"Why is everyone asking me if I'm scared of her, when you can tell she's being bullied?"

That's what Nami thought, as she stood in front of Robin, straining that the only sound the pair heard was the droplets of water falling to the floor.

Seeing an overturned bucket next to Robin, Nami fully understood what had happened.

"She was brought here to be humiliated."

"Close that door." Robin ordered, in a calm voice.

" Huh ... je ... "

"CLOSE THIS DOOR." Robin roared. "And get out of here."

Despite the order, Nami remained still and continued to stare at Robin. However, there was no visible mockery in his gaze. Just pity and understanding. So, reaching into her pocket, Nami took out a handkerchief, which she handed to Robin.

"Wipe yourself."

Robin's gaze lifted slightly to meet Nami's, for a brief moment. However, quickly averting her gaze, she questioned him.

" What are you doing ? "

"Do you think so?" Nami asked.

"I don't want your pity." Robin retorted, shoving her handkerchief away with a wave of her arm.

However, the long sleeve of her jacket moved a little and Nami could see Robin's wrist. Picking it up, she examined it, and saw several red lines, all of which were horizontal scars.

Robin had cut his wrist veins a dozen times before today.

"What are you doing?" Robin questioned her, struggling until Nami let her go.

"Why are you doing this?" Nami questioned her. "Wanting to kill yourself at your age? Are you stupid?"

" What ? "

" Are girls from school bothering you? And then? Do you think it's worth killing yourself? School doesn't lasts forever! Next year, you'll graduate and you can go to another school I don't know what happened to make your life turn out like this but...you don't know what life will hold for you after school."

"Shut up..." Robin ordered her.

"It's you who better shut up and understand what I'm telling you is true." Nami retorted. "Later, you'll realize that those girls bothering you really aren't worth it and that..."

" Namiiiiiii ... "

Surprised, the redhead turned to see Valentine and Conis. Remaining in the doorway, Conis saw Robin and preferred to take a step back, while lowering her gaze.

On the contrary, Valentine approached Nami and grabbed her hand.

"Are you coming? We're going back to class."

"Huh...I..." Nami said, while looking at Robin.

Following her gaze, Valentine smirked at Robin, while retorting.

"Don't worry about her! You don't have to worry about that loser! Leave her to her shit! That's none of our business."

Hearing this, Nami moved her arm to withdraw her hand, before staring at Valentine and asking.

"Hey! What's wrong with your class?"

Pointing at Robin, Nami declared.

"It's obvious that she's being bullied and you seem to know it perfectly well! So why are you pretending nothing has happened?"

"And what's the problem?" Asked Valentine, pretending to be surprised.

" Sorry ? "

"Nami...school is like adult life! same for this girl."

Flashing another impish smile at Robin, she declared.

"A lot of girls in our class are subject to a very stressful rhythm of life and the role of this girl is to simply roll with the punches and suffer the bullying that these girls impose on her in order to de-stress! Finally, she has a role very important because it keeps a perfect balance in our class."

Hearing that shocked Nami. Then, she turned to Conis, before asking her.

"Conis…don't worry…you don't think like her, do you?"

Startled, hearing her name, Conis turned her gaze to the side. Then, finally, she preferred to leave.

" Sorry. "

"Conis." Nami shouted, seeing her go.

Simply laughing, Valentine affirmed.

"I forgot to tell you about those who are part of the group of spectators and do nothing to help those who are bullied! Conis is a coward! But at least she's smart."

Then placing her finger on Nami's forehead, she questioned her.

"And you, Nami! Are you smart or stupid?"

Merely growling, Nami slapped her hand back.

"Fuck you, bitch."

Seeming to expect this answer, Valentine heaved a weary sigh before shrugging her shoulders.

"For a person with supposedly excellent results, you seem incredibly stupid to me! But don't worry! You'll quickly understand where you belong."

Then she pretended to leave the bathroom. However, stopping at the door frame, she turned to Nami, while declaring.

"Especially since today is a special day."

Hearing this, Robin started to jump.

"Special day?" Nami repeated, not understanding what she meant.

Suddenly, Robin grabbed her arm.

"Hey, do you know what day it is?"

"Huh? Huh... it's Thursday."

"No, I'm asking if you were made aware of what is happening today."

"What's going on today?" Nami repeated, unable to understand what she was trying to tell her.

"Moron." Robin growled, looking concerned. "Hurry back to class."

"What? Why?" Nami questioned her.

"QUICK!" Robin ordered her, pushing her. "Otherwise, you will regret it."

Still staring at her in amazement, Nami walked backwards. Then, finally, she left the bathroom, before running down the hall.

"What did she mean?"

Thinking back to her first day in class...the bullying Robin was going through...and Valentine's words...Nami fully understood why she felt constantly anxious since she was in this school. Something was afoot and a secret seemed to be hidden from her.

