The scratch of pencils against paper finally fades as the last test ends. You stretch slightly, joints popping from sitting so long. Students shuffle toward the front, placing their papers on Sae Chabashira's desk before quickly exiting—no one wants to be the last to leave her classroom.

The afternoon sun streams through the windows, casting golden rectangles across the floor. The air feels thick with the lingering tension of the exam, mixed with the faint scent of chalk and Sae's jasmine perfume that seems to hang in the air around her desk.

You take your time packing your bag, enjoying the brief reprieve from social interaction. The classroom empties until only you and Sae remain. You hear her chair scrape against the floor behind you, but pay it no mind—teachers often stay late to grade papers.

The sound of her footsteps approaching makes you glance up. You freeze mid-movement when you see her expression—Sae Chabashira looks nervous. Her normally perfect posture is slightly hunched, and her fingers worry the hem of her sleeve.

She stops a few feet away, throat bobbing as she swallows. When she speaks, her voice sounds nothing like the confident tone you're used to hearing.

"U-uhm.." she starts, a faint, awkward chuckle escaping her before she tries again with more authority—but the vulnerability in her voice betrays her composure. "Can we.. um.. talk a bit?"