To get into UA, one must score a minimum of 170 on both exams combined, where the written exam is worth 100, and the practical test is worth around the same, but you can score higher than 100 if you're perfect.
Today was the day many dreaded and looked forward to, the day of the entrance exam. First, they would take the written test, and two days later, the practical test.
Ayaka was sitting on her desk, contemplating how learning how to calculate the resistance of an electrical circuit would help her with being a hero, along with the other random bullshit that was on the test.
She kept on solving questions, running into some she found extremely challenging.
"The external tank of the space shuttle Discovery carries, separately, 1.20 × 10⁶ L of liquid hydrogen at –253 °C and 0.55 × 10⁶ L of liquid oxygen at –183 °C. At these temperatures, the density of hydrogen is 34 mol/L (equivalent to 0.068 g/mL) and that of oxygen is 37 mol/L (equivalent to 1.18 g/mL).
Data: H = 1.0 O = 16
Considering the intended use of these two liquids, the quantities (in moles) in the tank are such that there is:
a) 100% excess hydrogen
b) 50% excess hydrogen
c) stoichiometric proportion between the two
d) 25% excess oxygen
e) 75% excess oxygen" She stared at this question and cursed inwardly, chemistry had never been her best subject. "What the fuck…"
Hours went by and Ayaka finally finished her test, her scores would be released in about a month, coupled with the physical test scores. Always a good thing to let anxiety ferment in a young adult's fragile mind.
Ayaka's feelings were weird, she was a mix of super duper anxious, and confident because of how much she studied. The questions she might've gotten wrong kept surfacing in her mind, while she reassured herself that she did well. This made her realize she desperately needed a distraction, which she didn't have many of.
Despite being in the world of technology, where one often had too many distractions and entertainment, Ayaka was selective in what she would consume. The games she'd play were often the really good games, like RDR2, Kingdom Come Deliverance, and Silksong, you know, great games acclaimed by millions. However, she'd often get hooked into mid-game, compared to the things she usually played, giving 800 hours (each) of her life to Destiny 2 and GTA Online, another thousand to Overwatch, which to be fair, gave her a lot of entertainment and anger, but those extensive hours were caused by addiction and not enjoyment.
Now, her Silksong experience was almost over, finishing the game and getting most of the trophies, except for completing the hunters' journal and the two time-related achievements.
Any manhwa, manga, or novel that she is currently reading, she is fully caught up, even in the obscure Yuri manhwa she dug up.
To sum it up, she had nothing to do, well, not nothing… There was one thing that Ayaka had recently discovered that she absolutely loved, and wanted to spend hours doing almost every day. And that thing was baking, you thought it was going to be something dirty, didn't you?
Ayaka always thought that baking was going to be hard and a hassle to learn, but once she tried baking some sourdough bread, she realized it was therapeutic and enjoyable. Her creations had a look only a mother could love, but they tasted amazing. This time, she wanted to make a lime cheesecake, something she hadn't done before, but it sounded delicious in her mind.
The ride back home was quiet, students discussing the UA test, people walking with their pets, normal things to see in the city. Ayaka went to the grocery store to buy the ingredients for her cheesecake and some food for dinner.
As soon as she got home, her father bombarded her with questions about the test.
"How was it? Did you think it was hard? How long will it take for the results to come out?"
"Geez calm down. The exam was obviously difficult, but I think I did a good job. Talking about it isn't going to make my score higher, so I'll take a shower and bake something." Ayaka answered while putting the groceries away and heading to her room.
"Is Momo coming over today? I don't think you'll eat the entire thing yourself."
"I mean, I am fully capable of eating an entire cheesecake, but to answer your question, no, Momo isn't coming today. But, I'll give her a big slice tomorrow." She was clearly disappointed. Because of the test, they hadn't done anything other than studying the entire week, so Ayaka thought they'd finally have some time for themselves.
As it turns out, Momo's grandparents came over last week and are staying the entire month. That may not seem like a big deal, but, her grandparents are not exactly the most inclusive people in the world, always having opposing opinions about homosexuality.
Her grandparents weren't hardcore homophobes, from what Momo told her they would sometimes tell offensive jokes and act uncomfortable around them. Ayaka never paid much attention to jokes, finding it hard to get offended by virtually anything, unlike Momo, who found them insulting.
With this in mind, they decided to keep their relationship under wraps. While they didn't like keeping such a big secret, it was exciting, they felt like characters on a TV drama.
*Ding*
Ayaka heard a ding coming from the kitchen, signaling that her creation was ready. She took the cheesecake from the oven and let it cool, resisting the urge to take a slice and eat it right now. It would still need to be in the fridge for some time before she could eat it.
