Kismet - Oikawa Tooru x OC

Chapter 40: Reward

Chapter 40:

"A 558mL solution of aluminum sulfate has a concentration of 0.0342 moles. You then add 325mL of water to it. What is the new concentration?" Kaiya asked, watching Oikawa's face drain pale with despair.

"Uh... 2 moles?" He answered, his eyebrows knitting in frustration, "Ugh, I don't know!"

"If you actually paid attention in class, you would know..." She commented, causing him to frown.

"It's difficult for me to pay attention in class when I sit next to you, Kaiya-chan." Oikawa grinned, twirling a strand of her hair.

Kaiya rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, clearly over his flirty comments (which served only to distract both of them from studying). They had final exams coming up soon and he wasn't taking them as seriously as he should be.

"I hope you know that in order to graduate, you have to actually pass chemistry." She stated, slapping his hand away.

"Ow..." Oikawa whined, rubbing his hand, "Fine... I'll focus after you do one thing for me."

"What?" She sighed exasperatedly.

Oikawa placed a hand on her thigh and smirked, "Kiss me first."

"You are aggravating, Tooru..." Kaiya muttered, "Focus for once, will you?"

"I can't..." He grimaced, placing his head down on the desk defeatedly, "I don't want to study!"

Kaiya shook her head - it felt like she was dealing with a stubborn child who didn't want to eat their vegetables. Contrary to popular belief, Oikawa was very smart in subjects that he was interested in. He just wasn't motivated enough to learn the concepts of chemistry because he hated it. She wondered if there was anything she could do to prompt him to focus on his studies. She wanted him to succeed, after all. Then, Kaiya recalled a simple psychology theory called "operant conditioning", where positive reinforcement - a response or behavior that is strengthened through rewards - can lead to the repetition of the desired behavior. Perhaps that could work for him.

"Tooru." Kaiya murmured, causing him to gaze up at her.

"Hmm?"

"If you get five questions correct in a row, I'll take one piece of clothing off as a reward." She smiled, making his eyes widen in surprise.

"W-what?" He sputtered, "Kaiya-chan..."

"Well?" She leaned back against her chair coolly, "Do you think you can do it?"

Oikawa scanned her outfit from head to toe - she was wearing his Aoba Johsai jacket, a blue shirt, and presumably, a white tank top. Underneath those three articles of clothing would obviously be... His mind numbed and he began to get light-headed from the thought of her bare skin. After reflecting and recovering for a few seconds, he recollected himself. He sat up straight, his eyes blazing with determination as he clutched the pencil and read the words on the paper with so much force that everything around him seemed to disappear.

Meanwhile, Kaiya couldn't help but stifle her laughter. She had never seen Oikawa so serious in her life, except for maybe when he played in volleyball matches. She noticed that he was muttering to himself too as if he was trying to find the answers of the universe. Then, Kaiya's phone rang abruptly, and she reached out to answer the call.

"Can you turn off your phone, Kaiya-chan?" Oikawa furrowed his eyebrows, "Some of us are trying to study here."

"Yeah, yeah..." She chuckled, standing up from her seat.