Morning came after returning to the school. Considering it's saturday, meaning no classes, the screening will probably continue some time later. I found myself hanging around the rooftop alone. I closed my eyes as the wind hits my face. It's surprisingly windy this week, perhaps a storm is coming? I honestly don't know. Keeping in mind that I only escaped that place a year ago.
Ping!
I opened my eyes after hearing my phone received a message.
«The Screening will continue as follow; School Gymnasium, Year 1. At 9 am. Please bring only the necessities and attend at the designated area and designated time. Any late arrivals will be deducted to your class points, so please make your way over before thirty minutes of the given time.»
I checked the time and it was currently 8:14 am. I find no problem going early before the designated time, so I headed over to the gym. Along the way, I walked upon the convenience store and recollected the chips I ate in the ship. I made my way inside, grabbed two flavors, sour cream and onion and the barbecue one. I also went and bought a bottle of water.
With twenty minutes remaining, I walked over to the gym with chips and water on hand. As I passed some students, I saw Hiyori from Class C waving at me. 'Weird, why is she waving at me?' Next to her, Ibuki was crossing her arms. Waving a little back in reply, I stroll over to the open doors. It seemed many students also thought of coming over early. Noticing the small banner with the name of the classes, I saunter to the one that says, Class D. The class figures like Hirata, Karuizawa, and surprisingly Kushida is seating already. I chose to seat at the back as always and waited for the screening to start again.
It took over ten minutes for everyone to gather with the teachers. The screen light up with the words. "The Failures Mobilize Once Again."
When lunchtime came, I jumped to my feet and headed toward the cafeteria with purposeful strides.
"Where are you going?"
Kushida had noticed me rushing out of class and followed. She popped up before me, stopping me in my tracks.
Many flinched when Kushida appeared on the screen. They still remembered the way she cussed and said some hurtful words directed over to Horikita.
"It's lunch. I thought I'd go to the cafeteria."
"Hmm. Mind if I go with you?"
"Kushida and Ayanokoji?"
"They looked kinda good together."
'What?' I tried to find whoever said that but failed.
"I don't really mind. But there are a lot of other people you could ask, you know."
Ike looked at me, confused. "Dude, how can you hang out with her after finding out her real self?"
"Yeah, aren't you afraid that she might do something to you?" Yamauchi asked.
I shrugged, "If she wants to expell me, then she should have already done something . It's not like I can avoid her even after finding out her personality, so the best choice is keep quiet and play along with her."
"And stop like acting she's a criminal! You're a perverted, do you want us to expell you?" Karuizawa glared at Yamauchi. Kushida looked over to her surprised framing her face.
"It's true, I do have a lot of friends to eat lunch with, but you don't have anyone, Ayanokouji-kun. Even though you'd usually reach out to Horikita-san, you haven't talked to her today. The other day, didn't you say something was bothering you about what happened in the faculty room?
"Faculty Room?" Yamashita asked, curious.
"Oh! Is this about when you found out that the materials covering the test had changed?" Ichinose realized. Horikita nodded.
Sudo grumbled, "It's unfair how Chabashira-sensei never inform us about important things." The rest of the Class D nodded.
Mashima sighed, "Chabashira, we're gonna talk about this attitude of yours."
What was it?"
Kushida, as usual, was quite observant. To be honest, I hadn't wanted to do this with anyone, but I decided that Kushida was probably fine. I'd come to learn her secret by sheer coincidence. She wouldn't do anything stupid.
"I can tell you if you promise that you won't tell anyone else."
"I'm good at keeping secrets."
Kushida and I headed to the cafeteria together. We navigated our way through the crowd and finally reached the meal ticket machine. I bought tickets for two portions but didn't line up at the counter. Instead, I went to the side of the vending machine and looked at students perusing the menu.
"What are you two doing? You look creepy." Ibuki asked, "You know what? Nevermind, it will be shown anyway."
She cut me off before I even said anything.
'Does she hate me or something?'
"What is it?" Kushida tilted her head and looked puzzled when I began studying the machine.
"This might answer what was bothering me."
I continued observing students as they bought lunch sets from the ticket machine. After I'd observed about twenty students, my target appeared. He purchased his meal ticket and walked to the counter with heavy, plodding footsteps.
"Talk about being a stalker." Matsushita gave me the stink eye.
'You, lecturing me about being a stalker?'
"Okay, let's go," I said.
"Hmm? Okay."
We quickly exchanged our tickets for our meals and sat down in front of the heavy-footed student.
"Um, excuse me. Are you an upperclassman?" I asked.
"How brave." Yahiko shivered. "Talking to the upperclassmen seems scary, I wonder if they're nice."
"Oho? You have three upperclassmen here, kohai-kun. Does the three of us seems scary to you?" Nagumo grinned at him.
"Um..."
"Nagumo. Stop scaring the first years."
"I wasn't the one who stared at them for a long time during the club fair. I think some of them pissed their pants."
"..."
"Hmm? Who are you?" The student regarded us calmly, a look of complete disinterest on his face.
"Are you a second-year student? Third-year?"
"Third-year. Let me guess, you're a first year?"
"I'm Ayanokouji, from Class D. You're also in Class D, aren't you?"
"Eh? How did you know?" Komiya scratched his head.
Ryuuen smirked, "Let me guessed, the free vegetable set?"
"What's that got to do with you?"
Kushida looked at me with surprise, as if asking, "How did you know?"
"Because he's limited to eating the free meals. It's not very tasty, is it?" I asked. He was eating the free vegetable meal set.
Ishizaki gasp, "You're so smart like always, Ryuuen-san." He praised Ryuuen.
"That's our boss." Albert agreed.
"Um...what did the guy with glasses said?" Yoshimoto asked.
"He said, 'That's our boss'." Kanzaki clarified.
"What do you want? You're really irritating." He took his tray and made to stand, but I stopped him.
"I want to ask you something. If you listen, I'll show you my gratitude."
"Gratitude?"
The cafeteria's hustle and bustle drowned out my voice. The students were all engrossed in chatting pleasantly with their friends.
"Do you still have the problems from the midterm test from the first semester of your first year? Or, if not, do you happen to know someone from your class who does?"
"I see." Sakayanagi realized.
"So, Ayanokoji-kun was the one who thought of that?" Karuizawa asked.
"Kushida helped too. Her part was vital."
"Am I the only one not getting it?" Isoyama become gloomy.
"Do you even understand what you're asking?" he said.
"It's not particularly strange, is it? I didn't think it was against school rules to study using old test problems."
"Why are you asking me?"
"That's simple. I believed I'd have the highest chance of success if I worked with someone who doesn't have any points. Honestly, that free vegetable meal doesn't look good. Of course, things would be quite different if you actually liked eating the vegetable set. What do you think?"
"Who doesn't have any points. Pft." Ike laughed.
"Like you're one to talk" Shinohara sassily said. Ike glared at her.
"So blunt, Ayanokoji-kun" Hasabe grinned. "I like it. how about you, Miyachii?"
"Don't drag me into this." Akito sighed.
"How much are you going to pay?"
"Ten thousand points. That's as high as I'll go."
"I don't have the old test problems, but…I know someone who does. If you want him to help you, though, you're going to need to offer at least 30,000 points. If you've got that, you're fine."
"Dude, he's totally ripping you off!" Ike commented. I didn't reply as I am currently busy opening this God sent food.
I opened the barbecue one and tasted it.
