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viii.
love
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The big day has finally arrived, and Harith and Nana couldn't help but notice that everyone was emitting a gloomy vibe. Each and every student had a frown on their face, and Harith very well knew the reason behind it. Their exams had recently finished, so that meant, it was time to face their results. He wasn't entirely bothered by it, because he knew that he had tried his best. But, to others who only gave half of their effort, they were definitely anxious with the results awaiting them.
"Geez, it's like this every single time," Nana said, glancing around. She tilted her head to look at him. "I mean, everyone should relax a little right? It's just mid-year exams."
Harith couldn't help but inwardly shook his head. He was glad that Nana wasn't worried about receiving her results, but, after getting third last in class for three times in a row, maybe she should be a little worried? However, he knew that her playful nature was the cause of it, and that she's actually very smart. But he hoped that she would one day realise that she needed to take her exams seriously.
"Oh, look! That's Harley!" Nana said, grabbing his hand. Harith had to keep up with her pace when she dragged him to the Mage Genius. "Harley!"
Said mage heard Nana's voice, and he turned around to look at them. The two of them were relieved when he looked better than before. After they heard that Harley paid his mother a visit in prison, they noticed that his eyes were all dried up, and he had formed dark circles under his eyes. They soon realised that Harley had been crying a lot, and it pained them that they couldn't do anything about it. They didn't know what had happened during his visit with his mother, but, seeing the bruise on his forehead, they could tell that things didn't go well.
"Hey, Harley," Nana said cautiously. She examined the mage for a moment, and she was relieved when the colour of his face had returned. Though, his eyes still looked dried. "Are you... okay now?"
Harley smiled faintly at her as he closed his locker. "I'm fine now. Lesley had been taking good care of me."
Nana's ears perked up at his words, and she grinned at him. Even though he didn't look one hundred percent okay, but at least he wasn't hurt anymore. At least, physically. "So... how do you feel about getting results?"
Harith could feel himself tensing, and he sent a nudge at the cat elf's arm. It was bad enough that Harley looked emotionally drained, so there was no need to add any more stress to him. He knew that Harley would always get number one in class, but, who knows? What if he's internally anxious about getting his results?
However, Harley just gave her a small smile as he averted his gaze. His voice was almost inaudible when he said, "I just hope I can still get number one. I want to make Lesley proud."
It felt different to hear Harley saying that so timidly. Usually, before everyone found out that he was actually getting abused, Harley would rub off his excellent grades in front of everyone's faces. It would make the whole class irritated, and everyone would hate him even more after that. But, now that they knew what was really happening to him, they couldn't help but feel pity towards him. His mother probably doesn't appreciate the results he gets, and he probably needed to show it to someone to appreciate his own efforts.
