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Cahaya annoyingly shifts himself to different positions while lying on the clinic bed.
Unfortunately for him, Tanah had to go back to Teacher Papa's class. Only Cahaya was excused out, Tanah just escorted him to the clinic.
He groans, "Ugh...This is so annoying. What if I miss some homework details if Teacher Papa happens to give any."
. . .
He stared at the blank, white ceiling, "The only good thing about this place is having a peaceful environment."
He's right. Sometimes he actually does prefer to be alone in a room—but it does get lonely.
He sighs loudly and couldn't help but shift to another position again. He's bored right now.
Perhaps if he stays too long in here, he might end up going insane. Fortunately, he doesn't feel like thinking about what happened earlier in class.
He checks the clock on top of the clinic's door.
Oh, would you look at that. Their class is going to end soon. it's currently 11:10am...
. . .
He heard footsteps outside the clinic's door. Followed up by a familiar voice. Who is that?
"Thank you, Nurse [REDACTED]." a voice echoed from the outside.
He looks at the door as it slowly opens. The figure slowly shows up from the door and it turns out to be the spiky head guy with glasses.
If it isn't obvious yet it's Fang, "Fang? What are you doing here? And you got out of class 5 minutes early?"
Fang chuckled, "Ha! That's because I answered Teacher Papa's riddle and I get to leave early." he puffed his chest out.
Cahaya eyerolls, "Let me guess... out of 10 riddles you managed to answer 1?"
Fang gulped and had a shocked expression, "What the- how did you?! Okay."
Fang sighs, "Anyways, I had nothing else to do. Our lunch break is an hour anyway. I decided to visit you instead." he said as he slowly approaches Cahaya.
"Hm." Cahaya positioned himself sitting, "I can leave the clinic once our class is over, I don't need 'visitors.'"
"I'm just doing this as a friend, Mr. Smarty Pants."
Cahaya grabbed his cap and glasses from the table beside his bed, "Thanks anyway."
Fang smiled softly and gives him a hand to stand up. Lunch break's about to start.
"I can stand by myself." Cahaya said while looking at him weirdly, "You accepted my hand idiot."
Cahaya glared at him for the name call. It made Fang chuckle as much as to his annoyance.
"Idiot"
"Spiky head."
"Why you-!" Fang said as he pointed his finger aggressively at Cahaya's chest.
"I don't need more of your hands near me. Bye!" Cahaya said as he hastily goes for the door, fixing the position of his glasses.
"Woy! Wait for me!" Fang exclaimed behind him, as the other cackles his way out.
If it isn't obvious yet, they have the chaotic dynamic. Kind of makes their friendship interesting.
As the duo finally walks out of the clinic, the bell rings. It made Cahaya jump; he has forgotten that the time would already be 11:15am by the time they go out.
They continued chatting in the hallways together. Yes, it seems like Cahaya has forgotten about the event that happened earlier in class.
A few minutes have passed, and Fang had to leave him since a teacher asked for his assistance. Cahaya said it was okay though.
And the duo parted ways.
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He continued walking down the hallway. He needed to go back to Teacher Papa's class since his backpack was still there.
As he gets closer, he sees his classmates hastily running outside of the room. They're probably excited for lunch.
As he slowly makes his way to the classroom, he spots his brothers walking out of the room.
Some of his brothers turned to his direction and exclaimed his name from not too far.
Of course, Daun heard "Cahaya" as he desperately looks everywhere trying to look for him and-
The duo made eye contact. Of course, Daun hastily rushed to his brother and opened his arms.
Cahaya obviously knew what he was about to do and let Daun tackle him to a hug.
"CAHAYAA!!" Daun exclaimed once more as he tackles the other to a hug.
A squeak was heard from Cahaya, "Daun! - Too tight!" and Daun immediately lets him go.
"Huh?! WAHHHH I'M SORRY!" Daun couldn't help but exclaim yet again.