Meanwhile, Momo was having dinner with her family, all of them eating in uncomfortable silence. Today's course consisted of a multitude of Japanese dishes in small portions, it was like having a restaurant at home, the private chefs working tirelessly in the kitchen to keep the high quality of the food.
Her grandmother was the first one to say something, after she questioned her about today's exam she hadn't said much.
"Momo dear, how do you feel about finally becoming an adult? School year is coming to an end, you are already going to college, next year you'll be living by yourself… for a girl your age wouldn't it be better to live at the estate? You will be able to fully focus on your studies, and not worry about housework, finances, and anything else." She asked in a caring tone, the last sentence carried some condescension, questioning her decision as if she were a clueless child.
"Ahem," she cleared her throat before answering "As you said, I'm not a child anymore. I already decided to live by myself and I'm fully capable of managing my responsibilities with housework. And to answer your first question, oddly enough I feel like I always have, I thought it would be different, somehow… It's hard to explain. While I know that things are not going to be the same, I expected things to be immediately different. Eighteen, seventeen, there isn't any difference at all."
Momo continued to eat with elegance, following proper etiquette. Her grandmother nodded in agreement to Momo's reflection, concluding this conversation and initiating another with Momo's father.
The dinner went on normally, the family members made conversation, and ate the astonishingly delicious food. Momo excused herself earlier and went to her room, checking her phone and seeing multiple messages from Ayaka about her cheesecake and how she messed up the sugar quantity, making an ungodly sweet dessert.
Momo read the texts, "I know how much stress you've been under with the tests and your grandparents visiting, so I'm making you a lime cheesecake! Come to my place tomorrow and we'll eat it together."
Some time later, "I made it a little bit sweet, but I think you'll love it, since you're a sweet person."
"I mean you are a person who likes sweets."
"Not that you're not a sweet person, you're so sweet every time I get a taste of you, I risk getting diabetes."
A smile made its way to Momo's lips as she saw her girlfriend's antics. She quickly replied to the messages.
"Thank youuuuuu" followed by a bunch of heart and kissing emojis "I'll stop by after lunch and maybe I can stick around dinner. We should watch the third season of Invincible too."
"Might as well watch the entire season in one sitting. Why don't you sleep over tomorrow? I'm sure no one would bat an eye at two best friends sleeping under the same roof."
The couple has watched a lot of shows and movies during their time together, rarely watching anything by themselves. Recently they picked up Invincible, which Ayaka had already watched and read the comics, and was enjoying Momo's reactions to the twists and brutality of the show.
"Kind of hard to refuse that alluring offer. You shall count on my presence m'lady. I'll go to sleep now baby, love you so much. Good night!"
"Good night, love you too!"
With this, their short and lovely conversation came to an end. Momo went to sleep and Ayaka followed soon after, she would've slept later, but losing three matches in a row when she was about to get to another arena, almost made her crush her phone and scream in rage.
The next day, at Ayaka's house.
A big slice was cut out of the dessert and was now nearly all eaten on Momo's plate. Judging from her expression, she loved the cheesecake and was not planning on stopping at the first slice.
"You outdid yourself with this one, babe. I don't feel like it's too sweet, this amount is perfect."
"I'm glad that you liked it, you can expect many more recipes in the coming years, I'll try to make at least one every week at our home…" Suddenly, Ayaka giggled for no apparent reason. Momo turned her head, trying to see what she was laughing about. "What? Do I need a reason to laugh?" Ayaka walked over to Momo and leaned on her shoulder from behind.
"If you thought of something funny, isn't it fair that I get to laugh with you?"
"Because I'm happy, is that not enough reason? My girlfriend is eating a delicious dessert I made, we are going to have our own place at eighteen, go to college together," she leaned closer to her ear and whispered, "And we'll get to have crazy monkey sex anytime we wa-" Momo pushed her head away before she could end her sentence.
Bright laughter spilled from her lips, cheeks reddening, "Stop it! Way to ruin a cute declaration of love and happiness."
"It's not like it invalidates the stuff I said before, it's just a bonus. And you've got to admit that you've been thinking about it too. Imagine me, cooking us dinner while only wearing an apron, like in the movies."
Clearly, that image made its way through Momo's mind, pushing her thoughts away, "I'll hold you on that."
After this, they went to Ayaka's room and spent the entire night watching Invincible, going to sleep at 3am.
Now the only thing the two of them, and thousands of other UA aspirants could do was wait a few more days for the practical test…