Finally, she opened the door to her classroom and immediately froze. Except Robin, everyone was already in the room and was with their laptop in their hands. However, ceasing to look at their phones, they stared at Nami with perfect timing, which totally freaked her out.

" That ... ? "

"You are just in time, Nami."

Sitting on the teacher's desk, Belo Betty barely glanced at the redhead, before declaring.

"I think we don't need to wait any longer! So, I propose to start the 13th edition of the Happiness Classroom Pyramid Game."

"Pyramid Game?"

"Go sit down, Nai." Belo advised her. "I'll tell you what's going to happen."

Nami remained motionless for a few more seconds. However, seeing the other girls continue to stare at her, the redhead ended up heading in her place, while her mind made a thousand and one hypotheses that could explain to her what was happening.

Finally, as soon as she saw Nami sit down, Belo declared.

"Since we have a new person among us, I will re-explain the rules of the pyramid game! Every Thursday, we organize an election game to elite the ranks of each person in this class. "

"Ranks?" Nami thought, looking around in a vain attempt to see faces as surprised as her own. " What is she talking about ? "

"This is a simple popularity vote! For that, we use an application..."

Showing a sheet that was taped to the board, she specially pointed to the ID address that was marked on it.

"Nami, I would thank you if you could install it as soon as possible."

Then, grabbing a marker, she left the professor's office and began to draw a pyramid, before separating it into several parts. Pointing to the top of her drawing, she declared.

"In order of popularity, each person will be ranked in the following order: A...B...C..."

While speaking, Belo's finger left the top of the pyramid until it found its base.

" ... And D. "

Nami listened silently, feeling a bead of sweat appear on her forehead.

" What is that? "

"As you can understand, the different ranks represent the hierarchy of our happiness class." Belo continued.

" Is she serious? "

Looking around again, only to see annoyed looks on the other girls' faces, she realized that was the case.

" These girls...they're completely crazy. "

"There is also a particularity." Belo affirmed, drawing an F under the pyramid. "The student with the fewest votes receives the lowest grade, which is symbolized by the rank F! And the girl who obtains this rank is the one who has the least right among us! She becomes the slave of the class. "

Nami froze completely. Then, little by little, she turned her face to Robin's empty chair, as she understood the reason for her bullying.

" R obin ...she's the one who got rank F, in the last vote. "

Nami didn't believe what she was hearing. She was in a class where the girls organized a game to define who was going to become the girl who was going to be harassed by the others.

" Tell me it's a joke! Please tell me they're joking. "

"Nami." Belo called, keeping her gaze serious. "Did you download the app?"

"Huh...I..." the redhead stammered. "Before I start, can I ask a question?"

" Which ? "

"I know it sounds silly to ask but...are you serious?"

For only response, Nami only heard giggles from the students around her, as if Nami had actually said something totally stupid.

"Nothing obliges you to participate in this vote. " Affirmed Belo. "However, people who do not vote are guaranteed the lowest rank."

" If I don't participate in the vote... am I rank F? "

Gritting her teeth, Nami wanted to scream in rage. Nevertheless, just remaining with the hurt face, she just installed the app, while thinking.

" I'm new here! I hardly know anyone! Why do they want me to be able to ruin the life of someone I don't know? Robin's not here! Why? She doesn't want to quit rank F? "

Holding her cell phone, Belo waited to see Nami's ID appear in the list of people who were logged into the app. When it was done, she explained to him the rest of the game.

"Regarding the vote, you can vote for five people and don't forget that the more votes you have, the better your chance of reaching a good rank! On the other hand, you are prohibited from voting for yourself or for a person who is absent! That's why I advise you to attend the next votes! Do you have any questions? "

Of course, Nami had hundreds of questions. Unfortunately, Belo turned to the other girls, before saying.

"Start voting."

Immediately, Nami's pulse quickened.

" I have to vote for five people? But who? Wait...if I'm not allowed to vote for myself...who will? "

Looking around, Nami met Valentine's gaze who was already staring at her, with a mischievous smile. After their last discussion, Nami had a feeling that she couldn't really be counted on to save her.

" In that case, I'm left with only... "

Looking for her last hope, Nami stared at Conis, who was looking down as she seemed hesitant to select the people she should vote for.

" Conis…please! I need your vote. "

Having registered five first names almost at random, Nami validated her list. Then, waiting a few minutes, she saw the other girls validating their votes. Finally, the screen of all laptops went blank, before finally displaying the list of students, sorted by rank.

The name of the person who came first was the one who had obtained the only place among rank A. Then came the names of the people of rank B, C and D. Looking for her name, Nami put her finger on the first name, before lowering it.

Her name wasn't in A, which didn't surprise her. Neither in B nor in C. Quickly coming to the names of the people in rank D, Nami read each one slowly, to be sure not to miss their name.

However, the more she read names different from hers, the more she felt beads of sweat appear on her face. Eventually, she froze completely as she finally read her name which was...at rank F, along with Robin's.