"Daun, stop screaming at his ears." Petir came up from behind followed by the rest of their brothers.
"It's fine." he said calmly.
. . . "Are you alright now, Cahaya?" Tanah asked as he suddenly appeared beside Daun.
Cahaya smiled softly, "Of course I am. Why shouldn't I be?"
Tanah giggled a bit, "Of course that's what you would say. Here's your bag by the way." he said while handing over his bag.
"Ah, thanks. I was actually heading back here to get my bag." Cahaya said while he accepts the bag Tanah was giving to him.
Cahaya was about to say something again, only to be interrupted by the stubborn, red capped boy. "Okay, can we all finally go to the cafeteria now?! I'm hungry!!" Api exclaimed behind them. The others couldn't help but sigh or glare at him.
"Dude you just ate so much during breaktime, how are you hungry again?" Angin said, while slapping the back of his head, making Api scowl at him.
"What the!? You didn't need to hit me!" he said as he was about to tackle his second eldest brother to the ground. Fortunately for Angin, Air was holding on to the idiot's jacket.
"Okay, settle down! Let's all head to the canteen now." Tanah said, turning his head to Petir, who just nods at the leader's command.
So far, after that thing that happened earlier. Surprisingly, his brothers weren't being overprotective idiots that won't let him do anything. Tanah probably told them to be chill about it though, which should be a good thing for once.
Cahaya sighs as he gets dragged by Daun. Unfortunately for him, this peaceful atmosphere won't be here for too long.
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Time skip - Currently 7:30PM.
"Come on, let's go to my room." Cahaya said while he grabs his bag.
"YAY!!" TTM exclaimed surprisingly at the same time. They even looked at each other weirdly. One of them even pointing at the other and said, "Did we just say the same thing at the same time?"
"Cool! Right Caha- HEY! Wait for us!" Api yelled as Cahaya goes up the stairs looking down at the trio with a tongue out.
Obviously, the trio followed him from behind. Petir, who was at the couch listening to them, "Oi, you three. Don't drag our brother insane, alright?" which made Angin eyeroll.
"Was that supposed to be an insult?" Daun looked at his brother with a frown as he continues to walk upstairs.
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The trio finally made it into Cahaya and Daun's shared bedroom. They look around as they see Cahaya sitting near his desk, holding a textbook.
"Can't believe I have to help you three on the Math homework." Cahaya said, trying to sound annoyed. Of course, the trio was blinded by excitement and anger that they didn't even notice his tone.
"Ughhh, I can't believe these two actually dragged me here to do the math homework!" Api scowled and groans afterwards.
"Fractions shouldn't be too hard, come on." Cahaya said as he gets off his chair, and sits on the carpet in their room.
"So... page... oh, I've gotten the wrong textbook." Cahaya said irritated.
"Daun, can you get my math textbook in my bag? It's closer to you."
Daun hastily stands up, "Anything for you, sunshine!" and that name call made Cahaya's face red.
"Can you all stop calling me that..." he said embarrassed, covering his face.
Angin and Daun couldn't help but giggle, "You're lucky to have a cute nickname! The only name I get is Angin!"
Api smirked at him, "Actually, you have two other nicknames. Idiot and crackhead!"
Angin looks at him angry, "Very funny! And I'm pretty sure you just called yourself!"
"Okay, don't bring your petty argument in my room." Cahaya said as he crosses his arms.
Daun giggles as he opens the bag near the bunkbed. He couldn't help but notice the test paper Teacher Papa gave to them earlier, the paper looks a little bit crumpled, as it sits on top of Cahaya's textbooks.
Daun was astonished to see Cahaya's score, "Woah! Your score is pretty high, Cahaya! Good job!" he praises him.
"What?" was the response Cahaya could say before he realized what Daun was talking about. He immediately looks at the paper Daun was holding and couldn't help but hastily go over to him.
He harshly grabs the paper, "Don't look at that!" Cahaya immediately changed his expression to a horrified look.
