She gave a quiet, amused chuckle escape her lips. She was certain all of her friends would rather die than to be in her situation. Gazing at the thin sheet of paper in front of her, she thought ‘hey, it’s not that bad. Could have been worse.’

‘Candidate Name: NAKAJIMA, Aiko

Candidate Number: 5812

Center Number: 42292

Art and Design – A

English Language – C

English Literature – B

Coordinated Sciences – C

Graphic Products – A

History – C

Media Studies – B

Maths – C’

4 Cs, 2 Bs and 2 As.

Yup, her friends would rather die than to have that many Cs in their reports. It intrigued Aiko, really, how anyone can be stressed over getting a C. it was still a pass. But, gazing lazily at the other occupants of her table, her friends were a lot more intellectual than her. Aiko would sometimes wonder why she was even in their little knowledgeable clique.

Aiko glanced at her watch. It’s been about 5 minutes since they received their results. Anytime soon…

“UGHH. My mom is going to kill me!!”

“WHAT!! I studied so hard for History and I only got a B!”

“I’m dead…”

And so, Aiko lent back on her chair and watched as her group of friends brood/quarrel/complain about their exam results.

“I got a B! A B for Maths! What did you get Mercedes?” one of their friends asked. “I bet you got an A”

Mercedes laughed shyly. “Nah, I only got an A” Murmurs of compliments followed Mercedes answer. Mercedes was always the smart one, the one with top grades. Not only that, but she had also received a few male admirers in school. Yet, ironically, she was Aiko’s best friend. Aiko wasn't the polar opposite of Mercedes, but they have their obvious differences.

Mercedes was, inevitably, a true lady. Elegant, pretty and well mannered. She hardly put on make up, contrary to the general population of girls her age. She had pretty features, long hazel hair and golden eyes; the only thing negative about her was her weird obsessions and vulnerable nature.

Aiko, on the other hand, was, shortly put, a slight tomboy. Although she had nothing against skirts and makeup, she did her best to avoid them. She wasn't exceptionally pretty, her short, chin length hair usually gave people the impression that she was a boy. However, due to the passage of time and the process of puberty, more of her femininity were kicking in. much to her displeasure. Although she wouldn't like to be mistaken as a boy forever, she would still scowl at any compliments from her relatives and her parents’ friends concerning her feminine maturity. Make no mistake, Aiko isn’t cold hearted, just a bit cynical.

Aiko put her head on her palm and gazed lazily at the sight of girls crowding around her best friend, wow-ing and ooh-ing at her results. A scene Aiko had seen countless of times, any normal person would have felt inferior to their best friend’s good results, but Aiko was indifferent about it. But she couldn't help but give a small grin at Mercedes’ modesty.

Then, suddenly, a pair of strong hands fell forcefully on Aiko’s shoulder. Giving her a slight jump. Turning around casually, her emerald eyes met a pair of those of identical hue.

“Yo! Aiko!”

“Yo. Shin.” She replied to the boy standing behind her chair. His proper name was Shinichi, one of Aiko’s few close friends. They were often mistaken as brother and sister in many circumstances, but they weren’t related in anyway. It was just that they both had short black hair and the same shade of green eyes. They both had the same passions and dislikes, excluding the odd few tastes in food.

“How’d you do in the exam?” he asked Aiko, hands still on her shoulders. In reply, Aiko held up her report for him to read. He took his hands off her shoulders and examined the paper Aiko gave him. He scanned it for a bit.

“Not too bad, you beat me at art, again.” He said as he handed the paper back to her.

“Let’s see your results.” Aiko half commanded, half asked Shinichi. He only shook his head. A silent no.

“Why not? I let you see mine.” Aiko asked out of curiosity, she wasn't going to get mad over an insignificant piece of paper.

He shook his head again.

Yes, he was like that. Aiko knew better than to pursue the matter further. Ever since the first week she knew him she realized that Shinichi set firm boundaries to things that were personal to him. No one was allowed to see inside his wallet, no one was allowed to even peek at his e-mail account, no one was allowed to touch his school diary or read his homework. He was just like that.

It sometimes depressed Aiko that he wouldn't let her know more about him. It made her wonder if any of his other close friends had permission to look at his wallet. He had other friends that were closer to him than Aiko, she would often remind herself that. Why would he show her, of all people, his personal belongings if he had so many other close friends?

“Fine, fine.” She turned her head back to the front and waved her hand dismissively. She was not going to look angry.

Just then, a head found its way on the side of Aiko’s desk. She gave a second jump of the day, only to realize it was another one of her friends.

“Hi Carlos!”

“Hey Ai-chan!” He gave her a bright smile. Carlos was, put simply, the heartthrob of the year. Although the funny thing about his admirers was that they didn't swoon over him. ‘Hm…silent fan girls’ Aiko thought ‘interesting…’ And that was probably the only reason why Carlos had time to talk to Aiko and Mercedes. Carlos had short, curly blonde hair and coffee coloured eyes. He was often seen with Shinichi, too often. Aiko would always tease and question their sexual preferences, which earned her quite a few menacing glares from the both of them.

