8 Chapter 8.1: Epilogue: Blind spot Part 1
The last day of the training camp. In other words, the day has come for our groups to be ranked in this special exam. One week has gone by and in that time, both boys and girls from across all school years making up roughly 36 small groups have gone about their own business. There are groups where members have successfully managed to deepen the relationships between one another and there are also groups that are on the brink of collapse.
There are also groups where members indifferently did what needed doing without bothering to deepen relations between each other. At first, nobody in our group thought we'd see eye to eye. However, in the end we did manage to grow closer to one another, significantly bridging the distance that existed between us. Not perfectly, of course.
At best, it's a makeshift group. Tomorrow, we'll be enemies again. We were only temporarily allied. However, there's still a certain sense of loneliness when you remember that our activities together as a group is at an end.
"We've done what needed doing for now. No matter what the outcome is, this group has no regrets".
"I think so too. Thank you for being our leader for a week, Yukimura".
Ishizaki and Keisei, both of their own volition, extended their hands and exchanged a light handshake.
"No matter what the outcome is, let's do our best".
"I'll be counting on you".
The others are also complimenting each other and exchanging handshakes. Afterwards, we headed to the classroom our group was assigned to. There's nothing to criticize as far as our unity goes too. Our biggest concern right now is how Kouenji will act.
He's currently calmly following us. But there's no telling when we'll lose control of him.
The 2nd and 3rd years from our group are already here and so we panickedly took our seats. After that, the bell rang and a teacher came in simultaneously to begin explaining the contents of the exam to us.
Even though we're a large group made up of all school years, the exam itself will be held based on the small groups or our school year.
At best, the large groups will only contribute to our overall ranking. No matter how spacious the outdoor school may be, if we're all doing the same thing simultaneously then it won't be enough.
As expected, there are four topics covered by the exam and nothing out of the blue.
'Zen'. 'Speech'. 'Long-distance relay'. 'Written exam'. These are the four assessments that will be held. We 1st years will start with Zazen. And then we'll move onto the written exam. Then the long-distance relay and finally we'll be giving our speeches.
On the contrary, the 2nd years have a harder start by having the long-distance relay come first. The 3rd years seem to be starting with their speeches.