Oh god, it's all coming back to him. The exact time he got his results. — As he grabs the paper, he checks the results of his test paper again. As expected, he cringed looking right at it.
23/30... sure, not bad they say. But I could've done better. This isn't enough. Not enough to make the others proud.
"Cahaya?" Daun looks at him worried, "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to look at your test paper.."
Cahaya continues to look at his paper blankly, it gave Daun a shiver down his spine. Without a second to waste, Cahaya crumples the paper and throws it near the trash can.
He heard a couple of gasps from the trio. As the trio looks at him shocked and in disbelief. Did he seriously just crumple his paper like that!?
"Cahaya?... Did you just-"
"It's not worth mentioning my result."
Angin and Api, who was sitting on the carpet watching this scene go on, couldn't help but exchange looks.
Cahaya heard the other two mumbling something, but he chose to ignore it. Who cares?
"I-I... here's your... math textbook..." Daun said while he offers the textbook he was holding. Though, he looked like he was about to tear up. It made Cahaya sigh.
"Sorry." Cahaya frowns, "Come on."
The duo finally sat with the other two on the carpet. There was a moment of silence before they actually started doing their homework.
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... Cahaya just helped them to do their math homework. He's acting like nothing ever happened for this day.
The trio was awkwardly listening to him while at the same time, ranting about how stupid fractions is!
Come on, fractions aren't THAT bad. Unless people
makes them TOO complicated when you reach high school.
"Do you guys understand?" Cahaya said as he points to the equation he was just explaining.
"How the hell does a fraction become a what number?" Api said confused.
"Whole number."
"Whatever! How does that work? How did you get 12?!"
Cahaya sighs in frustration, "It will only turn into a whole number if the numerator is divisible by the denominator like this one over here... 24 is divisible by 2 that's why our answer is 12. It's a rule of the- blahblahblahblahblahblah."
Api couldn't help but cover his ears. Daun was trying to process what in the living hell he was saying. And Angin just giggled in relief, despite the stuff that's been happening to Cahaya, he's still the smart brother he is—spouting even more details about their lessons. Angin can still see it in him and smiled.
"I can feel my head about to explode hearing all of this-" Api was interrupted when they heard someone knocking on the door.
"Hey... it's Tanah. Is it alright for me to get in?" he said in a calming tone.
"Of course, Tanah!" Angin exclaimed, as the door slowly opens. Tanah is seen holding a tray with glasses of water, and peanut butter & jelly sandwiches.
"How's the homework going?" Tanah asked.
"It's alright."
"My brain is about to explode, Tanah!" Api said desperately, showing gestures that he wants to stop this madness.
"You're overreacting." Tanah chuckled, as Api hastily leaves the room.
"OI API! We're still not done—we still have 1 more page to answer!" Angin exclaims as he runs after Api.
"You're going to have to catch me you idiot!" Api yelled from downstairs; they can also hear Petir telling him to shut up.
"Heyyy! Wait for meee!" Daun gets up and follows the other two.
Tanah couldn't help but sigh, Cahaya in the other hand just facepalms, "These idiots."
Tanah just shook his head, "Don't mind them, they'll eventually come back anyway. You can eat while waiting."
"I'll eat a snack later..."
...
"Tanah?" Cahaya called his name. It made Tanah look at him kind of worried. "Did I miss any... important announcements when I wasn't present?"
"Ah..." Tanah was thinking, "Oh, Teacher Papa won't be available for the next 2 weeks due to family stuff. But we're still going to take the extra quizzes next week. Miss May will be handling his 3 other subjects, and Wednesday's PE class will be skipped."
Shoot. He has completely forgotten about the extra quizzes next week. Useless quizzes that will "guide" us for our final exams.
He couldn't believe that he screwed up this week, now he has to continue this kind of torture. His fear of failure is slowly becoming a part of his reality, a big insecurity slowly growing that he didn't even know he had.