'Umai.'
"I'm afraid that 30,000 is a no-go for me. I don't have that much."
"How much do you have?"
"Twenty thousand."
"Then 20,000… no, 15,000 should do. Nothing under that."
"That's still too expensive." Yamauchi complained.
"15,000, huh?"
"If you'd go so far as to ask for old test problems from a stranger, then you must be pretty desperate, huh? Well, the school will mercilessly expel
any student who gets a failing grade. None of my classmates are even here anymore."
The students who's more sympathetic pitied the man.
"That's so sad." Chihiro said sadly.
"I can't imagine myself losing my friends." Ichinose shook away the images of her friends being expelled.
"That's why we need to work harder to graduate together in Class A." Kanzaki motivated his classmates who are getting gloomy.
"I see. I understand. I'll pay the 15,000 points."
"Then we have a deal. Of course, I'll have to ask you to transfer the points in advance."
"Fine, but if you do anything to stab us in the back, I won't forgive you. Even if you're an upperclassman, I'll do anything and everything I can to make sure you're expelled."
"Scary." Ike whispered.
"Threatening a upperclassman? How bold of you, Ayanokoji-kun." Nagumo stared at the corner of his peripheral vision. A smirk on his face can be seen over my seat.
"You're a freak. Fine, I get it. Besides, when you transfer points, there's always a record of it. If rumor spreads that some first-year students
ripped me off, it'd look bad."
"All right then. Since I'm paying you 15,000 points, can you toss in a little bonus? I want to see the answers to the surprise test that we took after
being admitted."
"Why though? Is that important?" Ishizaki questioned me.
I pointed to the screen. "It will be revealed later."
"Stop asking so much. You're nosy." Ryuuen hissed.
Ishizaki recoiled back in fear, "I-I'm sorry, Ryuuen-san."
"All right. I'll toss that in, too. I think that your concerns are pointless, though." It seemed he understood what I was after.
"Thank you very much."
After we made our deal, he quickly left. He probably didn't want to be noticed.
"Hey, Ayanokouji-kun? What you did just now. Was that really okay?" Kushida asked.
"Yeah, is that really okay?" Yume asked the teachers.
Mashima nodded his head, "If it wasn't allowed, the school would have outline it in the school rules." He assured her.
"Oh, okay."
"It's no problem. School rules allow point transfers, so there was no violation."
"You might be right, but isn't getting the old test problems cheating?"
"Cheating? I don't think so. If the school didn't allow it, they would have outlined it in the school rules to begin with. Also, I felt more confident
after seeing that third-year student. That is to say, it's not unusual for students to barter points like this."
"You already surmised that much after negotiating once?" Mashima mused, "You seemed to have a special student, Chabashira."
Chabashira kept quiet. She knows, of course. The chairman specifically told her that and to take care of him, but she did the exact oppoiste of that. And that might bite her back later.
"Huh?"
"My request didn't particularly surprise him, and he accepted quickly. This probably isn't the first time he's negotiated like this. Not only did he
have the answer sheet for the first-year midterm exam, but he also had the answer sheet for the mock test we took after being admitted. If he saved those, it's clear why."
"Eh? Who knew you could do that?" Manabe eyes widened.
Ishizaki looked over to Ryuuen, "We should have done that, Ryuuen-san."
"What's Ryuuen going to do? Blackmail the upperclassman?" Horikita scoffed.
"I might. You already know me so well, Suzune." Ryuuen grinned.
'Stop calling her Suzune, bastard.' Sudo gritted his teeth.
Kushida's eyes widened in shock.
"Ayanokouji-kun, what you did was unexpectedly daring."
"It's just a bit of insurance to prevent Sudou and the others from getting expelled."
"Thanks, man!" Sudo gave me a thumbs up.
"If it wasn't for that, I might already been expelled." Ike shivered, cradling his arms.
"Ha! I didn't need it. I can easily take the top spot in the class." Yamauchi boasted.
Yukimura and Horikita glared at him.
"Now, now, let's just be thankful to Ayanokoji-kun." Hirata calm them down.
"But, if the old test answers are useless, then it will have been for nothing. I mean, the past test questions are old, aren't they? They might be completely unrelated to what's featured on this year's test."
"But teachers teach the same things to every first years." Nishikawa put a hand on her cheek.
"The problems may not be exactly the same, but there will definitely be similarities. I noticed a hint on that last mock exam we took."
"The words, future reference and the three difficult questions in the end, right?" Ichinose asked.
I nodded, "It was weird when Chabashira-sensei said it was a reference then later on changed the coverage of the test." I informed her.
"A hint?"
"You noticed the really difficult problems alongside the simple ones, right?"
"Yeah, I did. The final questions, right? I didn't understand them at all."
"I did some investigating, and I found that those questions were on the second-and third-year students' tests. In other words, a first-year student
generally wouldn't understand how to solve them. Wouldn't it be pointless for the school to purposefully throw us problems we can't solve? Those questions aren't there simply to measure our academic ability. Now, suppose that the problems on the mock test we took were exactly the same as the problems on the old mock test. What would happen?"
Every smart students, excluding the class leaders understood.
"So, we took the same quiz with the second-years and third-years?" Sudo asked.
Horikita confirmed. "Yes, that's why it was possible for them to asked for the third-year's midterm exam. The questions would have been the same or have similarities, at least."
"If I'd seen the old test, I would have been able to answer every question," she said.
The same thing would likely apply to the midterm exam as well. Shortly there after, that third-year student sent me a message with an image
file attached. It was the old test questions. First, I checked the mock test. The key was whether or not the last three problems were the same. Kushida must have been curious as well, because she drew closer and tried to peek at my phone.
"Well? Well?" she asked.
"They're the same. Every single word is identical. The test from that year and this year are exactly the same, in every way."
"Damn, we should have done the same." Komiya complained.
Kondo agreed. "We could had the midterm in the bag, even the other tests."
"That would have only worked one time." Ryuuen shook his head, "It's impossible for every test the first year's have to take to be identical to the test the second-and-third years took."
"That's amazing! So, if we show this to everyone in class, that would mean an easy victory! We should show this to all of our other friends, not just Sudou-kun!"
"No, we'll hold off. We won't show it to Sudou and the guys yet."
"Insurance, huh?" Katsuragi guessed.
"Wh-why? You went to all of the trouble of using up so many of your points for this!"
"If they learn that the old test questions would be effective, their motivation to study would go up in smoke. We need to be wary of overconfidence. After all, even though the mock tests were identical, it's possible that the questions featured on the midterm this year might not be the same as last year's."
"That's reasonable." Kanzaki nodded.
"If the midterm test ended up to be completely different to the previous one, Class D might have ended up in a bigger pinch." Hirata surmised. He answered the question someone was about to asked.
These old test papers were insurance.
"Okay, then how will you use them?"
"I'm going to release them on the internet the day before the test. We tell everyone that the problems from the old test are generally the same as the ones on the new. Then what do you think will happen?"
"We will work hard to memorize it!" Nene grasp the situation.
Matsushita added, "And the study group wouldn't have to be for nothing."
"That night, everyone will be hunched over their desks, frantically trying to memorize all of the problems!"
"Exactly."
The students with a poor grasp of the basics probably wouldn't be able to memorize everything in a single day. However, we weren't shooting for
perfect scores this time around. The crucial thing was to avoid failing. If we got greedy, we might end up digging our own graves. With this plan, we could probably get everyone in Class D to pass.
