At this university, it was pretty easy to get liberal arts credits outside of the field of law. None of the lectures had a failure rate over eighty percent, and more than half of students got credits. My perception was, as long as you were present and you studied properly, you’d pass.
Today’s exam was the last one of the semester.
I’d copied Ayaka’s perfectly organized notes and spent all night studying them. This subject didn’t allow you to bring a cheat sheet or anything, but thanks to the all-nighter, I wasn’t too worried about failing. The exam was in twenty minutes, but I didn’t feel like I needed to do any last-minute cramming.
I cleaned off my desk and placed my pen on it. Sensing someone looking my way, I glanced up. A student who looked to be about the same age as me asked, “Excuse me. Is the seat next to you open?”
“Yep. Go right ahead.”
The man bowed slightly and began his prep for the exam. In high school, people didn’t use polite language even when they were talking to an older student who they didn’t know. That was one thing that changed in university.
Left with nothing to do, I looked around and saw Ayaka sitting on the other side of the room. She and her friend were having a discussion. Since they were so far away, I couldn’t see their faces, but I knew Ayaka’s mannerisms well enough to tell that it was her.
There were different shapes and sizes of university lecture halls, and this one was on the larger side. There were about fifteen long desks in the middle section and twenty on the sides, each big enough to seat three. Only two students were permitted to sit at each table to avoid cheating, but it still wasn’t hard to find a seat.
When the instructor entered, the chatter in the room died down at once. Test papers were passed out.
I squinted to see if I could see the questions through the back. There didn’t seem to be multiple-choice questions. In fact, there were only two lines of question text.
“Oof…” the guy next to me groaned.
My thoughts exactly. If there were only two questions, then they were sure to demand detailed answers. Rest in peace, students who’d learned the content broadly-yet-shallowly.
The bell rang, and I took my pen in hand.
It was time to begin.
✦ ✦ ✦
“It’s so over.”
I’d managed to write a complete answer to the first question, but the second one expected me to recall stuff that I’d completely let slip from my brain. The best I could manage was four lines. Four lines out of an essay that should have been twenty.
An example: Say the question was something like, What did you do over winter break? Write a detailed description of what you enjoyed the most and the best food you ate.
My answer was akin to replying with, I’ll probably go to a café later. It was so disastrous you’d think I didn’t even understand what was being asked. I doubted I’d even get partial credit.
When Ayaka saw how gloomy I was despite the exam being over, she said in exasperation, “What? You couldn’t answer the second question? I even left marks in the notebook indicating which parts were probably going to be essay questions.”
“Ah ha ha ha…”
She cringed a little and asked worriedly, “A-are you okay?” Then, after a moment of thought, she clapped her hands once. “I know. We’re having an end-of-exams party tomorrow. Wanna come? It’s been a while since you went to a big drinking party, right?”
“Drinking party…? Uh, I guess the last time was the one I went to with my circle?”
As soon as she heard my answer, she whipped out her phone and tapped up a storm. “Okay, I sent you the address. It’s a welcoming circle, and if you get some booze in you, I think even you could have some fun.”
I still hadn’t agreed to go, but she was quick to act. But I was unusually eager for a party like that, so I said honestly, “Thanks.”
“Mm.” With that short reply, Ayaka stretched her arms and legs. “So, we’re free for a little while. How about we enjoy a nice, long spring break?”
“Yeah. Two whole months, huh?”
“Yep! One of my circles is going on a trip together. I’m really looking forward to it.”
“You’re in a few of those, aren’t you? Which one is it this time?”
“The outdoorsman’s circle.”
“Ooh. Going mountain-climbing, or something?”
“Nope. We’re going to a hot spring and eating crab.”
“Of course…”
You’d expect an outdoorsman’s circle to go hiking or whatever, but reality often defied expectation. Most just went out drinking together and took sightseeing trips. It probably varied from school to school, but in mine at least, all of the outdoorsman’s circles were like that. I remembered being horrified when I looked at the application sheet I was given when I first started here.
“Are you going to your circle at all these days?” she asked.
“Nope, not at all.” I was still in that basketball circle, believe it or not.
The easiest way to expand your friend group at university was to join a circle. Conversely, not joining one made it a lot harder.
“How about you start going again soon? You liked the one you were in, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, I guess I did.”
We usually just played pickup games, but sometimes we took practice really seriously. I liked the way the circle did things, and I especially enjoyed it as a means of relieving stress.
I’d stopped going after Reina and I broke up, which meant they hadn’t seen me in two months. The reason for that was because some of them knew her through me. I couldn’t stand the thought of them pressing me about why we’d broken up right after she’d cheated on me. But my mental state was a lot better now. It was past time to get back to my old life.
“Yeah. I should go back.”
“Mm-hmm. It’ll be a good distraction, so I think that’s for the best.”
Ayaka smiled. “Okay, I’m gonna head out now. I have dinner plans with some friends from class.”
“Gotcha. Have fun.”
With that, she waved and went back into the lecture hall. Her friends were probably waiting in there.
“Guess I should go too.” If I missed this chance, it would be a while before I’d get the opportunity to see my circle again.
Thus, I contacted my buddies and told them, For the first time in months, I’m going back to the circle!
Y’know, I’ve met Ayaka’s friends, but I’ve never gone to dinner with them. I could probably go if I wanted, since we talked when we met, but there wasn’t a good reason for me to intrude.
Ayaka probably wasn’t too keen on mixing me into her other friend groups. If she was, she would’ve asked me long ago. She always invited me to mixers and circle drinking parties, after all. Did they see sides of her that I didn’t? Not that I would know if such sides existed. I didn’t know anything about her life before the day we met in high school.
While I was interested, I’d probably never know unless I gave her a good reason to tell me. Whenever I’d asked on a whim, she typically evaded the question. My thoughts were interrupted by my phone vibrating in my pocket. It was a LINE message from Shinohara.
Grats on finishing your exams! Where are you now?
What horrific timing. I’d finally made the decision to go see my circle for once, so if she wanted to invite me to hang out, I’d have to refuse.
A call from her lit up my screen. After a moment’s hesitation, I picked up.
“’Grats on your exams!” she repeated out loud.
“Oh, yeah, thanks. Sorry, but I can’t hang out today.”
“Huh? Why not?”
“I’m finally going to see my circle, so today’s no good.”
“Aww. But we can at least hang out for lunch, right? I just turned down a different lunch invitation, so I’m free ’til evening.”
Does that mean she flaked on plans just to hang out with me? If so, I’d feel a little bad saying no…but I held my ground.
“That’s your business, not mine.”
“Yes, it is. But you’re also so kind that you’d always hang out with me at times like this.”
“What’s your angle?” I asked dubiously.
“You don’t know? When you call a person kind, they treat you more kindly.”
“Really? Well, I guess I’m not a kind person. See ya.”
“Hey! Wait, I’ll pay for the meal!” Shinohara’s panicked last words made me hesitate.
Allow me to repeat myself: When you were a student living alone, you couldn’t just go home and expect there to be a hot meal waiting for you. You had to cook, eat out, or buy a packed meal or something. And since I didn’t cook, that left me with two expensive options.
In short, cutting my food expenses was always an attractive proposition, even if it meant taking advantage of a younger woman’s offer to pay.
“Bah, fine. I’ll do it. Let’s meet in front of the university cafeteria.”
“Heh heh. Too easy,” she chuckled before hanging up.
For a second, I genuinely considered blowing her off and going home instead.