The world seriously hates him. Because this last second announcement had to exactly happen right after he struggles in ONE particular quiz because of an event that happened last week?
A quiz that he shouldn't even have flunked up! It was easy! Time was against him for no reason, it wasn't fair!
He is smart! A mastermind genius he is! Or was it all fake? And he's actually just a sore loser pretending to be brilliant? He just used books to boost his intelligence—he didn't just randomly snap his fingers and boom—he's suddenly smart?
Is he even considered as a gifted child with a big brain? A kid that's incredibly clever? The smartest brother out of the septuplets?
Or will those titles just be thrown out at the dust? And next week will prove that! His brothers will finally see the downfall of his, but he doesn't want that to happen! It shouldn't happen! I-
"Cahaya?"
Woops, he got a little too carried away there.
"Huh? What is it?" he looks at Tanah, but for some reason he was giving him a concerned look.
"What's with the face? Did I do something wrong?"
"Are you okay?" Tanah asked.
Well, that was the most random thing he could ever bring up.
"Yeah?" he said as he clears his throat, "What makes you question?"
"I don't know... but you've been zoning out more than usual. Not to mention, the thing that happened earlier in Teacher Papa's class. Are you hiding something big from us?" Tanah said with a frown.
Cahaya couldn't help but gulp. "It's normal for humans to zone out. And like I said, it was just a headache, nothing else."
How ironic, he IS hiding something from them. Hiding the fact that he's currently at his "academic downfall."
"Are you sure?" Tanah said in his "feeling suspicious" tone.
Now this made Cahaya think. Should he tell Tanah what's been in his mind for the past few days? Or he'll just make fun of him for being an idiot and he should accept the fact he's not a genius?
No! Tanah won't ever do that to him! But... you never know. And the fact this is just a stupid thing to happen for kids who are "grade conscious." God, why does he have to be the genius one in the first place!
"Yea." Cahaya said while he grabs the textbook to finish the rest of his homework.
Tanah sighs and stands up, "Let's both hope that's true. I'll head downstairs now to help Tok Aba with something. Is that alright?"
Cahaya silently nods. Though, he really wanted to stay more with Tanah, but in this case, I guess not. He watched the earth elemental exit their room, and he couldn't help but sigh.
He stares back at his textbook, just to get reminded about the number of quizzes they will go through next week.
... Should he do an all-nighter once again? I mean... it's Friday anyway and we have the weekends. But he remembered the time Tok Aba scolded him for staying up late, and that he shouldn't do it again.
But he has to, for the sake of his grades. It's better to sacrifice your own mental health than leaving the others disappointed in you.
[The creator here -- do NOT listen to this advice. Please take care of your mental health first, take a breather and study only when you have time. Grades do not defy you afterall.]
He checks the time, currently 8:30pm. Time is truly fast, isn't it?
He doubts that the other three will come back to finish their homework. They have time to continue in the weekends anyway.
But our boy Cahaya here doesn't have any time to spare.
He needs to study. He needs to prepare.
He shouldn't get more than 5 mistakes. If he starts to flop the next pop quizzes his academic achiever title will be GONE.
Every test must be perfect. HE has to get number 1.
So that everyone will think highly of him. And the gossiping of his classmates will finally stop.
. . .
But... his brothers will scold him for staying up late anyway. It's true that it's unhealthy for me.
But will they even care afterwards if they realize their youngest brother isn't a genius?!
They'll think so different of me if they found out how much mistakes I've got in the recent quiz.
J-just like that one time where they... laughed... laughed at me? Wait, did they? No!
UGH! I don't even know anymore!
He slams his desk in frustration. Eyes about to bawl, but he held it back. He made sure to control it this time before any of his brothers or even Tok Aba sees him crying again.
He already holds the record of crying the most this week! What's worse is that two... or three... of his brothers already know?
He can't think properly right now! What is happening to him... this is starting to get annoying.
He snaps his head directly towards the stacked books.