Sudo looked down, even the effort Ayanokoji, Horikita, Kushida and Hirata made, he still ended up failing.
'Damn, why did I have to fell asleep?'
I observed Sudo, he must be feeling guilty. 'Don't feel bad, Sudo. After all, if it wasn't for you failing, I couldn't have confirmed my theory about being able to buy anything using our private points.'
"When did you come up with the idea to get the old tests?" she asked.
"I considered it when we learned that the test material was going to be different. However, I had a hunch back when they first told us about the
midterm exam."
"That far back?!" Katsuragi was surpised. Even he didn't thought about that.
"You're so smart, Ayanokoji-kun." Sato praised me.
"Huh?! Way back then?"
"There was something very peculiar about the way Chiyabashira-sensei told us about the test. As our homeroom teacher, she had a clear
understanding of everyone's grades and academic performance. Despite that, she seemed absolutely certain when she told us that there was a way for us to pass this test. In other words, she indicated that there was a surefire way for us to save everyone."
"The teachers really hinted it to us." Ike realized.
Yamauchi wailed, "Damn, just how stupid our we?"
"Don't lump us with you, defect-kun." Sakayanagi corrected him, Class A agreed with her.
Yume pondered. "Huh, so it was really allowed. After all, the teachers were the one who hinted it to us."
'Didn't Mashima-sensei assured you already earlier?'
"And that's…the old test papers?"
"This might be related to why Sudou, Ike, and Yamauchi were admitted to this school despite being academically poor. Even if they couldn't get good grades by studying ahead, perhaps there were other means of addressing the problem, a backup plan they could use to avoid expulsion.
This meant that it was possible for anyone to get a near-perfect score if they could get the old test papers. That's what I took from the situation, anyway."
"Why are always making us three the example?!" Ike complained to me.
Swallowing the chips, "Why? do you want me to make an example out of another class? I don't know anyone outside of ours." I asked him, emphasizing my status as a loner in our class.
"Eh...no?"
"Ayanokouji-kun, you really are an incredibly observant person, aren't you?"
"I'm just cunning. Besides, I didn't believe that I could pass the midterm without some help. I was just looking to make things easier for myself."
'What a surprising low self-confidence.'
'Really?' Karuizawa sarcastically thought. 'You said that you hated trouble, then why help the class?'
"You do realize that you're contradicting yourself, right?" Katsuragi didn't know whether to believe him or not.
"Hmm." Kushida grinned like some gears were turning in her mind.
"I have one more favor to ask. Could you please tell everyone that you got the old test papers, Kushida? I want you to say that you got them from a third-year student you're close to."
"Oh, So that's why Kushida-san was the one who distributed the papers?" Hasabe hit Akito's arm.
"Ouch! Stop that!"
"But why? You could have gave that to us. Your popularity would have skyrocketed." Sato asked shocked.
"I doubt you guys would have believe me, and I hate being in the spotlight ." I gave her a reason.
Airi silently thanked Ayanokoji in her mind. Without that, she would definitely have failed the midterm test.
"That's fine, but…are you okay with that, Ayanokouji-kun?"
"I like to avoid trouble. I don't want to stand out. Besides, our classmates trust you, Kushida. I think it would be better if you told them."
"I understand. If you say so, Ayanokouji-kun."
"Thanks. Don't say anything else, though. We need to avoid drawing too much attention."
"You mean to you?" Horikita stated. She looked over to me, eyebrow raised.
I kept quiet, 'This barbecue flavor is good too.'
"Okay, we can keep this secret between us."
"Yeah, that's what I was thinking."
"Don't you feel that a strange bond of mutual trust forms between people who share a secret?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Minamikata asked, confused.
"Trust between two people, I think?"
"The thrill, you mean."
"I don't know about that. I sure hope so."
"Thank you," replied Kushida.
I didn't really know what she meant by that.
'Do you really?' Sakayanagi doubts.
It was Thursday. Tomorrow, the midterm would be upon us. Class had ended for the day. After Chiyabashira-sensei ended the homeroom period and left the classroom, Kushida immediately leapt into action. She took out printed copies of the old test that I'd made at the convenience store and brought them up to the podium.
"How many points had you used for that, Ayanokoji-kun?" Hirata asked me.
He must be feeling guilty that I used so much of my points for that and never taken the credit.
"Um..around 15,345, I think?"
"Let us pay you back, Ayanokoji-kun!" Shinohara exclaimed.
"It's fine, really." I assured them.
"Everyone, before you return to the dorm, would you mind listening to me for a moment?"
Everyone, including Sudou, stopped and listened to Kushida. This was a role that neither Horikita nor I could play. Only Kushida could do it.
"I'm sure that you would have been popular if you socialize and smile more." Sato teased me.
"No way, I couldn't do that." I disagreed.
'Never, I can't do that even if I tried.'
"I know that you've all been studying a lot in preparation for the test tomorrow. I have something to help you. I'm going to hand out some
papers."
Kushida distributed the question and answer sheets to the students in the first row.
"Test…questions? Did you make these, Kushida-san?" Horikita was visibly surprised by this sudden turn of events.
"Actually, these are the old test problems. I got them from a third-year student last night."
"Thank you, Kushida-chan, Ayanokoji!" Ike and the others thanked us.
Kushida looked at him surprised. Ike never talked to her after she was exposed. Why talked to her now? They hate her, right? But somehow, it warmed her heart how Class D still accepted her despite knowing her real personality.
She shook those thoughts and feelings away. 'No, I'll expell all of them for knowing my past.' Some part of her knew that is was impossible. Who would expelled the entire first year students, three student council members; two third-years and one second-year, not to mention the teachers?
"Old test problems? Huh? Wait, will these questions be on the test tomorrow?"
"Yes. To tell you the truth, I heard that the midterm test from the year before last had almost exactly the same problems as this one. So, if we study what's on this test, it'll surely come in handy."
"Whoa! Seriously? Thank you, Kushida-chan!" Overjoyed, Ike hugged his test paper. None of the other students could suppress their elation, either.
"What the hell? If we had these, then wasn't it pointless to study so hard?" Yamauchi complained, even as he laughed.
"I thought you could have easily passed the test without that, Haruki?" Ike teased him.
Yamauchi spluttered, "Of course, I could have!"
It looked like I'd been right.
"Sudou-kun, do your best when you study today!"
"I'm sorry, guys. Even if you helped me out I still failed." He apologized.
"It's fine, Sudo. Take this as a lesson to study diligently." Horikita lectured him.
"Huh? Failed? then why are you here?" Ishizaki asked confused.
"Shut up, dumbass. It probably will be shown later." Ibuki huffed.
"Yeah. Thanks, you really helped me out." Sudou also happily accepted the test papers.
"Let's keep this a secret from the other classes! Don't be scared, everyone! Do your best and aim for a high score!" Ike shouted with joy and
determination. I was inclined to agree with him. We didn't need to send supplies to the enemy. Everyone returned to the dorms with high spirits.
Ichinose giggled. "I'm surprised you all were able to keep it to your class."
"I was surprised too." Horikita acknowledged them.
"A praise from Horikita." Ike eyes widened. A red hue covered his cheeks.
"Oi! don't tell me you have a crush on Suzune." Sudo whispered harshly. Ike hastily shook his head.
"Kushida-san. Excellent work." Horikita gave Kushida genuine praise, which was unusual.
"Eh, really?" Kushida said.
