mina held her breath.
Rika closed her notebook.
Aoi raised her head.
Kuro shifted his gaze.
Minami kept silent.
---
Yui blinked.
Then looked at them.
---
And waited for a while.
Because she couldn’t find appropriate words.
Not joyful ones.
Not relieved.
Not scared.
Not confident.
---
Only exhausted ones.
---
"...It’s over."
They held their breath for a few seconds, as if waiting for the world to react in a specific way.
Or more precisely...
As if afraid that their reactions might make Yui lose her balance.
---
Akari couldn’t take it any longer.
She stepped forward, hesitated halfway, and finally decided to try a completely different approach.
---
"...You look terrible."
---
Slow blink from Yui.
"...Thanks."
---
"Compliment."
---
"But..."
"...But what?"
"It IS a compliment."
---
"..."
---
Mina rushed towards Yui but suddenly froze in place.
She raised her hands uncertainly.
---
"Are you ok? Did you pass? Do you need to eat something? Drink something? Sleep? Hospital?"
---
"I don’t need hospital."
Yui answered quietly.
"That’s great!"
Breath that left Mina’s lungs loudly enough.
---
"Hold on..."
Curious tilt of head from Rika.
"You have an expression of a girl that has just completed the hardest battle ever."
---
"...Feels like I did."
---
"Then did you win?"
Rika asked seriously.
---
Yui hesitated for a second, not considering passing or failing grade, not thinking about the right answer, not even analyzing what she had to do.
Just recalling the feeling.
"...Yes. I did."
---
"That’s great news."
Rika nodded. And immediately started writing down something.
---
Aoi approached her carefully and analyzed Yui.
---
"Posture stable, no collapsing. Cognitive function seems to be fine."
---
"Not patient."
"Might become one after eight hours."
---
It made Yui manage to force a smile.
---
Kuro reached her too, looking at her without hesitation.
Not at her clothes.
Not at her posture.
Not at her face.
---
𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂
"...You’ve made it."
---
Yui nodded once, slow and deliberate.
"Yes."
---
Pause.
Not awkward one.
Not embarrassed one either.
---
Minami watched Yui closely but kept staying slightly away from the rest.
She observed silently.
---
Yui’s eyes shifted towards Minami for a moment.
---
And Minami addressed her softly:
"You didn’t freeze."
---
It wasn’t a question.
"No."
---
Silence.
---
And then Akari abruptly slapped her hands together, almost frightening everyone around with loud noise.
"Ok! Emergency recovery plan!"
---
"What now?"
Kuro cautiously asked.
---
"Food."
Akari declared with confidence.
---
"...Plan?"
"And only that?"
"Yes."
---
"That’s reasonable."
Aoi agreed.
---
"...Snacks?"
Rika raised her hand. And nobody was surprised anymore.
---
Yui was somehow transported to an area near the exams center where a couple of benches were.
Food appeared suddenly too.
Nobody even remembered who got it.
Probably Mina.
Or possibly Akari.
Maybe Kuro.
---
Yui sat down slowly.
And her body seemed to notice that it was finally allowed to stop.
---
Inhale.
More prolonged this time.
---
The burden that Yui carried for hours didn’t disappear.
But it did shift a bit.
No longer crushing her chest.
Just sitting somewhere nearby.
---
Mina gave her a drink carefully, like holding some fragile piece of porcelain.
---
"Drink."
---
"...Thanks."
---
While Rika was busy drawing on the other side.
"Should document this phase."
---
"No."
"It’s important research."
"Forget about it."
"I don’t."
"Embarrassing."
---
"That is important information too."
---
Akari lay down on the bench and sighed.
"So...How was it?"
---
Yui looked at her drink for some reason and finally answered.
"...Long."
---
"..."
---
Kuro finally burst into light laughter.
"That feels like right answer."
---
Soft but definitely laugh escaped Yui’s lips, surprising both of them.
---
And Mina was visibly relieved.
---
"That means you are still alive."
---
"I think so."
---
Finally Minami came close enough to say:
"You’ve done what you had to."
---
"...Yes."
---
Pause.
---
Then Akari stood up with an enthusiasm of an excited little kid.
"OK, let’s announce it!"
---
Everybody sighed in unison in advance.
But Akari ignored it.
"Exam Arc is over!"
---
"It’s not over until results are announced."
---
"Emotional."
---
"It’s acceptable."
---
Mina smiled.
"...She tried her best."
---
Kuro observed Yui intently, saying simply:
"She managed well enough."
---
This sentence hung in the air a bit longer than usual.
---
Yui didn’t reply immediately.
For once today...
She didn’t really feel like doing it.
---
She lay down a little bit on the bench, closed her eyes for a couple of seconds...
And started breathing.
---
Not as a genius.
Not as failure.
Not as someone who was expected.
---
Just as somebody who successfully completed very hard task.
---
And survived it.