The final exam didn't feel special. That was the surprise.
The hallway buzzed with restless energy. Students compared notes they shouldn't still be carrying. Someone laughed too loudly. Someone else stared straight ahead, already exhausted.
Elian and Juni walked side by side, not speaking. They didn't need to. They had done everything they could.
The last paper was placed face-down on the desk. Elian sat back, breathing evenly. He didn't try to predict how it would go. He just waited. When the signal came, he turned the paper over.
Read. Wrote. Moved on.
The pressure was still there—but dulled, like a headache that had finally begun to fade.
Across the room, Juni adjusted his grip on the pen. He felt the familiar flutter—but it didn't take over. He paced himself, skipping questions that snagged, returning later. When his thoughts drifted, he brought them back gently.
Not perfectly. Enough.
The clock ticked. Pens slowed. Chairs shifted.
When the invigilator called the final minute, Juni stopped writing. He rested his hands on the desk.
He didn't panic. He didn't rush. He simply sat.
The bell rang. Not loudly. Just clearly.
Pens down. Time over.
For a moment, no one moved. Then chairs scraped back. Laughter bubbled up in pockets, disbelieving and shaky.
Outside, the air felt different. Lighter.
Juni stepped into the sunlight and closed his eyes. "…It's done," he said.
Elian nodded. "It is."
They didn't cheer. They didn't analyze. They stood there, letting the weight lift inch by inch. Someone clapped Elian on the shoulder in passing. Juni laughed when another student spun in a circle, arms raised. The world resumed its noise—but without urgency.
Elian turned to Juni. "…You okay?"
Juni smiled—real, unguarded. "Yeah," he said. "I think I am."
Elian felt something loosen in his chest. They walked home together, slower than usual.
No plans. No pressure.
Just the quiet knowledge that they had reached the end of something difficult—and survived it. The future would ask things of them soon enough.
But for now—The last bell had rung.
And they were still standing.