"I'd never even considered trying to use the old tests. I'm also grateful that you verified that the questions were still useful."
"To be fair, no one did beside Ayanokoji-kun." Ichinose admitted.
"That's thinking outside the box."
True. The always-solitary Horikita hadn't come up with that idea.
"I just did it for my friends. It was nothing special," Kushida said.
"Also, I think that you were correct to announce that you had it today after class. If you'd carelessly let word get out about this test, it's possible
that everyone would have lost their motivation to study."
"I suppose I should thank you as well, Ayanokoji-kun. If it weren't for the two of you, Class D would have been in trouble." Horikita thanked me.
Noting Kushida's wary gaze on her, Horikita merely thanked the two of them and didn't left any side comment.
"That was only because I received the test papers so late. If many of the same problems are featured on the test tomorrow, then everyone will
probably manage to get pretty high test scores."
"Yes. It also means that the last two weeks we spent studying weren't for nothing."
"Matsushita and Nene were right!"
"Why look so proud?"
"That's only common sense."
"Shh, let them have that moment."
The past two weeks had probably been tremendously long for Sudou and the other failing students. Hopefully they'd gotten more into the habit of studying now.
"It was hard but fun."
"I don't think the Idiot Trio found it the least bit fun."
Well, we'd done as much as we could. The next step for those three simply came down to effort.
"I just pray that I don't draw a complete blank during the actual test."
Ichinose winced, 'Yeah, that's the problem."
"Don't worry, Ichinose-san. We all passed." Karuizawa said.
"Except Sudo that is."
"Hey! I passed!"
"If it weren't for Horikita!"
Well, I couldn't really do anything about that part. No matter how much they were taught and what they demonstrated during the study group, everything came down to their performance on the actual test. At least the previous questions were one crucial bit of help.
"Well, should we head back?"
Horikita quietly looked over at Kushida as she put her textbook into her bag. "Kushida-san."
"Hmm?"
"Really, thank you for everything you've done. If you weren't here, the study group would not have succeeded."
"I'm surprised you thanked her." Manabu talked to his sister.
Horikita momentarily froze, "Of course, It's only natural to thank a person for their effort."
"Hmm."
"Don't worry about it. I just want to get into the higher-ranked classes together with everyone else. That's why I did it, and why I agreed to help
with the study group. I'll help you again any time." Smiling, Kushida grabbed her bag and stood.
"Wait. There's just one thing I want to confirm," Horikita said.
"Confirm?"
"If you say that you'll continue working with me for the sake of our class, then I need to be sure of something."
Horikita looked straight at Kushida, who was still wearing that dazzling smile.
"You hate me, don't you?"
"What a straightforward question." Hasabe glanced at her for a second.
"Starting with a flattering conversation will only prolong the inevitable." Horikita answered her.
Class D went silent.
"Hey, hey…" I'd wondered what she wanted to ask, but that was ridiculously unexpected.
"Ayanokoji. The forever middle man, pft." Despite the heavy atmosphere, Ike managed to lighten it up. Many students laughed with him.
"Why do you think that?" Kushida asked.
"You're not answering my question because it's true. Right?"
"Ha ha, you got me." She shouldered her bag and lowered her hands. Kushida faced Horikita without losing her smile. "That's right. I really hate
you."
'How can she say that without losing her smile?' Karuizawa wondered.
Sakanayagi silently raised an eyebrow. 'She's great at acting, I'll give her that. But it's almost so natural that it's suspicious.'
She answered clearly, making no attempt to hide it. She was direct.
"Do you want me to tell you the reason?"
'Was she offended that Horikita-san rejected her so many times?'
'Did they know each other in the past? Middle school, perhaps?'
"No. That's unnecessary. Knowing that is good enough. I can continue working with you without hesitation."
Despite what she'd just been told, Horikita spoke calmly
There are no absences today. It appears everyone is present." Chiyabashira-sensei strode through the classroom with a bold smile on
her face.
"It's the day of the results."
"That's the first hurdle for you leftovers. Are there any questions?"
"We've studied diligently these past few weeks. I don't think that anyone will fail."
"Well, you were wrong, Hirata." Sudo looked down.
"Oh my. You sound quite confident, Hirata."
Everyone wore a confident look. The teacher promptly took up the test papers and passed them out. Our first period test was for social studies. Out of everything we'd studied, it was probably the easiest subject.
"If anyone stumbles here, the other tests will be an uphill battle, quite frankly. You'll take this midterm and the final exam in July. If no one fails
either test, you'll be rewarded with a vacation during your summer break."
"Vacation my ass." Ike grumbled, Many students agreed with him.
If being left to a deserted Island is your version of vacation then I don't know if something is wrong with your head, or what is your definition of 'vacation.'
"A vacation?"
"That's right. A dream vacation on an island surrounded by the brilliant blue sea."
Of course, the beach in summer meant we'd be able to see the girls in their swimsuits…
"Wh-what is this strange pressure…" one of the boys muttered.
"Disgusting."
The girls glared at the boys.
'I'm glad, President isn't like them/' Tachibana sweat drop.
Chiyabashira-sensei stepped back from the obvious tension the students exuded… mostly the boys.
"Everyone. Let's do our best!"
"Yeah!" Ike howled along with our classmates. I shouted too, my voice getting lost in the cacophony.
"Eh?! Ayanokoji-kun, too?!" Ichinose gasped.
"Don't tell me you're a pervert too?" Ibuki scowled at me.
"I just want to fit in." I avoided the glares some of the girls are sending me.
"If I were you, I'll find another group of friends."
'Like you're one to talk.'
"Pervert." Horikita glanced at me. I immediately fell silent.
Before long, everyone had their test papers. On the teacher's signal, everyone began. I held off on starting for a moment and looked around at the others. With everything they'd learned, could the Idiot Trio avoid failing? First off, how many of this test's questions were the same as the ones from the old exam? I needed to check that first.
All right.
I discreetly clenched my fist in triumph. Despite my fears, the questions here were the same as the old ones. I hadn't looked them over in any detail, but I saw no great difference. If I'd memorized what was on the old test, it was clear that I could get a near-perfect score.
"If? Does that mean you didn't memorize the old questionnaire?" Ike asked me.
"Kanji, are you dumb? It's clear that Ayanokoji is smart." Sudo hit him in the head.
Ike rubbed his neck, "Oh right. He thought of buying the old test papers."
Glancing around the classroom for assurance, I didn't notice any students looking flustered or confused. I assumed that many of them had
engaged in some last-minute studying. Slowly, I went through and answered all of the problems.
The second and third period exams were for Japanese and chemistry, respectively. While I worked, I discovered something else that intrigued me. Looking over the problems again, I realized that what Horikita had drilled into the study group was consistent with what was on the test. She'd been able to accurately predict what problems would appear just from the lessons. The silent girl beside me was even more impressive than I'd imagined.
'Please don't tell me you have a crush on her.' Sudo silently lamented. I saw him waering a defeated expression, knowing his thoughts. I shook my head when our eyes met.
'I don't have a crush on her, and never will.' I conveyed using my eyes.
Then came fourth period. Mathematics. All of the abnormally difficult questions that had been featured on the mock test also appeared here, but the content was the same as the old exams. Even if Sudou and the other guys couldn't understand the problems, they could still apply the answers if they'd memorized them.
Then came the break.
Some members of our study group, including Ike, Yamauchi, Kushida, Horikita, and myself, gathered together.