Nami didn't get a single vote.

Almost struggling to breathe, she barely heard the other girls rejoicing around her, as they managed to avoid being in rank F.

"How many votes did you get?"

"I got 6 votes."

"Fortunately, I had a margin of safety."

"You can thank me for voting for you."

"You really are my best friend."

Continuing to simply stare at her cell phone, Nami remained motionless, while she tried to understand what had just happened.

"Nobody voted for me! Neither Valentine nor Conis."

Obvious to her gaze, Conis still had her gaze downcast, while she got the D-rank, thanks to the two votes she got, one of which was Nami's. As for Valentine, she casually sat down on Nami's table, while declaring.

"It's a pity that you failed your entrance test."

"You..." Nami growled, fixing her with a dark look.

"Hey, don't look at me like that." Valentine said, pretending to be scared. "You know, what's happening to you is your fault! If I stayed with you, it was simply to observe and see your reaction to Robin! If you had been content to ignore it, I could have voted for you and I'm sure Conis would have imitated me! Nevertheless, you decided to play the heroine."

Displaying her mocking smile, she declared.

"In this class, we don't like people who don't respect their place."

Getting up from her chair, Nami was about to yell something. Still, her mouth went paralyzed as she heard dozens of whispers. Looking around, she saw the other girls muttering to each other, staring at her. And many had faces filled with mockery.

And in that moment, Nami understood how much her life was going to be different from what she had imagined.


Being in front of her house, Nami was still trying to understand what had just happened. She had been designated as one of the slaves of her class, alongside Robin.

"That's impossible! This can only be a joke! They just tried to scare me!"

Nevertheless, remembering Robin's state perfectly, as well as the mocking smiles of the other girls, she knew perfectly well that it was not a simple joke.

"What am I going to do? What am I going to do?"

Opening the door to her house, Nami heard a huge scream.

" NAMIIIIIIII ! "

Then, before reacting, she saw Bell-mère's happy face which appeared right in front of hers.

"I've been extended."

" Quoi ? "

"Normally, my work should have lasted only six months. " Bell-mère declared, showing him a piece of paper. "Nevertheless, I managed to work so well that the company just signed me to a two-year contract."

Then dropping into a chair, she said.

" We are definitely very lucky! Without your scholarship and without this job, we will not be able to live here. "

"How so?" Nami questioned her.

"All the schools in the area are horribly expensive." Bell-mère explained to her. "And none other than yours has approved your application while offering you a scholarship! And even if I managed to get this job, it would have been impossible for me to pay the rent for this apartment as well as your school, if you had been accepted in another place."

Putting her hand on Nami's head, she began to affirm her.

"I'm so proud of you! Even a blind man could see how elite you'll be in a few years."

Then turning around, she headed for the kitchen, all the while asserting.

"To celebrate this good news, I'm going to make mandarin duck! I know you love it."

"Huh…mom." Nami stopped her.

"Huh?" Bell-mère said, turning back to her.

Nami wanted to tell her about her day. From what she had seen. About the bullying that Robin was experiencing and the fact that her new class could turn into real hell for her.

However, seeing Bell-mère's happy smile, and knowing perfectly well that what she had just said was true, Nami preferred to keep quiet. Then, managing to smile, she told her.

"Don't add lime, like last time."

"No problem." Bell-mère assured her, giving her a wink.

Then, leaving her alone in the kitchen, Nami headed to her bedroom, before sitting down at her desk. And immediately, she started working her brain.

"This game...Who invented it? There must be a leader in this class who decided to force the others to participate in the next vote! But who?"

Picking up her laptop, she read again the list of the different ranks of her class and focused on those who had arrived at rank A and B.

At rank A, Vivi was the person who got the only place possible. And three other people had reached rank B. They were Hiyori, as well as two girls named Yamato and Ulti.

Reading these four names, Nami was certain that these people were either popular or one of the class leaders.

"Vivi and Hiyori seem to be very well liked! I don't think they could have forced anyone to participate in this horrible game! But concerning the other two..."

Knowing who Yamato was, Nami remembered the tall girl who was constantly by Hiyori's side and who used to glare at Nami whenever the redhead tried to talk to Hiyori.

"Could it be her? Or are there several people who created this game?"

Shaking her head, Nami turned off her phone before declaring.

"No, the most important thing is how am I going to quit this hell! I'm new and no one voted for me! So how am I going to find a way to quit F rank, in the next vote?


Nami's class:

A : Vivi

B : Hiyori / Yamato / Ulti

C : Valentine / Belo / Perona / Uta / Laki / Porche / Speed / Zala / Sarahebi

D : Conis / Pudding / Kaya / Makino / Carrot / Koala / Marguerite / Domino / Ginrummy / Pascia

F : Nami / Robin

For those who want to see Hancock or Tashigi in this story, don't worry, they will have a role later.