He then lets out a shaky breath, "Why do I have to be stereotyped as the smartest in this family... it's so tiring to keep up as an academic achiever."
Wait.
. . .
What if he just stopped being one?
. . .
Okay no way! The way people will think of him will be far worse!
He takes a deep breath, "My future is in my own hands." he said and immediately grabbed a book and flipped it on page one.
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Big time skip -- current day: Monday -- Time: Start of their first class...
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Here we are now. There's no more turning back.
Hell week is here. I can't imagine what more events could happen for the rest of his whole school year.
What's worse is that he did not sleep yesterday at all. He can already feel his consciousness slipping off, but he fought through it.
Fortunately for him, his first subject didn't have any quizzes. But he almost slept from the boring lecture. But I guess it's better than answering those hectic quizzes.
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Breaktime.
Cahaya continued to stare at his food blankly. Not even a hint of his current expression.
What was he thinking about right now? A lot of stuff.
You know... the quizzes, his annoying classmates, him not sleeping, the results last week, and finally the event that started this.
His mind keeps on brainstorming every single negative thing that he could ever imagine right now.
That awful flashback...nightmare? It keeps on playing on his head as if it's a movie on a loop!
That memory he can't even remember properly continues to haunt him. It was his first time FAILING.
The unknown expressions his brothers and mom gave him? Were they disappointed!? Were they angry!? Or even happy because he failed!?-
"Cahaya?" A voice said in a worried tone for the umpteenth time in this story.
He froze when he realized he was zoning out. Wait how long has he been there?
"What time is it?!" He said in panic.
"Uhh... almost our second period. I-If you want it to be specific then 9:27am..." Daun said.
Cahaya was horrified. He didn't read any of his textbooks during breaktime. The only thing he did was doze off.
Petir stood up beside them, "Let's go then, I don't wanna end up being late."
"Alrighty!" Daun said cheerfully. But a hint of concern was still shown on his face.
Cahaya couldn't help but let out a shaky breath. Enough for the other two to hear.
"What was that?" Petir curiously asked looking back at Cahaya.
"What?" Cahaya made sure to keep his tone natural to avoid suspicion.
Daun and Petir exchanged looks, "Nevermind. Come on." he said while he continued to walk.
. . . Now that was awkward.
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He was kind of far behind the other two. They look like they were talking about something.
Not sure why he was walking slower, but he's probably tired for not sleeping. Stupid Cahaya, who said it was a good idea to not sleep before a school day?
He was about to step inside the classroom, but he actually hesitated.
The atmosphere inside that room is something he has hated for days. Thanks to those classmates that don't know how to respect others!
He turned to his right, and he saw Miss May slowly making her way to the classroom.
He gasps and rushed his way to his desk. Unfortunately for him, he caught a sight of papers the teacher was holding... he was guessing it was the extra quizzes they have to take for this week.
His running alerted the others and they immediately yelled, "The teacher's coming!"
They knew Miss May was coming because... who wouldn't rush inside if they saw their teacher coming? Yeah exactly.
"Stand up!" The class president exclaimed. "Good morning teacher." and was soon followed by the others.
"Good morning everybody. You may take your seats now." The teacher said with a smile.
"I'm sure Teacher Papa has announced why I'm here. And you all will be getting pop quizzes for this week as a result of your reviewer for the final exams, yes?"
"Yes teacher." multiple people said.
"Great, with no further explanations. Let's start our history quiz now." the teacher said as she starts handing out the papers.
. . .
The teacher handing out the papers. Everything looks so familiar. It's like we're on a loop or something.
He continued to look at the papers desperately. Something he would be doing everyday now.
When he received his paper, he decided to cover his eyes first with his hands, taking a deep breath. Hopefully no one is seeing this right now.
He finally took another deep breath and grabbed his pencil.
He hovered over to the first question. "Who invented the telephone?"
Easy! That should be... should be...
His mind cuts himself off.