"An easy victory! We've got this test on lock!"
"You just got lucky that one of your classmate thought of buying the old test." Ryuuen sneered at them.
Class D glared daggers at him, before looking at my directions. "Thank you again, Ayanokoji-kun!"
'How many times are you going to thank me?'
"I feel like I might get 120 points." Ike sounded pretty sure of himself.
Yamauchi must have felt the same, judging from the smile on his face. Confident, they looked over the old test papers for a final review.
"Sudou-kun, how about you?" Kushida spoke to Sudou, who sat alone at his desk and stared fixedly at the old test material. However, Sudou looked sullen.
"Sudou-kun?"
"Huh? Oh, sorry. I'm kind of busy."
He didn't look up from the questions as he spoke. He was reviewing the English test material, his forehead covered in a thin layer of sweat.
"Looks like someone didn't study the old test." Komiya mocked Sudo who endured the mocking in order not to be in trouble.
Ishizaki followed suit. "Even though, Ayanokoji-kun made it easier for you. How ungrateful."
"Ishizaki-kun, Komiya-kun, please stop with the mocking." Hirata defended Sudo.
"Sudou, did you…not study the old test material, by chance?"
"Everything but English. I fell asleep partway through." Sudou sounded irritated. In other words, this was his first time reviewing the material.
"Eh?!"
That also meant that Sudou only had ten minutes to review.
"Damn, I can't get any of these answers to stick in my head," he muttered.
Unlike the other tests, the English problems weren't easy to memorize. Trying to cram all of the answers in just ten minutes would be impossible.
"Sudou-kun, memorize the problems that are worth a lot of points and those with the shortest answers." Horikita leapt up from her seat and moved next to Sudou.
Sudo seeing Horikita worrying over him felt a blush creeping up on his cheeks.
"What a simp." Ike whispered.
"I know right?" Yamauchi agreed.
Luckily for them, Sudo didn't heard them teasing him. He's focused on Horikita's face on the screen.
"O-okay." He stopped focusing on the low-point questions and instead zeroed in on what would net him the most points.
"A-are you going to be okay?" While trying to avoid getting in the way, Kushida appeared anxious.
"Unlike Japanese, I don't know the basics of English. These letters look like some kind of magic spell or something. Memorizing it'll take time."
"Y-yeah. I struggle with English, too…"
The break passed in the blink of an eye, and the heartless class bell rang.
"I did all I could. I'll try to answer the questions I remember first, before I forget them."
"Yeah…"
And thus began our English test. While the other students calmly made their way through, Sudou clearly had trouble. Occasionally, he'd stop writing and whack his pen against his head. However, no one could help him now.
"You got it, Sudo-kun!" Shibata yelled encouragement.
Hamaguchi yelled too, screaming words of encouragement.
"Please keep your voices down." Chabashira-sensei reprimanded them.
"You're so sweet, So-kun, Tetsuya-kun. But it already happened in the past. No need to yell." Hoshinomiya wink at the two.
Whether Sudou sank or swam was entirely up to him
After the last test, we gathered around Sudou's desk again.
"Hey, did you do okay?" asked Ike, anxiously.
Sudou was on the verge of losing his cool.
"I don't know… I did everything I could, but I have no idea how well I did…"
"Don't worry. You studied as hard as you could. I'm sure you did well."
"Aw, how supportive." Yume have hearts in her eyes.
"But it's the truth though?" Ando appeared to be confused.
'Shh! that's beside the point."
"Damn it, why did I fall asleep?" Sudou fidgeted, clearly frustrated with himself. Horikita then stepped in front of him.
"Sudou-kun."
"What is it? Are you going to lecture me again?" he grumbled.
"It was certainly your fault for not reviewing the old test's final section. However, as you said, you did everything that you could with the
time that you had. You didn't cut any corners or give up. Considering how much effort you put in, I think you should hold your head high and feel
proud."
Hirata smiled, He's glad Horikita is making new friends and fitting in their class more.
'Suzune,' Sudo have hearts in his eyes.
"My, my, how sweet of you, Horikita-san." Sakayanagi mused.
"I only told him the truth, nothing more." Horikita continued to watched the screen, ignoring everyones gaze at her.
"What is this? Are you trying to comfort me?"
"Comfort? I'm speaking the truth. When I look at how far you've come, I understand how hard studying is for you, Sudou."
Horikita was genuinely praising him. None of us could believe what we were seeing.
"Let's wait for the results."
"Yeah… Okay."
"There's…one more thing. Something I need to amend."
"Amend?"
"Earlier, I said that your dreams of becoming a professional basketball player were foolish."
"Why are you reminding him of that?' Ishizaki asked. He glanced over to where Sudo is seating and found him gazing at the screen Horikita dreamily.
'And why is he like that?'
"Why are you reminding me of that?"
Ishizaki blinked.
Kondo shivered, "Coincidence can be freaky at times."
'I'm sensing a deja vu here.'
"I researched how someone could become a professional basketball player, and I learned that the road to success is an incredibly rocky one."
"So, you're telling me to give up because it's a reckless dream?"
"I don't think, that's what she's saying, Sudo-kun." Ichinose laughed.
"Not at all. I know that you're passionate about basketball. I also realize that you probably understand how difficult it is to play professionally." Horikita still acted in her normal, aloof manner, but this was clearly an apology, albeit an awkward one.
'Hmm? She's admiting her mistakes?' Manabu gaze over his sister momentarily. He's shocked that Suzune was slowly improving herself to be a competent person. His eyes moved to his sister over to the brown haired boy. 'It seems he's a good influence to her. He managed to fixed her attitude somewhat.'
"There are many Japanese people who fight to enter that profession. There are some among those who wish to become internationally renowned. You're one of those people, right?"
"Yeah. I'm incredibly stupid, but I want to play ball. Even if I have to live a pathetic, miserable life as a part-time worker or worse, I'm going to
achieve my dream."
"I never thought I needed to understand anyone except for myself. So when you first told me that you wanted to play basketball, I insulted you.
However, I now regret that. Someone who doesn't understand how difficult, how arduous basketball is has no right to dismiss that dream as foolish. Sudou-kun, don't forget the hard work and effort that you poured into studying. Apply that diligence to basketball. If you do, you might be able to go pro. At least, that's how I feel."
"Thank you, Horikita!" Sudo thanked her which she brushed off.
"No need to thanked me. I only told you what I felt that time."
Horikita's expression was the same as always, but she bowed her head to Sudou.
"I'm sorry for what I said back then. Well. Now that I've said my piece, I'll be going."
Horikita left the room, her apology still hanging in the air.
"Hey, did you just see that? Horikita apologized! And so nicely!"
"I can't believe it!"
Ike and Yamauchi were both completely stunned. I was pretty surprised, too. Kushida was as well. Horikita had acknowledged that Sudou had done his best. A dumbfounded Sudou, still seated at his desk, looked after Horikita as she walked through the classroom door. Soon after, Sudou, put his right hand over his heart and looked at us.
Sudo froze after remembering what he uttered after Horikita left.
'Oh no, oh no, no, no.'
"O-oh, no… I… I think I might be in love with Horikita…" he said.
Manabu choked on his saliva.
Sudo felt many eyes on him, majority of them was filled with sympathy.
'You can do this, Sudo.' I silently prayed for him.
"What?" Horikita furrowed her eyebrows. "How can you be in-love with me over that? You must have mistaken gratitude over love." She dismissed Sudo's feelings harshly.
