It was another day in Shuhi's school. Break time split the school in half.
Students flooded the corridors, shoes slapping against concrete, voices overlapping into a single restless hum. Some rushed downstairs for snacks, some leaned over railings shouting to friends below, and others drifted aimlessly, killing time before the bell dragged them back into class.
A boy named Sota was sitting on a bench at the side of the field, reading a book. At that time, Shuhi approached him from the side, "You are Sota kairotsu, right?" Shuhi asked with a gentle smile.
Sota moved his eyes away from the book and looked at Shuhi, "Yes, I am." Then his eyes shifted to the book again, "What is it that you want?"
She stepped closer.
"I'm Yun Shuhi. Nice to meetcha."
Sota didn't reply. His eyes were fixed on the book. Shuhi, wanting to grab his attention, snatched the book out in front of his face.
"Hey! Give that back!" Sota demanded.
Ignoring his words, Shuhi read the title on the book cover, "Introduction to data science. The basics. Why read these? It's way above our academic syllabus."
Sota snatched the book back, clutching it to his chest before sitting again. His voice came out sharper than intended, "I am the data accountant in the student council. I am learning how to distribute grade results more properly."
"Oh, I get it now. Then that must be very stressful, right? One mistake and…everyone blames you."
The words didn't sound dramatic. They weren't accusatory. They were spoken like an obvious fact—something that didn't need proving.
Sota's fingers tightened around the book.
For the first time since she arrived, his eyes drifted away from the page.
No one had ever said that out loud before.
"Thank you." Sota muttered.
"Huh?" Shuhi replied.
"No—really." His voice dropped. "Thank you. Nobody's ever said that to me."
Shuhi's eyebrows lifted slightly, genuine interest slipping through her playful expression. She sat down beside him.
"Really? Like never? Not even the president?" Shuhi asked, surprised.
Sota nodded, putting the book at a side.
"I don't know why but after hearing your words, the digital grading system feels…fragile." Shuhi said.
"Fragile?" Sota repeated.
"Yes. Like how the teachers treat it as if it is perfect. Little do they know how the system works. If something went wrong, they would blame the students, not the system." Shuhi explained.
Sota exhaled, long and tired.
"The software's outdated. All the features are not available. The premium version of the software is needed but I got no chance of spending money." he said,
"Some teachers upload files in formats the system barely recognizes. Others wait until the last minute, during peak load hours. During exam weeks, I barely sleep. If one input conflicts—just one—the whole thing stutters!"
Shuhi listened without interrupting.
"They expect perfection," he continued. "But they don't give the time nor the support."
She nodded slowly.
"Then I was just wondering…what would happen if two teachers give exam papers in completely different formats at the same time?" Shuhi asked, acting a little bit curious.
"…The system would struggle. Maybe it will act incorrectly.," he said carefully.
"Then it is not impossible for the system to crash on its own, right?" Shuhi said.
Sota paused for a moment. For all this time, he had been carrying out his duty without thinking much. Shuhi made a realization spark inside him. About his position. How important it is.
Shuhi stood soon after, waving casually as she walked away. A group of boys approached Sota minutes later, grinning.
"Dude, since when do you talk to girls?"
"I never thought you…of all people will make a girlfriend before all of us!"
Sota flushed. "It's not like that."
But even as he denied it, Shuhi's words stayed lodged in his chest.
_____
The next day, Sota sat stiffly in front of his class teacher. Stacks of attendance sheets lay on the desk.
"You haven't uploaded the class test results," the teacher said sharply. "All hundred students!"
Before Sota could speak, Shuhi stepped forward from the corner of the pathway.
"Sensei, please leave that to him," she said calmly. "He's handled this system since last year. I've seen him studying it. He's really trying to improve."
Due to getting an unnatural grade in their last exam and exposing fake question dealers, Shuhi became quite well known among all the teachers. Enough for her words to have an effect on the teachers. They couldn't just ignore her. The teacher frowned, then sighed.
"…Very well."
Outside the room, Sota bowed his head slightly.
"Thank you," he said.
Shuhi smiled. "Of course."
At break time, Shuhi met him at the side of the field again. At the same spot as the first day.
"Looks like we met again, Sota." Shuhi cheerfully said.
"Oh, it's you. Here, have a seat." Sota said, this time, putting his book to a side.
Shuhi sat by his side.
"So, how is the day going?" Sota asked.
"I am good, but how about you? I heard that the final grade upload is tomorrow. It will take a lot of toll on you." Shuhi said, worrying.
"Yeah that's.."
"You know what? If the system fails, maybe the teachers will finally realize. Maybe they will replace it. You wouldn't have to carry it alone." Shuhi said.
A moment of silence came between them.
"But that's not something you would want, right?" Shuhi said with a smile.
Sota wanted to nod but deep down he knew he didn't like how things was going. "Yeah" Sota replied, "I wouldn't wanna."
At that time, the bell rang. Their break time was over.
Shuhi got up.
"We will meet again." Leaving Sota speechless and into thoughts on the bench.
_____
The next day, in the computer room, Sota was doing his work. A teacher came with a bundle of papers. All student's result marks.
"Here are all of my papers. I believe in you." The teacher said and left.
"Huh? So they don't care? Fine then…"
He left the papers by the side and closed the spreadsheet he was working on.
Without doing his work, he was playing a card game in the computer, totally ignoring the papers.
"I will upload it later. He said to another teacher. Look at this, sensei. I have these many papers already."
The next day, one of the teacher was talking to the phone, heading to the student council room.
"Why is this happening?" He said, "I should have gotten my record's digital copy by now. Why is this showing your worksheet?"
A reply came from the other side, a worried shaken one, "I…I don't know. I have my report but the numbers are not adding up. It might be rude to ask but I am on my day off so could you please check what's going on?"
"Don't worry, I am on my way." He hung up the call as he reached the council door. He knocked on the door a few times. No reply came.
"I am coming in." He said and pushed the door open.
"Hiroshi, explain this! What is this nonsense under your rule?" the teachers asked furiously.
The room inside was lit unnaturally bright. Council members circled a long table. Envelopes lay neatly arranged. Akari and Hiroshi faced each other.
Akari had accepted the gamble.
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