Wait, his name started with an A! Oh wait, the three of them here has the letter A as the start of their name.
Unless it's actually D, and my mind is deceiving me to thinking his name started with an A just because everyone here has the letter A.
Okay shut up no! It does start with the letter A, I've read it when it was... 2am. Or was it 3am? Okay STOP!
Alexander Graham Belt... Albert Einstein.. okay it's obviously not the second option!
His right hand started to shake a bit now.
Stupid hand! Stupid brain! It's obviously Alexander, why is my mind overthinking this much?! Has it always been like this!?
Okay stop, like actually, STOP. I need to concentrate. Ugh. I should've actually listened to Tanah and slept early with Daun.
They had limited time. Cahaya knew time was going to be against him again, so he made a mistake by rushing the test again.
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40 Minutes pass by. (Surprisingly Long)
"Everybody, please pass your test here in front 30 minutes has been finished." Miss May announced while standing up.
Cahaya gasps for air, he didn't even realize he was holding his breath for a whole minute. How did he not pass out yet?
He stood up, but he didn't realize his legs were actually shaking, so he fell to the ground. How many times has he embarrassed himself in front of the class already?
"Cahaya?!" Angin said worriedly while he crouches to help Cahaya up. This caught the attention of the others
"I stood up too fast. I'm..." he quickly reasoned but trailed off.
"You're?..."
"I'm fine."
Petir suddenly came from behind and helped him up with Angin. Eventually Tanah also came. Just the older brothers being the good siblings they are.
"Sorry" he said randomly.
"What for?"
"For wasting your time. And I can stand up by myself."
"I-"
"Boys? What's going on... is Cahaya alright?" Miss May slowly approached them.
"Nothing ma'am!" Angin covered them up for some reason, "Just trying to pass their papers for them since he fell... hehe..." he awkwardly grinned.
"Ah... I see, thank you Angin." she said while she accepts the papers Angin was holding.
This made Cahaya feel weirded out. Why did he make an excuse? Was this the right thing to do? Things are so confusing nowadays.
What's even more confusing is that Tanah or Petir didn't even protest.
He was suppose to ask them what was that for, but he chose to stay silent. He thought that was better, he needed to prepare for the next subject anyway. Science.
Luckily, he has a whole hour to review for the quiz.
Now before he had a thought about the next subject. How did he do in this quiz?
... The first question... I'm sure that was actually Alexander... hopefully.
The rest of the questions... I wasn't so sure with numbers 17 to 20. I'm not even sure if I read that part. Unless I did and I... forgot.
That's something that usually doesn't happen. Well what did he expect? He didn't sleep.
But that doesn't matter. Even when he slept properly, he still flunked up a quiz last week. Poor thing.
The only good thing is he didn't get any negative thoughts while answering the test. Though his right hand was shaking the whole time. And he didn't even notice his legs were also shaking.
"Alright, see you all later after lunch again. Goodbye class, you may have your early break."
Cheers of classmates were then heard a second later and footsteps rushing out of the door. As much as to his annoyance, the noise gave him a headache.
He sighs, still holding on to the arms of Angin and his other two brothers beside him.
"You guys can go now. I can handle myself thank you very much." he said with a glare.
He finally stood up thanks to their help. And the trio went to their desks to grab their things.
Cahaya took this opportunity to get out of that classroom. He hastily grabbed his bag and went out.
"Cahaya wait!" A voice spoke before he stepped out of the classroom. He couldn't help but turn around.
"Where are you going?" Daun asked in a low tone.
"Bathroom." he quickly thought of a place. He was actually suppose to go in the cafeteria to read his science textbook alone.
"With your backpack? I'll come with you!" he said in a desperate tone.
Normally he would say "no," or "leave me alone." But this is Daun. The person he has been really close with, out of all of his brothers.
But he hesitated for a moment, he really needed to review. He-
"Fine. But we'll be quick." Cahaya said as he fixes the position of his cap.