"Ouch. That must have hurt." Ike winced.
Sudo felt his heart breaking into millions of pieces.
"Horikita-san, I think Sudo-kun was being honest with his feelings there." Ichinose tried to convinced her.
Amikura felt a little bad for Sudo. Imagined your crush finding out you like them through a projector. Then them thinking you mistaken ove for another emotion.
'Poor, Sudo-kun.'
'How dense can you be?' I sighed exasperated.
Chiyabashira-sensei strode into the classroom, looking around at the students in surprise. Everyone was clearly anxious, holding their breath in
anticipation of the test results.
"Sensei. We were told that the results would be announced today, but when?"
"There's no need for you to get so worked up, Hirata. You should have passed quite easily."
"So, when will the results be released?"
"Well, if you'd like, now is as good a time as any. If we waited to do it after class, we wouldn't have enough time for other procedures."
Some of the students visibly reacted to the words "other procedures."
"Is someone in trouble in their class?" Hiyori innocently asked Ryuuen.
"If I remember, simp-boy's words earlier, It seemed he was about to be expelled." Ryuuen answered.
"But it was stopped, no? He's still here."
"What…do you mean by that?"
"Don't get flustered. I'll tell you now."
As usual, she revealed the details simultaneously and collectively. She stuck a large, white sheet of paper with everyone's names and test scores
onto the blackboard.
"Honestly, I'm impressed. I didn't think that you'd score so well. Many students tied with perfect scores in mathematics, Japanese, and social studies. More than ten of you, actually."
Some of the students shouted in joy and delight when they saw the 100s lined up on the results sheet. However, some weren't smiling. The only grade that truly mattered was Sudou's score in English.
Then—
We saw Sudou's test scores. He had scored sixty points in four of the five main subjects, which was considerably high. He'd scored thirty-nine
points in English.
"That's impressive. Considering that he sucked in studying months ago, what a great improvement over a course of two weeks." Katsuragi honestly praised Sudo. He respects hardworking people, after all.
"But..." Sakayanagi dragged on the word.
"Yes!" Sudou leapt up and shouted with joy. Ike and Yamauchi stoodand cheered, too. There was no red line to be found on the results sheet. Kushida and I shared a glance and sighed in relief. Horikita didn't smile or cheer, but she did appear relieved.
"We showed you, sensei! When we really try our best, we can do anything!" Ike wore a smug, confident look.
"Yes, I recognize that. You all did very well. However—"
"Oh no."
"I got a bad feeling over this."
Chiyabashira-sensei held a red pen in her hand.
Sudou unintentionally let out a "Huh?"
She drew a red line right above Sudou's name.
"Oh, shit."
"That must have sucked."
Students pitied Sudo for failing his english test. But is also confused why he's still here despite of failing.
"Wh-what is that? What does that mean?"
"You failed, Sudou."
"Huh? You're lying, right? Don't give me that crap! Why did I fail?" he cried.
Of course, Sudou was the first one to protest this. In response to Sudou's failing grade, the entire classroom did a complete one-eighty. We stopped our delighted cheering and erupted in confusion.
"Sudou, you failed the English exam. That's all."
"Don't screw with me! I got thirty-two points! I passed!"
"Uh...you mean thirty-nine?" Yabu corrected him. "The class average that was mentioned was thirty-two."
"Not the time, Yabu-san." Hiyori chastised her.
"Eh, why? I only corrected him."
"When did anyone say that thirty-two points was a passing grade?"
"No, no. You said so, sensei! Right, everyone?" shouted Ike.
"Say whatever you want, it won't matter. This is the undeniable truth. You had to score at least a forty to pass the midterm exam. In other words, you were just one point short. You were so close."
"F-forty?! You never told us about this! I won't accept it!"
"Chabashira." At this point, Mashima is tired reprimanding her.
Hoshinomiya giggled, "Bad, Sae-chan. Hpw can you withhold that information to your students? They won't ascend to the higher class if you're like that." But on the inside, she laughed cruelly at her. 'That's right. Keep dowing that, Sa-chan. You don't deserve to be promoted in Class A.'
"Should I tell you how we determine the passing grade?"
Chiyabashira-sensei wrote a simple formula on the blackboard: 79.6 divided by 2 equals 39.8.
"We set a passing grade for each individual class, just as we did for the last test. We calculated that number by dividing the average score by two.
That's how we arrived at our answer." In other words, anything at 39.8 or lower was considered failing.
"I provided proof that you failed. That is all."
"No way… So… Does that mean I'm going to be expelled?"
"Although your time here was short, you struggled valiantly. You'll be asked to fill out a withdrawal form after class, but you will need to have a
legal guardian present when you do so. I'll contact them for you."
"But, he's still here?"
"What does this mean?"
"Did Class D teacher made an exception?'
"Students, rest assured that no special treatment are being performed. Sudo merely have past the test." Mashima assured the students.
"What, merely?"
"He scored thiry-nine, still short in one point." Ishizaki pointed out.
'One point?' Ryuuen thought hard to the first day of the school. 'He...' Ryuuen analyzed Ayanokoji throughly.
As we witnessed the scene unfold, the teacher rattling off the information as if she were casually giving a report, we finally realized that this was actually happening.
"As for the rest of you, good work. You all passed without any issues. Work hard so that you can pass your final exam as well. Well then, next—"
"S-sensei. Is Sudou-kun really being expelled? Is there no way to save him?"
'There's a way.' Ryuuen glanced over the teachers to observed their reaction and behavior.
Sakayanagi laughed, shocking Kamuro and Hashimoto. 'He bought one point, didn't he?'
'Oho? He used his private points to saved that guy?' Nagumo grinned. 'It seemed I have a new toy to play with.'
Hirata was the first to show concern, even though Sudou hated him and had lashed out at him verbally.
"He's being expelled. He got a failing grade."
"Could we possibly see Sudou-kun's answer sheet?"
"Even if you look it over, you won't find any grading mistakes. I was expecting that you'd protest."
She took out Sudou's English answer sheet and handed it to Hirata, who immediately looked over every problem. His expression turned dark
when he reached the end.
"There…are no mistakes."
"Then how?" Amikura asked.
"This is getting confusing." Sato grabbed her head.
'If I remember correctly, Ayanokoji-kun went outside saying he's going to the bathroom.' Karuizawa appeared to be in thought. 'He must had done something , knowing him.'
"Well, if you're all in agreement, homeroom is over."
Chiyabashira-sensei had heartlessly announced Sudou's expulsion without offering him a second chance or the faintest bit of sympathy. Ike and
Yamauchi, knowing that words of comfort would probably have the opposite effect, stayed silent. Hirata remained quiet, too. Sadly, some of the students appeared relieved by this. Were they happy that a nuisance like Sudou was being removed from the class?
"Sudou, come to the faculty room after class. That is all."
"Chiyabashira-sensei. May I have a moment of your time?" Though she'd stayed silent until that moment, Horikita raised her slender arm in the air and spoke. Thus far, Horikita had never voluntarily made any remarks. Chiyabashira-sensei and the rest of the class appeared shocked by this abnormality.
"Well, this is unusual, Horikita. Why?"
"Earlier, you said that the previous test had a passing grade of thirtytwo points. You arrived at that number by the same formula you showed us today. Were there no mistakes in calculating the passing grade for the last test?"
"There were no mistakes."
