The afternoon sun shone lazily through the windows, casting a warm glow inside the classroom. The history teacher stood at the front, tapping his textbook.

  "Human beings are not meant to be alone."

  Ken Takahashi blinked.

  "Without each other, we wouldn’t have survived. We are social creatures—if we lived alone, we would have gone extinct long ago" the teacher continued, adjusting his glasses.

  Ken sighed, resting his cheek on his palm. Humans may not be meant to be alone, but I on the otherhand seem to be doing just fine on my own…

  He glanced outside the window. The trees swayed gently, and a group of students laughed in the courtyard. He wasn’t jealous. Not really. Or was he?

  “Oi, Ken! You alive?”

  A hand smacked his back. Ken coughed, snapping back to reality.

  Ryo, his friend since middle school, grinned at him. “Dude, you looked like you were meditating or something. What’s up dude, what's up with that serious face?”

  “I was listening,” Ken muttered.

  The whole class goes silent, and even the teacher starts paying attention towards both of them.

  “Yeah? Then tell me—what did the teacher just say?”

  Ken paused. Then, with a straight face:

  “Umm...Humans should not go extinct?”

  The class burst into laughter. Even the teacher let out a tired sigh.

  “Ken,” he said, rubbing his temples, “since you’re so wise, how about you read the next passage?”

  Ken groaned as Ryo smirked, leaning back in his chair. “See? That’s what you get for daydreaming, bud.”

  As Ken picked up his textbook, he heard a soft chuckle from the seat beside him. He turned to see Aria Hayashi, the most popular girl and most smart in their class, smiling at him.

  “You should at least try to pay attention,” she teased.

  Ken sighed again. It was just another ordinary day for him.

  Or at least, that’s what he thought.

  As the class wrapped up, students stretched and chatted amongst themselves. Some packed their bags, while others stayed behind, discussing the upcoming test.

  Ken leaned back in his chair, rubbing his temples. Why is history always this long-winded and boring?

  Just as he was about to rest his head on his desk, two familiar voices interrupted.

  “Yo, Ken! You preparing for the upcoming test or slacking off as usual?”

  Ken sighed. Tetsuo Asano and Daichi Nakamura, his other two friends, stood beside his desk, arms crossed.

  “Slacking, obviously,” Ryo answered for him, laughing.

  Ken shot him a glare. “I was going to prepare.”

  Tetsuo scoffed. “Yeah? And when exactly were you planning to start? The night before?”,smirking

  Ken blinked. “I mean...That is still before the test, isn't it?”

  Daichi shook his head. “At this rate, you’ll be barely scraping by, man. We’re second-years now, you gotta take this seriously.”

  Ken waved him off. “Relax, I’ll pass. As I always do.”

  “Barely,” Daichi muttered.

  Tetsuo leaned in, grinning. “Maybe if a certain someone tutored you, you’d actually score higher.”

  Ken frowned. “I have no interest in being tutored by anyone and also who will tutor a guy like me ?”

  Tetsuo jerked his head toward the front of the classroom, where Aria Hayashi was packing her bag.

  Ken sighed, already sensing where this was going. “No.”

  “C’mon, dude! She’s top of the class! And you do sit next to her,” Tetsuo nudged him.

  “I’m not asking her.”

  Daichi smirked. “Why not? She talks to you sometimes. That’s more than she does with most guys.”

  Ken frowned. "Yeah, but that doesn’t mean we’re friends, so get that idea out of head now."

  Before he could respond, Aria suddenly turned in their direction.

  Ken froze.

  Had she heard them?

  Aria met Ken’s eyes for a second. Then, she simply smiled and walked out of the classroom.

  Silence.

  Tetsuo and Daichi turned to Ken with devious grins.

  Ryo patted his shoulder. “Yeah, bro, you’re done for.”

  Ken groaned, dropping his head onto his desk, letting out a sigh.