A.N.= Here you go.
It was Friday, the day of the exam. In the morning, Chiyabashira-sensei calmly walked into the classroom with a smile.
"It's nice to see that nobody has chickened out. A failure here is a ticket to expulsion, so I believe that nobody should have any doubts regarding the importance of this exam, right?"
"We have been studying diligently for the past few weeks. I don't think there will be any dropouts in this class, you know?"
"You have a lot of confidence, Hirata."
And she wasn't wrong. Almost everybody had a relaxed expression, no doubt due to the previous year's question papers Kushida had distributed the day before. They had put their absolute trust in Kushida and were waiting for the fruits of the faith they had in her.
Taken aback from the tranquility in the classroom, she lined up the tests by tapping them against the table and passed them out. The first period was social studies. I guess you could call it the easiest test among all the subjects.
If anyone trips up here, honestly, all the other tests will be a difficult struggle.
"If no one fails this midterm and the finals in July, everyone will get a summer vacation."
"Vacation?"
"Yea, that's right... You'll be on a dream-like vacation on an island surrounded by the blue sea."
I suppose this is about the special exams the senpai was scared to talk about. Though, how they can call it a vacation is still confusing. It would most probably be a challenge where many would have to stretch their limits.
And just like the first month's situation regarding our total points, most of the students cheered at the fact that they might have a vacation for once as the school said. It's like they forgot that the school loves to mislead us like this.
Sighing, I glanced around ignoring the perverted cheer led by Ike. A rare few boys were not participating in it, mostly due to nervousness or they were just unconcerned by Ike. The latter being the more common of the two.
The girls just wore a plainly obvious disgusted look at the cheer from Ike and his group. Curiously glancing at Kushida to see what her expression would be like in this situation, it was amusing to see her cover up her disgust with a confused expression.
So she was choosing to appear confused rather than sticking to the girls.
Glancing towards Tatsuya to observe his expression, it was a surprise to see his annoyed yet tired look. Annoyance was understandable because of his concern as a brother. Tiredness was an unexpected one.
Or not, seeing as he was the more widely accepted class leader and it was his duty to keep the class cooperative. And this would take a lot of damage control to get back to normal.
"This is going to bite us in the future, you'll see." Seeing me look at him curiously, he commented with a sigh. Not responding to his comment because of sensei starting the distribution of the test papers, I quickly scanned it over.
While I was confident in myself, the major problem was the idiotic trio passing the test.
A relieved sigh escaped my lips as I found all the questions recognizable. While I hadn't glanced at the previous year's paper as thoroughly as the others might have, I could still see the similarities.
Anyone who had memorized the previous year's paper could get a near-perfect score in this exam. And the rest of the class were not as confused as they were in the surprise test. A majority of them had probably squeezed in some last-minute studies.
Slowly going through the problems while aiming for a score of 70, I did the same in the Japanese and Chemistry periods. While the paper was easily solved by most of the class, those who were in Tatsuya and Miyuki's study group were particularly faster than others.
It looked like their teaching had helped the students a lot. And the topics they had covered extensively were the ones that had appeared the most. They had accurately predicted the type of questions that would appear. It was slightly eerie how accurate they were.
I suppose my marks were not the only thing he had asked sensei for.
Anyways, coming to the 4th period, Math. Basic questions aside, the abnormally hard questions that were present in the question paper were, without a doubt, in the test. The academically weaker students probably didn't understand what they were, but they should've done well if they memorized the answer.
And then it was break time. Which included plenty of students doing last revisions and a few small crowds around some students.
Going towards one of the groups containing the study group members, I glanced towards its center to see a distressed mop of white hair. Azuma Sana was the one who had problems regarding the English exams.
"Oh, hi Ayanokouji-kun. How were your exams?"
Seeing me coming towards them, Satou suddenly inquired from beside her distressed friend, a cheerful expression on her face as she greeted me.
"It was pretty easy due to the previous year's papers. How about you?"
"It was kinda easier than the surprise test paper and the study group helped too."
Nodding at her answer, I gestured towards Azuma, asking the question regarding her.
"What happened to her? She was fairly confident in most of the other exams."
"She is scared as she did not fully read the English paper yesterday and it's her hardest subject."