"Then, that raises one more question. I'd calculated the average score for the previous test to be 64.4 points. If I were to divide that by two, I
would get 32.2 points. In other words, higher than 32 points. Despite that, the passing grade was set at 32. That means that you left off the decimal. That contradicts what you did this time."
"Yeah, that doesn't make sense." Ando looked confused.
"The decimal was rounded down rather than up. That's why they arrived at the average of thirty-two point two points." Katsuragi explained.
"Oh, that's why!"
"As expected of Katsuragi-san." Yahiko admired him.
"Th-that's right. If you follow what you did last time, the passing grade for the midterm should be thirty-nine points!" In other words, Sudou's overall grade should have meant that he just barely passed.
"I see. Did you anticipate that Sudou would just barely pass, then? You only scored exceedingly low in English, after all."
"Horikita, you…"
Sudou had realized something. The other students gasped as they also realized what had happened. Horikita had gotten perfect scores in four of the five main subjects, but she'd gotten an exceedingly low score of fifty-one points in English. Her English stuck out from her other scores.
The students outside of Class D gasped.
"How romantic." Sakayanagi teased her, Horikita did nothing but glared back,
Ichinose smiled, "That's so nice of you, Horikita-san."
"You really—"
Sudou noticed what she'd done. In order to lower the average score for the English test, Horikita had purposefully botched her own grade as far as she could.
"If you believe that my thinking is incorrect, could you please tell why the calculation differs between this test and the last test?" she asked.
The last ray of light. Our final hope.
"I see. In that case, I'll explain in more detail. Unfortunately, your calculation is off. We didn't simply omit the decimal when we calculated the
passing grade. We rounded the numbers up or down. On the last test, we rounded down to thirty-two points, and on this, we rounded up to forty.
There's your answer."
"Katsuragi-san was right." Komiya muttered. Kaneda simply fixed his glasses exasperated over his classmates idiocy.
"Of course, Katsuragi-san is right! He never commits mistakes!" Yahiko glared at him for doubting his Katsuragi.
'Yet, he lost over the first and second special exams?" Ryuuen fired back.
Yahiko trembled but didn't back down. "You failed too, Ryuuen-san!"
"Yahiko, enough." Katsuragi put a stop of the fight.
"Tch…"
"You should have noticed that we rounded the numbers, but to hold on to that possibility… Well, too bad. At any rate, first period will be starting
soon. I'll be going."
Horikita had nothing left to counter with, so she remained quiet. She couldn't contradict anything Chiyabashira-sensei had said. Horikita's last
resort had been eradicated. The classroom door slammed shut, and silence enveloped the room.
Sudou, still struggling to wrap his head around this new reality, looked over at Horikita. She had purposefully lowered her grades as far as she could, all to stop Sudou's expulsion.
"I'm sorry. I should have tried to lower my score just a little more," she muttered.
"No, Horikita. It's my fault. I should have never fell asleep in the first place." Sudo took the blame and apologized.
"Ken, you're tired after practicing for hours. No one blamed you for falling asleep." Ike tried to be a supportive friend.
Horikita slowly sat back down. However, Horikita's 51-point score on her English test was already considerably low. If she'd scored in the 40-point range, she could have run the risk of expulsion herself.
"Why? You said that you hated me," Sudou said.
"Don't misunderstand. I did this for my own sake. It was all for nothing, though."
I slowly got up from my seat.
"Wh-where are you going, Ayanokouji?"
"Bathroom."
With that, I exited and quickly made my way toward the faculty room. I wondered if Chiyabashira-sensei had already arrived. As I thought that, I
caught her staring out the window into the first-floor hallway, almost as if shewere waiting for someone.
"Ayanokouji, hmm? Class will begin any minute, you know," she said.
"Why did he followed her?" Sato asked.
"Chabashira-sensei seemed to have anticipated this." Horikita muttered. She glanced over to her teacher and found her staring at the screen intensely.
"Sensei. Would it be all right if I asked you one question?"
"One question? Is that why you went to the trouble of chasing after me?"
"I'm curious about something."
"First it was Horikita, now you. What in the world is it?"
"Do you think that today's Japanese society is fair?"
"Huh? that came out of no where." Matsushita confusedly tried to think of many possible solutions.
"Sudo-kun is about to be expelled and you asked that?' Shinohara asked me.
I only looked at her, "I was waiting for someone to show up."
'He predicted that I'll show up that time?' Horikita appeared surprised.
Sudo looked over to Ayanokoji seriously. 'Is he the one who saved me? Why give the credit to Horikita of that's the case?'
"What an incredible change in topic. So sudden, too. Is there some special meaning behind this question?"
"It's very important. I would like your opinion."
"If you're asking for my personal opinion, then, no, of course not. The world isn't fair, not even the slightest bit."
"I see. I feel the same way. I think that equality is a fiction."
"But we can a make it a reality by setting an example." Ichinose positively remarked. Her class yelled a yeah, agreeing with her.
"How disgusting." Sakayanagi commented.
"Naively foolish, how are they Class B and not us?" Ibuki grimaced in disgust at the candy atmosphere Class B are releasing.
"So, did you chase after me merely to ask that question? If that's all, then I'll be going."
"One week ago, when you told us that the test's material had changed, you also said something like 'I forgot to inform you.' Because of that
forgetfulness, we were notified of the change one week after the other classes had already been informed."
"Yes, I said as much back in the faculty room. What of it?"
"Every class got the same questions, the points were reflected in the same way for everyone, and every class faced the same threat of expulsion.
However, Class D was compelled to test under unfair conditions."
"Are you saying that you can't accept what happened? But it's an excellent example of how unfair the world is. In fact, you could call it a
microcosm of our unfair society."
"Certainly, society is not equal, no matter how idealistic you try to be. However, we are human beings, living things that can think."
"What are you trying to say?"
"Yeah, what are you doing, Ayanokoji-dono?' Professor asked me, eyes gleaming.
'What's up with him? I'm sensing danger.'
"Ayanokoji-kun, are you perhaps-" Matsushita gape in realization.
"What? Perhaps what?" Yamauchi asked lost.
"I'm saying that we should strive for equality. At least a little."
"I see."
"Whether or not you truly forgot to tell us, or if it was an intentional slip, isn't really the issue. The fact remains that one person is now being
expelled from this school because of those unfair conditions."
"So, what do you want me to do?"
"That's why I'm here. I would like to undertake the appropriate steps to meet with the school, the direct cause of this inequality."
"To tell them you disagree?"
"I just want to confirm with the appropriate people that they believe the school made the correct judgment."
"That's unfortunate. What you've said isn't wrong, but I can't allow you to do that. Sudou will be expelled. That decision cannot be overturned at
this stage. Give up."
"Her wording is a bit strange." Ryuuen mumbled, His sharp eyes continued to watched the screen interested.
"I see, I see." Sakayanagi smiled amused. 'Cannot be overturned at this stage huh?'
"At this stage." Ichinose found that wording strange. She looked over ot the teachers to find her homeroom teacher is teasing the other. 'I see. That-'
She'd ignored my point, but her words remained logical. As I'd anticipated, her words always held some hidden meaning.
"You said it 'cannot be overturned at this stage.' Which means there may be a way to overturn the decision."
"Ayanokouji, I personally hold you in rather high regard. I've thought so since assigning this test. Obtaining the old test problems was certainly one correct solution. Such a notion goes beyond the range of what many would have considered. Furthermore, you distributed the old test problems to everyone in class and raised the average scores. I have to praise such a logical decision. Honestly, you did very well."
