"Stop!" a voice shouted from the back of the room.
In front of us, Daisy emerged from the pile of books. She was disheveled, her pink and orange hair a bird's nest, her shirt wrinkled, and dark circles reaching almost to her cheeks. She looked like she hadn't bathed in days.
"Daisy... are you fighting with water? I'm telling you, only Caligula pulls that off."
"Caligula? What's that?" Daisy stood up while trying to fix her hair with her fingers. "I just wanted to review before you all arrived..."
She lowered her face so we couldn't see her eyes.
"Come on, Daisy, that's not necessary. We came to support you with studying, right?"
Arisha, holding a pink teddy bear in her hands, was staring at the wall.
"The tru... you're right. We came to support you, as good classmates."
I leaned in from behind her and whispered in her ear:
"Friends. You have to say friends."
"I don't want to, and I didn't even want to be here..." Arisha whispered without taking her eyes off the wall.
"Arisha, my dear Arisha... either you shut up and get back in a good mood, or no game."
I stared at her fixedly, not saying anything else.
"Tch... fine..."
We returned to Daisy.
"Well, ladies, shall we start cleaning? What do you think?" Misaki gently pulled a pair of gloves from her bag.
Then we began picking up the books.
I picked up books listlessly, tossing them onto the bookshelf without much care. Some fell to the floor.
"Hey, could you at least do it carefully?" Arisha was sorting the books on the floor and then placing them patiently.
"It's not necessary. Anyway, they're not that important." Daisy was still on the bed, a damp cloth over her eyes.
Misaki was organizing the books one by one, in silence, with precise movements.
"I'm surprised by the number of books you got. Wasn't it a bother for the librarian?"
"It wasn't that bad. She was quite happy. You know, not many people read lately... Besides, she doesn't like having company in the library..."
Daisy finally removed the cloth from her eyes.
"I think you have to keep it on for at least six hours for it to work..." I said, picking up a book that looked like an album and sitting next to her. "Tell me, in this album will we be able to see your father?"
"Huh? An album? Finally you're useful!" Arisha threw herself to the other side of the bed.
"That's rude to Daisy, Miss Sienna... Please keep a little distance, okay?" Misaki lowered her gaze a bit.
"Ah, right, I forgot. Sorry, Daisy. Sorry, Misaki."
I gave the album to Daisy and sat on the floor, next to Misaki.
Daisy opened the album. Her fingers caressed the cover.
"This book... holds many stages, but..." a light tear slid down her cheek. "I'm afraid I don't have any..."
Arisha hugged her gently.
"Don't worry. Most are like that..."
"Don't worry, Daisy. I'm sure he'll see your effort." I tried to hold her hand.
(Damn it, I screwed up... I hurt Daisy.)
I lowered my face with a slight discomfort.
"Daisy, I'm sure your dad will eventually see your efforts and acknowledge you. Maybe he just hasn't had time." Misaki took my hand and Daisy's.
"See, Mom! I told you they were attacking her!" The little sister had returned, furious, accompanied by her mother.
"Don't worry, they're just..." the mother looked at the album and sat down next to Daisy. "Sweetheart... I understand what you wish for, but you know how he is..."
"Yes... but... I also wish he would look at me, visit me on my birthdays, or at least show up from time to time." Daisy still didn't raise her head. Arisha's expression grew darker.
"Sister, don't cry. I'll defeat the villains!" said the girl, raising a small toy axe.
"Calm down, Danika. Daisy isn't feeling well right now." The mother gently stroked her head. "Now, Daisy, you miss your father a lot, don't you?"
"Yes... I miss him."
"Then I'll tell you something, my girl..." the mother leaned over her. "Your father will come on Saturday. You'll be able to show him your effort in person."
"Really, Mom?" Daisy looked her directly in the eyes.
"Of course, sweetheart. You know I wouldn't lie to you..." she whispered. "Unlike a certain bastard..."
"Perfect! See, Daisy? Your dad is coming to see you on Saturday. So let's give our best so you can surprise him, okay?" I looked at her with determination. If I can do something for her, I'll give it my all.
"Your friend is right, sweetheart. Give it your best. I'll prepare a snack for later." She stood up and took Danika in her arms.
"Mom, will you give me Mr. Smile too?" Danika hugged her tightly and leaned against her, babbling words as they walked away.
"Thanks, girls." Daisy wiped her tears and stood up. "Now let's start our study session."
I helped Arisha move the table to the center, while Misaki and Daisy set out the books we would use.
"Then, let's study!" I waved my hands to the ceiling.
"Let's study!" Daisy raised her book.
Arisha did nothing. Misaki raised her right hand.
"Well, while we're at it, I took the liberty of creating some practice exams. You can use the books as reference." Misaki handed out the papers. "I've taken the liberty of reducing them to History, Mathematics, Language, and Natural Sciences."