"She should not be that worried. From my experience in teaching you, I am fairly certain you will pass."A sudden familiar voice responded in place of me. Glancing behind, I greeted the person in question.
"I agree with you, Shiba-san. The study group's revisions were fairly similar to the exam. Almost all the questions in the question paper were done once in the study group sessions."
Throwing her a meaningful look, she looked away with a slightly abashed expression, conforming to my theory.
"Anyways, where's your brother?"
Sensing the change of subject, her expression brightened as she glanced towards one of the other groups which had the three idiots, a certain class leader of ours could be seen. Along with him was another person whose identity was a surprise.
"He is helping Sudou-kun over there along with Matsushita-san. So I came to see what the problem over here was."
Glancing towards Azuma, who was now looking thoroughly through the English paper, our concern was not required.
"She seems to have found confidence from your words. But English is still difficult for most people so we will see how she does after the exam."
"I guess you are right..."
10 minutes quickly passed by, and the unforgiving chime rang.
And then the test started. While all the other students started solving the problems, a rare few, including Azuma, were having trouble. Occasionally, the sound of a pen tapping on the table could be heard from around the room but most of them kept writing. No one could help anyone else now and the only way to survive was by yourself.
Quickly finishing the last test and waiting for the bell to ring, I joined Tatsuya and Miyuki on their way towards Azuma when a familiar voice from a cheerful girl greeted us.
"Hey, Ayanokouji-kun, Tatsuya-kun and Shiba-san. How were your exams?"
Looking towards her, Tatsuya responded back.
"It was pretty easy for the three of us, Nene. But the more important thing is Azuma-san's exam. How did she do?"
Looking up towards us at the mention of her name, She gave a tired smile before responding back to the question.
"It was really easy. Thank you for the vote of confidence, Shiba-san and Ayanokouji-kun."
Sighing in relief, Miyuki turned towards someone else, probably to ask about their result while I responded back.
"I didn't do anything, though. It was mostly Shiba-san."
"You were still concerned, so thank you."
Getting up with a relieved sigh, she went towards the direction of the door as I followed her. Judging from her tiredness, she was probably going straight back to her room. Greeting a few on the way, we both exited the classroom.
"What are you going to do now, Ayanokouji-kun?"
"Hmm, since the exams are finished, I will probably go to the cafeteria sometime later and get something good to eat. Studies have ruined my diet and I need something more nutritious, probably with Tatsuya as he wanted to discuss something with me."
"Just that? I agree with the eating part but you need to relax too. The exams have just finished and we can finally stop studying for a while. I swear, the last two weeks were hell."
"It's still not good to relax until we receive our results."
Groaning at what I said, she punched me jokingly on the arm.
"Don't be such a killjoy, Ayanokouji-kun. Girls don't like a spoilsport."
Raising an eyebrow, I responded back. "I would be acting a bit differently if I wanted you to like me."
Scowling slightly at my response, I feared I had said something wrong but her smile suggested otherwise.
"A girl doesn't want to hear that either."
"Now I am certain you are just trying to confuse me."
Giggling at my response, she looked around for a bit and then turned towards a nearby vending machine.
"I remember you drinking that a lot in our first group study session. How about a treat from me for your help?"
Not informing her that I had spent countless points on the same machine she was buying from, I accepted her offer.
Nobody in their right minds would reject a free drink.
[Timeskip]
Increasing my pace to catch up to the two classmates of mine, I fell in step with them. A certain teal haired student from our class and our class leader were walking towards the school engaged in conversation.
Conversing about the exam results we were supposed to receive today, it was a surprise that they were able to check all the copies in two days and announce the results. Well, not the results but the fact that we will receive them today.
"Hey, Ayanokouji. How much do you suppose you will get?"
Glancing at the speaker, I replied after thinking for a second. An exact figure would not be good as he was suspicious about my results but a close figure would do better.
"Probably around 70 since the previous year's papers and the study group helped a lot. What about you, Tatsuya? And how did you do, Kuroko?"
"I think a perfect figure might be possible for me."
Kuroko, on the other hand, asked a hesitant question along with his answer.
"It was better than the surprise test, I suppose. And, am I mistaken or is someone following us?"
Sharing a look with Tatsuya, it was obvious that he too had seen the person following us. Or to be more specific, the trio of students following us. They weren't hiding or anything but were in plain sight. The only thing giving them away was their staring at us from the corner of their eyes.