"Personally? Does the teachers know every students abilities or something?" Mei-Yu asked softly.
"The question is, does the teachers know our past?" Sakayanagi started chaos.
Kushida, Hirata, Karuizawa, Sakura and Matsushita flinched.
"Kushida was the one who obtained the problems and distributed them. I didn't really do anything."
"I understand why you don't want word to get out, but don't forget that there are senior students, too. I already know that you contacted a third-year student."
Apparently, my actions were more conspicuous than I'd thought.
"However, despite your bold move in obtaining those questions, you made a mistake in the end. That's why your plan failed. If Sudou had memorized the material more thoroughly, he wouldn't have failed in any subject, right? Honestly, why don't you just give up and let Sudou get tossed out? Wouldn't things be easier in the future?"
"Honestly, you're probably right. However, I decided to lend a hand. I suppose it's too early for me to give up. I've one thing left to try."
"You're so helpful, Ayanokoji-kun!" Hiyori eyes me amazed.
"The power of friendship!" Shibata yelled.
'Friendship? uh, no.'
I took my student ID card out of my pocket.
"What are you planning?"
"Please sell me one point that I can apply to Sudou's English test."
"What?!" Yamauchi yelled in shock.
"We can do that?!" Ike asked the teachers who never answered.
"How interesting, kohai-kun!" Nagumo laughed.
'I knew it.' Sakayanagi and Ryuuen thought.
"Man, this is crazy!"
"This school is crazy, you mean."
Class D stared at Ayanokoji, unmoving.
Sudo stood up, everyone was still yelling. He bowed deeply to me. Eyes fill with unshed tears, throughly grateful.
"Thank you so much, Ayanokoji. How can I ever repay you?" Sudo expressed his gratitude to me.
"Study hard and be a great valuable asset to the class, Sudo. That's enough for me." I hastily replied back.
'Does that mean, Horikita never saved me?' Sudo become depressed.
"…"
Chiyabashira-sensei's eyes widened, and then she laughed loudly.
"Ha ha ha ha ha! That's a rather interesting idea. You really are a different kind of student. I never imagined you'd try to buy points."
"You said so the day we were admitted, didn't you, sensei? You said that we can buy anything with our points. The midterm test is just one more
'thing' at this school, after all."
"I see." Ryuuen muttered. He acquired significant information about the s system.
"I see, I see. You certainly could view it that way. However, do you even have enough money on hand to afford it?"
"Well, how much does one test point cost?"
"Now, that's a rather difficult question, isn't it? I've never been asked to sell test points before. Let's see… Seeing as how this is a special occasion,
I'll sell a test point for the exceptional price of 100,000 points."
"That's too expensive!"
"How cruel, Chabashira-sensei!"
"Wait, how did Ayanokoji-kun afford that? There's no way he have that many points still saved up." Matsushita wondered.
"You're cruel, sensei."
Everyone at this school had spent at least some of their points. Absolutely no one had 100,000 to spare.
"I'll pay, too," someone said behind me. When I turned, I found Horikita standing there.
"Horikita-san!" Multiple students screamed.
"Horikita." Sudo muttered. His heart beat faster, stomach doing flips.
"Horikita…" I said.
"Heh. Just as I thought. You two are interesting." Chiyabashira-sensei took my student ID card. Then she took Horikita's.
"Fine. I accept your deal. I'll sell you one point to apply to Sudou'stest, taking a combined total of 100,000 points from you both. As for the matter of Sudou's expulsion, you can inform the class that's no longer the case."
"Is that okay?"
"You promised to pay me 100,000 points. There's nothing more to be done." Chiyabashira-sensei seemed simultaneously exasperated and amused.
"You too are a blessing in our class." Hirata mused. Eyes filled with gratitude.
"We merely did what we can to help, Sudo-kun." Horikita dismissed him.
"Horikita, do you understand how talented Ayanokouji is? At least somewhat?"
"I wonder. When I look at him, all I see is a disagreeable student."
"Disagreeable?'
"Eh, how so?"
"What do you mean, 'disagreeable?'" I asked.
"You get low scores on purpose when you could easily score higher. You were the one who came up with the idea of getting the old test problems,
but you gave Kushida-san the credit. You were even crazy enough to buy test points. I don't think that you're special or just deviate from the norm. I think you're disagreeable."
"That still doesn't make sense." I heard someone whispered.
So, she'd heard how I got the old test questions, too.
"Perhaps the pair of you really can reach the higher-level classes," Chiyabashira-sensei said.
"I don't know about him, but I most definitely will."
"No one from Class D has ever been promoted before. The school has already labeled you defective and will coldly toss you aside. How will you
accomplish your goal?"
"If I may, sensei?" Horikita unwaveringly returned Chiyabashira-sensei's gaze. "Honestly, maybe the students in Class D are defective. However, that doesn't mean they're trash."
"Oh? How so?" Hashimoto asked her,
Horikita didn't answer, it most likely be shown anyway.
"What's the difference between a defective product and trash?"
"The difference is paper thin. However, with repairs, a defective product may become a superior article."
"Horikita-san"
"Horikita."
"Thank you for believing in us, Horikita-san!"
"Thank you!"
"we'll do our best! Definitely."
Class D was filled of determination and motivation to overtake the other three classes.
"I see. When you say it like that, Horikita, I admit it sounds oddly persuasive."
I shared that opinion, and found Horikita's words to be quite meaningful. Horikita, who had previously looked down upon others andthought of them as baggage, was changing. Of course, nothing was that simple. Though you could just barely glimpse the change from the outside, it was actually a major transformation. A faint smile appeared on Chiyabashirasensei's lips, as if she also had noticed it.
'You're changing, Suzune. Albeit small. But a small step is a step nonetheless.' Manabu smiled. He's glad his sister is finally evolving to the person she's supposed to be. It won't be long till she surpass him.
"Well, I look forward to seeing what you do next. As your homeroom teacher, I'll be sure to watch over you with great attention and care."
With that, Chiyabashira-sensei headed toward the faculty room, leaving the two of us in the hall.
"Well, let's head back. Class will be starting soon," I said.
"Ayanokouji-kun."
"Hmm? Oof!"
Horikita chopped me in the side.
"What was that for?"
"For whatever."
She left me as I clutched my sides in agony. Jeez, what a bothersome classm…bothersome person. With that thought, I decided to chase after her.
Everyone laughed. The screen went black for a second before lighting up again.
Something appeared differently. the words, Volume 1, done. Next Volume 2. Appeared.
'Are you enjoying yourselves?'
Everyone yelled yes.
'Please sit back and relax. Volume 1 is done. Next is Volume 2. We will begin shortly.'
-x
Previous Chapter: Intermission.
Next Chapter: Volume 2: An Unexpected Witness.
Word Count: 11443
Hi guys! Happy New Year! Here's a chapter for the special occasion.
The Volume two will most likely only take up to two chapters. I want to finish Volume two as much as possible amd begin on Volume three. Thank you for voting and reading my story!
I also want to say that I'm spreading the reaction widely. As you have probably noticed the different students varying from class A to D reacting, not just the main characters.
I also want your opinion about the Tool Monologue. Should I followed the LN or the anime? The anime version of that is much cooler, in my opinion at least.9
Do I even add the scene or not? Please comment your thoughts!
Asteria_Writer