“I bet I beat you at Media!” Carlos declared.

“What! Hell no! You? Beat me?” Aiko replied, so he wanted to challenge her, bring it on!

“I got a B! Beat that, Nakajima!”

“I got a B too.”

“Oh…well I bet I got a high B!”

“You wouldn't know, now would you?”

“…Whatever!”

Carlos and Aiko glared at each other for a while, only to break into fits of laughter afterwards. Aiko’s group of friends looked at the two who were currently laughing as if they were 12 year olds raised their eyebrows. A few among them, Carlos’ secret admirers stared in awe at how Carlos and Aiko conversed in such a laid back way. Girls whom Carlos had his full attention to usually became overly nervous and talkative, which would annoy Carlos and initially loose his attention. Oh, the horror! But, as they observed the two, they saw them make a gesture that answered all their questions.

“Good job, man.” Carlos raised a fist.

“You too, dude.” Aiko replied and outstretched her arm, fist clenched.

The tanned fist of Carlos collided with Aiko’s paler one firmly but casually in mid air.

Carlos treated Aiko like a guy. Not only Carlos, but a lot of other boys in their grade. Aiko was known for her boyishness and dislike of femininity, it wasn't surprising for anyone that she was treated like a boy. Sometimes her friends would wonder how boys would sometimes totally neglect the fact that she was a girl. Sure, her hair was short, but she still wears the school skirt, she still had a figure, but those thoughts would stop at that. Her business was her business.

…

“…So if the half-life of Americium is this…after so many years due to radioactive decay…”

Mercedes nudged Aiko slightly with her elbow, hissing her name.

“Ai-chan! Ai-chan!” Sure, Aiko was looking at the front, but it was obvious to everyone she wasn't paying an ounce of attention by the blank look on her face. Aiko turned her head to Mercedes and stuck her tongue out. Mercedes sighed at her best friend’s reply, for all the years she had known her (which was 8 counting this year.) Aiko had always been too lazy to listen to class after the first term.

Mercedes leaned over to Aiko.

“Don’t forget baseball practice today, Ai-chan”

“Don’t worry, I’ll go, Ms. Manager!” Yes, Mercedes was the manager of the school baseball team, not to mention a character in the wanted hall of fame for the tennis team. A lot of people have asked her why she didn't join the tennis team, Mercedes will politely say she wasn't interested. Aiko knew perfectly why she didn't join the tennis team, if she joined the tennis team, she would need to cope with a group of annoying Carlos fan girls who would throw hidden insults at her for being too close to him.

Aiko would shudder involuntarily at the thought of Carlos’ fan girls. Scary.

What was Aiko’s position in the baseball team? She was easily the top batter in school, she could hit every single thing that came towards her, insects included. Her aiming skills were the treasure of the baseball team. Another treasure of the baseball team would be Shinichi’s pitching skills. It was always a wonder to watch Shinichi as pitcher and Aiko as batter because the outcomes are always unpredictable.

She brushed away short strands of hair away from her moist forehead and adjusted the white and blue cap. She slowly raised her right and gripped onto the wooden bat firmly along with the left.

Random students stood behind the fences, feeling the tension between the batter and the pitcher. Some silently cheering, some shouting encouraging words.

The sun shone brightly on the baseball diamond, casting a dark shadow against the top half of her face as well as his. He smirked confidently; it had been two strikes already. He had won the bet, but he was not victorious yet. One more to go.

He lifted up his left knee and drew his right arm back. Weight shifted to his right leg.

Her grip on the green fabric of the bat tightened.

His weight shifted to his left foot as he brought his knee down. He swung his left arm. Momentum caused him to thrust the ball forward.

She watched as the ball travel towards her, eyes narrowing as she swung the bat towards it.

PING.

The small crowd watched in awe as the ball soared through the sky and over the fence.

Aiko gave a sigh of relief, if she wasn't able to hit three pitches she would have to go through another one of his tortures. She sighed as she walked towards the pitching mound. Shinichi’s smirk grew bigger as Aiko walked towards him. She wanted to smack herself for making that stupid bet. They agreed that if she were able to hit two throws, Shinichi would have to put up with her tasks and vice versa. Naturally, if either one of them lost to all three of the throws, the other would have the authority to tell the loser to do something worse.

“What will it be this time, teme.” She said glaring at him.

“Now, now, what did I say you should call me?” He said tartly. Pleasure grew inside him when he saw her jaw tighten.

“Fine, Shinichi-sama” she said through gritted teeth, eyes twitching at the ‘sama’ part

“You know, I cant think of anything right now under this heat, I’ll tell you in the locker room where I can think properly.” He said as he took off his baseball glove. Aiko twitched again. He was toying with her, saving his sweet time tormenting her.

“I hate you.”

“Aww, I love you too.”

Aiko would have sworn her eye muscle was having a seizure.