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Finals. This simple concept sent feelings of horror through every student. And at Grand Line Academy, finals were coming up. Students throughout the school were studying their asses off to make sure they were prepared for the dreaded tests. Well, most students. One 16 year-old Monkey D. Luffy was enjoying his day, blissfully unaware. He decided he'd stop by with his friend and classmate, Zoro, because Luffy was bored and couldn't think of anything better to do (like studying to make sure he didn't fail, maybe?).
"Zoooorooo!" He called, after walking a few blocks to his friends house. When he didn't open the door, Luffy walked in anyway. He walked in to a complete mess. Papers were everywhere, and in the center of the storm was his green-haired companion. He walked right over to him
"Hi Zoro!" he yelled. His interruption gained a glare from the teen on the floor.
"What do you want, Luffy? I'm trying to study!" he yelled. Luffy was surprised, for Zoro rarely studied. He only studied for really important tests. Was there something important coming up?
"Huh? For what?" Luffy asked. Zoro stared at him for a bit. Did he honestly not know finals were coming up?
"You know, finals? The big tests we've been preparing for?" Zoro asked. Luffy still looked confused. Zoro just sighed and stood up. Picking up the shorter teen, he walked to the door. "Go be confused elsewhere. I have tests to study for" he said, dropping Luffy on his door step and closing the door. Luffy dusted himself off, muttering "Zoro's a meanie" and walked away. But where to next... Luffy wandered aimlessly for a while before turing up at Nami's house. He decided to pay her a visit, for he had nothing better to do.
"Naaaamiiii!" he called, knocking on the door. Upstairs, a window opened and the orange-haired girl poked her head out.
"What?"she asked irritably.
"I'm bored" he said.
"Well hello bored." she replied "I'm studying. I can't be distracted. Go away" and before the straw hat-wearer could get anything else from her, she pulled her head back inside and shut the window. Luffy sighed, wondering where he could go next. He was bored, so... he decided he'd go see Usopp! Usopp wouldn't throw him out!
Luffy's original theory was quickly disproved. Usopp had also been... studying. Well, if you could call making cheat-sheets "studying".
"These are Captain Usopp's Certain-Pass Test-Helpers!" he'd said "There's no way I can fail if I have these!"
"What happens if you get caught?" Luffy had asked.
"I am the great Captain Usopp! I won't get caught! In fact, I once cheated on a test so well, all the other cheaters in the grade began calling me their God!" Usopp began telling stories of his wonderful cheating abilities when he realized he hadn't finished making his cheat-sheets. He ushered Luffy out the door, saying "Why don't you go visit Sanji?" and then closed it on the raven-haired teen. Luffy took Usopp's suggestion because he was very hungry. Before long, he was at the blonde's door.
"Saaaaaaaaanjiiiiiii!" He called, banging on the door. "I'm huuuungreeeeeeeey!" When the door opened, a very annoyed blonde opened up the door.
"What do you want?!" he asked.
"I'm hungry" Luffy responded. Sanji sighed, pulling a box of candy cigarettes from his shirt pocket (16 isn't old enough to smoke, after all).
"What do you want me to do about it?" Sanji asked.
"Can you make me some food? 'Cuz you're the best chef ever and I'm hungry?" Luffy pleaded, doing his best puppy-dog eyes.
"..." Sanji just stared at the teen on his doorstep, before ushering him inside. "Fine. But only until you're finished. I need to study and I can't have a shithead like you here distracting me" Luffy sighed. 'Sanji too?' he thought. 'At least I get food.'
A few minutes later, Luffy was kicked out of the blonde's house. He was running out of places to go. He decided to go see what Chopper was doing. Walking through the neighborhood (all his friends lived within walking distance. It was really convenient!), he ended up at his friend's house.
"Choooppeeeer!" he called, banging on the door. It opened to reveal his friend.
"Hey Luffy! How's it going?" He asked, then stepped aside "Don't just stand there. Come on in!" Luffy walked in and sat down.
"Everyone else is studying for tests and stuff so no on will hang out with me" Luffy said.
"Oh, sorry Luffy, but I'm studying for finals too." Chopper said. Luffy looked over at his book, which had gummy bears at random points on the page. Luffy pointed to the book, asking
"Why is there candy on your book?"
"Oh! That's how I study! I put gummy bears on the page I'm on, and I read the book. Whenever I reach one, I eat it!" He explained "but I usually end up eating them all before I finish" Chopper admitted. Luffy just laughed. "Anyway, sorry Luffy, but I can't play with you. I've got to study too." Luffy just sighed in defeat and left. There were only a few more friends he could visit now. He walked up to another door.
"Roooobiiiiiiiiiin!" He called, banging in his friend's door. It opened, revealing the girl he had been calling for.
"Hello Luffy"
"Hello Robin!"
"What brings you here?" She asked. Luffy sighed.
"Everyone else is studying for big test thingys, so no one will play with me" he explained.
"Not even Usopp and Chopper?" Robin asked.
"Nope." He sighed. Robin seemed to be thinking about something, then said.
"I'm also studying, but I'm sure Franky would keep you company" she said. Luffy smiled.
"Thanks Robin!" He yelled, running off to his blue-haired friend's house.
"Fraaaaankyyyyyyyyy!" He yelled, banging on the door.
"Hey Luffy-bro! How's it going?" He asked, opening up the door.
"Are you studying?" Luffy asked.