Daun gave him a smile after hearing that, and immediately ran beside him.
Hm... maybe giving a spare time for him shouldn't be too bad I guess.
The duo walks out together, making their way to the bathroom now.
Daun tilted his head a little back to the classroom. Seems like he nodded at someone who ran out of the classroom looking at them both.
It seems like he was nodding to Petir. Who is seen nodding back to him.
"Who's behind us?" Cahaya asked but didn't bother to look back.
"Just Petir. I-I thought he was calling me but I guess I was mistaken..."
He hummed trying to make him think like he believed him. But he remembered that the both of them were talking about something earlier when they were walking. But who cares...
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"You want me to talk with Cahaya?" Daun slowly looks down, "I-I don't think I should..."
"We have to at least get some information on what's happening to him."
"But... he won't like that... I know he won't." He pauses as he takes a look back at the youngest septuplet.
"M-maybe we're just overreacting and we're pushing him...that's why he's acting weird."
It's crazy because he's kind of correct. Brother instincts am I right?
Something about Cahaya is that every time he has a problem, he makes sure he doesn't include his brothers in it.
Giving your burden to your older brothers is something he would do last. Whether how big the situation is, he'll choose to hide it and let them figure it out at the end.
"Alright. It's up to you to do what's best then. You're the one who knows him better after all."
The green capped boy looked back up to his eldest. He was showing a soft smile, woah!
"Hey... you should smile more often. Hehe" Daun giggled attempting to tease him.
"What- no! I was not smiling."
"I didn't say you were!"
Petir sighs, "Can't believe you have Angin's exact personality. I can't deal with it anymore."
"Hey! What's that suppose to mean?"
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Cahaya washes his hands while Daun holds his bag for him.
It was pretty silent. They both just used the restroom normally.
. . . That's where Daun broke the silence, "Cahaya..."
Cahaya didn't like that tone he gave. But he slowly turned his head to him and said, "What?"
"W-Why'd you... crumple your test paper in that other night?" Daun said in a low tone.
... There was a moment of silence as Cahaya turns off the faucet. He didn't say anything for a whole minute.
"Okay actually nevermind... I'm sorry-" Daun was interrupted.
"I didn't like my score." the other said while looking down.
"Huh... why's that, sunshine?" he said as he slowly approaches him.
"My score's too low. It's disappointing if you ask me." Cahaya said as he hides his right hand behind his back.
"... I don't think it was a low score. I'm pretty sure it's high! Well, I only got 18, which is decent anyway!" Daun said with a smile.
"That's what you all say... but my results are far from my standards. And their standards." he mumbled the last sentence.
"What was that?" Daun questioned the part where he didn't understand.
"..."
"Okay... but you reached my standards or whatever they call it! You're still the smart brother I know and nothing will change that!"
Cahaya's eyes widen a bit hearing that statement. Did he really mean this or just said this to cheer him up?
"Really? Even if I fail?" he said in a low tone. He hates mentioning that word.
"Silly, you failing? That's practically impossible!"
Huh, funny. Based on his performance for the past few days. He can see that happening.
What more if he gets a low score in every single one of them in the next quizzes they're about to take?
And the paper he crumpled? He didn't even tell Tok Aba about it yet! He'll NEVER talk about that paper.
"I'll go now." Cahaya said as he grabs the bag Daun was holding for him.
"Uh-" he was startled when the youngest randomly approached him to get his bag.
Cahaya walks by him and he could hear him mumble something. But he didn't understand him. The only word he heard was "fail."
Out of anything... why'd would he say that? Daun thought in his mind.
He lowered down his eyebrows as Cahaya heads for the door.
"Are you... coming?" Cahaya said, while the other just stood there looking at him.
"Oops, just zoned out, coming right behind you! Hehe..." he giggled to deceive him into thinking he didn't hear what he could've said.
Cahaya just stared blankly at him, "Alright." he said nonchalantly.
