Dan and Noemí sat in their seats, she by the window and him next to her. Behind them were Jack and the teacher.
The bus started moving. Noemí was calm, looking at the scenery outside the window. Dan, on the other hand, felt nervous having her so close to him.
After a while, Dan's stomach rumbled, and he blushed with embarrassment.
—Glutton — Jack muttered.
Noemí turned toward him.
—Are you hungry?
—A little... — he said, his cheeks flushed.
The teacher leaned back in his seat, crossed his arms, and closed his eyes to rest.
—If you're hungry, you can eat. Just don't make crumbs.
The three of them nodded. Dan started looking for his lunch in his backpack, but couldn't find it, and remembered he had left it on the table in his dining room at home.
—Why... — he muttered.
Noemí realized Dan hadn't brought anything, took one of the sandwiches she had packed for lunch, and offered it to him.
—Here you go, Dan.
He was surprised and looked up at her.
—Are you really giving me one of your sandwiches?
—Of course. It's not good for your health to go hungry.
Dan took the sandwich she offered; his hand trembled slightly.
—Thank you so much... — he said with a smile.
The moment was interrupted by Jack, who leaned forward.
—Hey Noemí, could you give me one too?
Dan frowned. Noemí hesitated for a few seconds, but then handed him a sandwich.
—Sure, here you go.
Jack took the sandwich gently.
—Thanks, Noemí.
Dan started eating the sandwich, feeling a sensation he didn't quite understand yet — though it wasn't unpleasant. Noemí enjoyed the taste of the meal she had made herself.
The bus continued on its way until they arrived at the contest venue in Kyoto. The three of them, along with the teacher, got off the bus.
Dan stretched his arms upward. Noemí's phone vibrated; she took it out of her bag — it was a message from her group of friends, Emily and Sofía, wishing her good luck.
She replied with "Thank you" and then put the phone back in her bag. The three of them went inside where the contest would be held. There were already other students from different schools there.
Noemí felt nervous. Very nervous, even though this wasn't her first time competing.
—Take it easy, it'll probably be just like last year — Dan said in a calm tone.
She smiled and nodded.
—Yeah, you're right.
Last year, the contest consisted only of an exam; the student with the highest score was the winner.
After a few minutes, a teacher in charge of the contest approached and stepped onto the stage.
—Hello, good morning. I'm glad to see you all here, students from other schools. I'll keep this brief so we can start. Those of you who participated last year will remember that the contest only had an exam — this time, we've added a little something extra to make it more interesting.
All the participants fell silent, listening.
—This time, the winner won't be decided by the exam alone. Instead, the top 12 students with the best scores will advance. They will be divided into two groups and compete against each other in a series of questions to determine who moves on to the next round. The one who ends up in first place will win.
—So it'll be one-on-one rounds with a set of questions... interesting — Dan said.
Noemí shivered slightly; she knew she would get very nervous if she made it into the top 12.
—With nothing more to say... let's begin. All students, please go to the classrooms you have been assigned to and wait for the teacher to give you your exams.
Dan was placed in Classroom A, Noemí in Classroom B, and Jack in Classroom C. The teacher wished them good luck before they went in.
Dan paused before entering, turned toward Classroom B, and smiled.
—Good luck, Noemí.
Noemí, who was also standing at the doorway, nodded and smiled back.
—Thank you... good luck to you too, Dan.
All three finally went inside and sat down. A teacher came in and started handing out the exam papers.
When he had finished, he gave the signal to start.
—You have one and a half hours. Begin.
Every student started working on the exam. After one hour, Jack was the first of the three to finish, followed by Dan, and Noemí was the last one done.
Thirty minutes later, the exams were collected. The students left their classrooms to wait for the results.
Dan walked over to Noemí when he saw her come out.
—Noemí, how hard did you find the exam?
—Ah... it was a bit complicated, but I feel like I did well... What about you?
—It was easy for me — all things I've already studied a long time ago.
—Wow, that's amazing. You'll definitely pass.
Jack walked up to them.
—Don't leave me out. I thought the exam was easy too.
Dan looked at him.
—Don't tell me.
The teacher came over to stay with them. After another thirty minutes, the results were announced. All three of them were among the top 12.
The two groups were set: Dan and Noemí were in Group A, and Jack was in Group B. That meant if Dan and Jack won all their matches and reached the final, they would face each other to decide who would be the winner of the contest.