"Yeah, I am." Franky said "Finals are coming up this week. So not-super!" Luffy sighed.
"What's got you down?" He asked.
"Everyone's been to busy studying to play with me!" Luffy said. Franky sighed.
"I don't know what to tell you, then" he said. "Everyone is busy?"
"Well, I haven't asked Brook yet, but-"
"Well then go ask him!" Franky interrupted "and if all else fails, there's always your brothers, right?"
"Right! Okay, see ya Franky!" Luffy said, running off to his final stop.
"Brooooooooooook!" He called. From inside, a dog could be heard barking. When Brook opened the door, a big, furry, black mass flew out and tackled Luffy.
"Laboon! No! Get off of Luffy-san!" He said, as Luffy shoved the old dog off of him. Laboon was Brook's dog. He was a black lab, and he was fairly old.
"Hello Laboon!" Luffy said, petting the dogs head (while still sitting on the ground).
"Woof!" Laboon replied. Brook helped Luffy off the ground, and the two went inside. Luffy sat on the couch in the living room. On the coffee table, were books. Textbooks.
"I apologize for the mess, Luffy-san, but I have been studying for finals all day"
"Damn it" Luffy muttered.
"Huh?"
"Everyone's studying!" Luffy complained.
"Well yes, finals are very hard. You need to study in order to pass." Luffy groaned. "Luffy-san, aren't you going to study?"
"No." Luffy said.
"If you want to pass, you have to study!" Brook said. "If you haven't studied yet, you should go home and start! Besides, I have to get back to studying as well"
"Alright, see you Brook!" Luffy said. "And bye, Laboon!"
"Woof!"
Luffy walked into his house, which he shared with his two brothers.
"Ace! Sabo! I'm home!" He yelled.
"Hey Luffy" said Ace.
"Where did you go all day?" Asked Sabo.
"Hi!" Luffy said to Ace, then turned to Sabo
"I went to all my friends' houses" Luffy replied "but they were all studying for finals. So now I'm home!"
"Damn!" Ace yelled "I still need to study for that!" Ace ran upstairs, then came back downstairs with a shirt in hand. He turned it inside out and pulled out a marker and a textbook and started writing things in the shirt.
"What'cha doing?" Luffy asked.
"I'm making a cheat-sheet. Or rather, a cheat-shirt." He replied, smiling at his pun. "See, even if they cath me cheating, they can't take my shirt!" He laughed "because you have to wear a shirt in school!"
"They're still going to take the shirt. Or they'll make you retake the test later" Sabo said.
"That's if they catch me!" Ace said. Sabo just rolled his eyes. Luffy laughed. His brothers were funny!
"What're you doing, Sabo?"
"I'm studying legitimately, and not cheating like a certain idiot." He said.
"Hey!" Ace said. "I'm a genius! You're just jealous 'cuz you didn't think of it first!" Before their bickering could get any worse, the phone rung. Luffy picked it up, it was Robin.
"Hello?"
"Hello Luffy!"
"Hi Robin! What's up?"
"Meet me at the library in town" she said.
"But wh-" Robin hung up.
"Who was it?" Ace asked, when Luffy put the phone down.
"Robin. She asked me to meet her at the library in town." He replied "...Where's the library?"
Luffy arrived at the library a few minutes later. When he walked in, Robin was there to greet him. She smiled and silently lead him towards the back. Luffy was shocked to find all his friends there.
"What're you guys doing here?" He asked.
"Robin called us all. We're gonna do a group study session!" Chopper said.
"We were all studying anyway. Might as well do it together." Nami said. They stayed there until the library closed. Brook, Luffy, and Usopp tried Chopper's study method, while Franky ran a competition between Zoro and Sanji to see who could answer the most questions right. They tied. Robin and Nami studied and quizzed each other (Nami did amazing at geography, while Robin rocked history). When closing time rolled around, Luffy was actually disappointed. Even if studying was boring, he was still having a good time.
"Meet up again tomorrow?" He asked.
"It's better than studying alone" Nami said.
"Yeah! Let's do it again!" Chopper said.
"Sounds super!" Franky cheered. "Of course!" Usopp said.
"Sure, I still haven't beat this idiot" both Zoro and Sanji said at the same time, pointing to the each other. A fight began shortly thereafter, but the rest of the group ignored it.
"I'd love to, Luffy-san!" Brook said.
"So then I guess we're all in" Robin said.
When the test day came, Luffy was ready. He's been studying with his friends all week, there was no way he'd fail! (Maybe he wouldn't get an A, but at least he wouldn't get an F! Probably!) Luffy found out later that Usopp, even though he said he would not get caught, was caught. He was the first one to get caught. The second was Ace. And Ace was wrong, they can take his shirt. And they did, so Ace walked around for the rest if the day in only black pants and the orange cowboy hat he always wore (all three brothers had hats they always wore. Ace had his cowboy hat, Sabo, a top hat, and Luffy a straw hat. The teachers tried to get them to take the hats off, but it didn't work. No one even questions it anymore).
In the end, out of the people in Luffy's group, only Nami, Robin, and Sabo got A's, with Franky, Brook, Zoro, and Sanji getting B's (Zoro and Sanji were in a contest on who could get a higher grade. They got the same score) and Usopp, Ace, and Luffy getting C's (Usopp and Ace would have gotten a B's but they took points off for cheating). Over all, Luffy thought they did pretty well.