Puzzle box

Part 9 In the city

The following week had gone by faster than anyone could have predicted, almost like the following week was coming to them. Nishikata and Takagi had continued to study together, and thanks to his most recent grades, Nishikata managed to convince his parents to let him apply to the same highschool as Takagi, though he did not tell them why he wanted to apply there.

It was now the day of the exam, and Nishikata and Takagi were on the train together, on their way to the test location.

"Nervous?" Takagi asked.

"Very." Nishikata replied.

"Well, relax." She took his hand causing his heart to beat even faster. "Remember, we've been studying together for the past two weeks, if you fail, then I would probably fail as well."

"That ... isn't comforting." He grasped his head. "Now I feel even more pressure to do good."

"You will, just try to think about what we studied."

Nishikata took a deep breath and began going over what they studied as Takagi tried to ease her own nerves. 'Nishikata ... you have a lot more potential than you realize ... if you're nervous, then it's making me nervous as well.' She took a deep breath and calmed herself. 'I just need to make sure that I remain calm as well, or Nishikata's going to get so nervous that his grade will be affected.' "So, what did your parents say when you told them you were going to the same school as me?"

"I haven't told them yet."

"Really? Why's that?"

"They would think that I was in love with you, and think that I was going to this highschool just to be with you."

"Is that second one not the exact case?"

Nishikata laughed. "I guess it is."

"See, oh, here's our stop."

They both got up as they reached their stop, and made their way off before looking for where to go for their exam. "This place is ... a lot bigger than I expected."

"Yeah, I mean, I knew this city would be big but I never expected it to be this big." She pulled out her phone and opened a GPS. "This way."

They began making their way through the city, taking a chance to look at all of the different places they passed. "Wow, there sure are a lot of restaurants on this route." Nishikata stated.

"Yeah, maybe we could stop by some on our way home from school."

"Y-yeah." Nishikata said with a blush.

They continued their way to the school and reached it before too long, managed to reach their location. "So ... this is it?" Nishikata asked as he stared at the building in front of him.

"Yup." Takagi replied.

They looked around and found where other students who were there for the exam were entering and followed them. "Wow, it's hard to believe that this is where we'll be going to school next year." Takagi said as she looked around.

"Yeah, it feels so surreal." Nishikata replied.

They reached a table near the entrance of the test hall where they signed in before moving inside and looking for their seats. "Looks like I'm this way." Takagi said as she pointed in a direction.

"Looks like I'm ... nowhere near you." Nishikata replied.

"Makes sense, they probably want to keep students from the same school apart to prevent cheating."

"Yeah ... so, I'll see you after?"

"Yeah, we'll stop by some place and grab something to eat when we finish."

"Yeah." Nishikata felt a sense of ease, even though he was now being separated from Takagi. 'Okay, I can do this ... I can get into the same highschool as Takagi! Then I'll be able to spend more time with her!' Meaning I'll have more time to get together with her, AND GET BACK AT HER!' He took a deep breath and readied himself. 'But first, I need to pass this test.'