"Wow... you and Sienna put effort into this?..." Arisha took the exam in her hands.
"Don't even get me started... I didn't think I'd have to keep seeing this..." I had the exam in my hands. I couldn't help but feel dizzy looking at it.
"Let's go!" Daisy shouted at the top of her lungs.
Fifteen minutes later.
I nervously raised my hand, waving the exam like a white flag.
"Misaki, what is the Pact of the Two Mountains?"
"The Pact of the Two Mountains refers to the failed alliance of the landowners of the East and the West, of the then Julian Empire, to reintegrate the empire into Edernais and eliminate the revolutionaries."
"Ah, right. I heard that from my sister. It's the reason they call them heretics." Arisha, who had finished a few minutes ago, was playing with the bear.
"Sienna, are you still stuck there? You haven't made much progress." Daisy looked at me with pity.
"Don't worry, Daisy. I finished the Mathematics one. A piece of cake for me." I handed her my exam with pride.
"Okay... well, that's very good, but how did you do it?" Daisy looked at me strangely. "How did you calculate so... quickly?"
"Ah, that... it's because the bald guy forced me to do supplementary classes with Michael during the summer. It was like two years. That old man was pretty tough, hahaha."
Silence.
"Miss, are you alright? Where did you imagine that from?" Misaki put her hand on my forehead.
"Hey... it's not healthy to hallucinate like that, you know? If you feel so lonely, we can talk more often." Arisha was frank, setting the bear down on the floor.
"Sienna... I'm sorry for ignoring you. If you need company, I'll be there." Daisy held my hand.
"Guys, I'm not sick... I was just joking, okay? Hahaha." I laughed nervously.
Plaf!
The door was kicked open softly.
"Prisoners! Mom calls you for your punishment!" Danika held her little axe like a prison guard.
"I think she meant 'inmates'..." I sighed and stood up. "Well, I'll go with her. You all continue."
"Go! Go! Yellow Demoko!" Danika pushed me, hitting me with her toy axe.
"Hahaha, mercy, officer, mercy!" I played along.
Meanwhile, Misaki took Sienna's exam.
"Miss..." Out of 15 questions, only 7 were answered and only 4 were correct.
"How is Miss Daisy doing?" Misaki asked, putting the exam away.
"It's hard... I don't think I can aim for a good grade at this rate... but..." Daisy looked at her own exam. "It's certainly very helpful..."
"Really? Is it that good? We're talking about Sienna..." Arisha snatched the paper from Daisy and examined it. "Damn... it really is good. Look at this, Misaki."
Misaki inspected it.
(She has two mistakes, but apart from that, she can get a 90 in the best case.)
"It's good... quite good..." Misaki murmured.
(If only the others were like that...)
"Girls! I come with snacks!" I returned with a tray of sandwiches for everyone.
"Here they are." I placed them on the table.
"Al... almost... the..." Danika came carrying a small tray with drinks.
"Thank you very much, Danika. I'll take it now." I grabbed the tray.
"I'm not doing it for you! Demoko!" She sat down next to Daisy.
"Sienna, how did you do the calculations?" Daisy ignored the sandwiches and asked me, while I was already eating one.
"No idea. I just knew it when I saw the paper." I took a big bite of the sandwich.
"Really? You don't remember how?" Arisha, with a suspicious tone but still grabbing a sandwich, hesitated.
"No idea. I was really bad... but at some point I just knew." I tried to avoid the topic.
After eating, we continued studying for a few hours. The room was now tidier, and the central table was full of notes and exams.
"Okay, now I'll ask a very simple question to each one." Misaki raised her voice at the table. "Daisy, what caused the December 7th Revolution?"
Daisy looked at the floor and moved her fingers, thinking. After a few seconds, she answered:
"It was Samantha Tah and Yuma Naoya, with their speech about Freedoms and the principles of the nation as a new standard."
Misaki smiled and clasped her hands.
"Congratulations, you passed."
"Miss Arisha, who participated in the Battle of Silver Weddings?"
"The revolutionary side, led by Hugo Smith, against Emilia Chaw and her Knights of the Sleeping Saints." Arisha answered without any doubt, still hugging the bear.
"Miss Sienna, what event ended the Julian Empire?"
I looked at the ceiling, trying to remember. But nothing came to mind.
"You don't know?" Misaki's smile faded.
"Umm... it was... Ah! The execution of Valentín Páez!"
"Well... yes... but there's more..."
"I can't do any more... I'm sorry, Misaki..." I lowered my arms and looked at the floor. (It just won't stay in my head.)
Tick, tock.
"Huh, what's that sound?" Daisy was puzzled and looked toward Arisha.
"It sounds like a clock or something..." I said, almost sure, and also looked at her.
"Maybe it's an alarm." Misaki put away her gloves while looking at Arisha.
"Stop staring at me!" Arisha blushed a little and looked at her small watch. "Well, we should get going."