Daun couldn't help but sigh. "Did I say something wrong..." he mumbled. But he shrugged it off anyway.
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The rest of the day was just him having a whole breakdown inside of his head. Every single question he has answered, his mind would randomly slap a different topic in his brain!
What's even worse is that his head has been pounding crazy after their lunch due to the noise and lack of sleep he's gotten.
And when he was walking together with their friends, he just blinked and he was suddenly on the ground.
They told him that he suddenly just collapsed. This time his legs weren't the cause. But his whole body about to give up.
He almost had to go in the clinic again and skip class. Luckily he was with Fang and Gopal only, so he convinced them with all of his might to not take him to the clinic.
Fortunately for him they kept quiet and let him still go to their next class. Of course they helped him walk properly before he suddenly collapses again.
This all leads to him needing to sleep at some point. Though, they were still in school, and the next following days... it would just be a hazard of pop quizzes!
He will be receiving NO break times at all. Whether he likes it or not, this is a life of a grade-conscious kid.
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Time skip :: Thursday
The past following days has been HELL for him. He couldn't catch a break with these pop quizzes.
These pop quizzes are literally USELESS. Are they going to be a reviewer, or will it just be a waste of their brainpower?
This literally serves no purpose for their final exams next week. He can see the rest actually struggling to keep up with the quizzes.
One of them even had a breakdown when they finally finished their math quiz, which was yesterday. Luckily he wasn't one of them, yet.
What could I say about his progress? If it isn't obvious, it was getting worse.
Every session of their class, his hand won't stop shaking anymore. He had to hide his right hand most of the time now.
What's worse is that he isn't topping the recent quizzes. He would always get 5 or more mistakes in every quiz.
Him not topping the recent quizzes made him feel like the other students forgot about him. That's something he has expected though.
But who cares about those classmates.
The real people he's been fearing are his own brothers and Tok Aba. He even started to avoid everyone since Tuesday. Why you may ask?
He's afraid they will think differently of him, specially because of the results of their exams! Yaya... Ying... and even Fang topped him more than twice already!
It's like Daun unintentionally jinxed him or something, because he's almost at the urge of failing. He's like at the edge of passing anymore. He would always be 2 to 3 points away from failing now.
He can't keep up with this anymore. Later at night he might stay up again. For the sake of grades.
But this was bad. School is actually ruining his mental health. And that's something he should fix first, but no!
He can't just disappoint everyone at the end of this school year. That's embarrassing. TOO embarrassing.
And he thought things would be better next week. That's really funny, it won't!
Final quarter exams are EXACTLY next week! Next week of Wednesday.
The only good thing about his school is that they only take the final exams on the three major subjects. Math, English, and Science.
But who knows... he might fail the three major subjects in this final quarter.
But he can't flunk up anymore. Because those final exams will be the cause of his final breaking point.
If you see our boy having the biggest mental breakdown he has ever had. Don't be surprised... :(
It's sad to say but...
This is already his downfall.
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YAYYYY THIS CHAPTER IS FINALLY FINISHED... Poor Cahaya... I actually feel so bad for putting him in this situation😭😭. But there's no turning back now/j. — Let's just say... the next chapter may be a whole emotional rollercoaster.... We'll see!
The next chapter will be the final chapter of this series! Huh this story surprisingly didn't take more than 2 months. And I'm happy with that haha.
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I guess I can yeet some of my plans for the rest of my Wattpad journey here — I'm going to make a whole book filled with Cahaya/Solar oneshots after this series🎉. What's funny is that I already have 2 intense, LONG stories ready for that book haha(got too excited).
And maybe another one filled with BOEL oneshots (that ofc would focus on the others in my Septuplet AU). But I may scrap that idea—I have a story ready for Taufan though but maybe I'll separate it.
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Okay no more spoilers for my future stories see you all in the next chapter! After this series I will actually do an announcement of whatever I just said on top ^^
Total Words: 6.3K
Day Finished and Published : 4/7/24