Tatsuya, seeing the still hesitant look in Kuroko's eyes, gave him an answer.
"Yeah. The three of them were following us for a while and I was just thinking of ignoring them. How did you sense it, though? "
"I guess I am aware if someone is watching me from my two years of basketball. We have to avoid contact as much as possible with other players so it is a silent rule to be aware of your surroundings. "
Pausing slightly, he continued with a slightly embarrassed tone.
"And I have been followed before in my high school. It's a common underhand tactic to take out the enemy even before they enter the court. And some teams do that a lot."
Taking out the enemy before the fight may sound like an underhand tactic but it's not a surprise from what I have heard about Kuroko's team from middle school.
Nobody would dare try fighting against monsters fairly.
Stating my own opinion, I spoke up.
"I don't have a problem with ignoring them but it is a bit uncomfortable. Should we just report them to the school?"
"We don't have any grounds to report them. Following us may sound like a good cause to report them but we don't have any decisive proof. It would just be a waste of time and they could just follow up with their plan later, assuming that they have one. The numbers don't look like a coincidence to me."
Sighing at the fair point he had raised, I responded back.
"I suppose you are right, Tatsuya. By the looks of things, they would separate if we separated too. Maybe they want to take one of us out figuratively when we are alone. All this may just be a happenstance too."
"It's better to be cautious, Ayanokouji. Who knows what they have planned."
Kuroko, who was just listening till now, inserted his own opinion.
"Kise-kun from class B, who you might recognize from the swimming class, told me a few days ago when some students from class C confronted Akashi-kun. The end result was obviously unpleasant for class C but they did cause a loss of points for class B by following them around and harnessing them all under the rules."
Hearing this, Tatsuya took out his phone and fished his phone from his pocket and switched on the camera and turned the front camera on.
The figure of three students a few meters behind could be seen.
Zooming in, he took a photo.
The picture, while giving a detailed photo, couldn't exactly show their full faces.
Zooming in the photo, he glanced at their faces closely. The zoomed point was a lot better than I had expected.
"Did you do something to your camera? It's better than the one the school provided at the start."
Smirking at my question, he responded back as he focused on the stalkers' detailed faces.
"This is a new phone I took from the points from that day. It has the best camera the whole wide work has to offer and I further modified it by myself. This is probably better than most DSLR cameras."
Surprised by the answer, I didn't know he was this good in technology. Glancing at the picture, I somehow recognized the students in it.
"I recognize them. The one with green hair is called Ishizaki Daichi. He is from class C. I saw him in the cafeteria one day and he seemed scared of Akashi for reasons quite clear now."
Nodding thankfully towards me, he closed his phone.
"We know the class who is targeting us, then. What do you two think we should do?"
Asking for our thoughts in a surprising move, it was good of him to consider other opinions.
Meanwhile, we entered the school building's gate, the hustling crowd somehow helping us keep our conversation private instead of making it difficult for us to talk. How convenient. Now the three stalkers would have difficulty following us and the uncomfortable feeling of being watched would finally go.
Coming back to the conversation and the sight of Kuroko thinking hesitantly if he should respond, I decided to pass the baton to him.
"Kuroko looks like he has an idea."
Seeing me call him out, he released a sigh and spoke up.
"What if we play along with them innocently and then strike them back when they least expect us to?"
Interested, we both looked towards him, silently waiting for him to explain himself. Which he did after seeing our expressions.
"We could accumulate decisive evidence and then release them when the stakes are the highest, like expulsion and loss of points. They will suffer more between the two of us and it will send a message as to not take us lightly."
Pausing slightly, he hurriedly continued.
"I don't know their entire plan so the solution is vague but it should work."
Whistling slightly, Tatsuya conveyed both of our expressions correctly. "I didn't expect you to have such an unforgiving mind, Kuroko."
Lips curling upwards slightly, he replied back. "I learnt from the best."
Looking curiously at him, I expressed my thoughts regarding the idea.
That will hurt them enough to take us seriously, something they are not doing right now if they think we are ignorant enough to not see through their plan. But how do you suppose we will do that?"
Thinking over it for a few seconds, Tatsuya spoke up.
"All we know right now is that they are targeting one of us. That gives a lot of ideas on what they intend to do, but do they all have a simple solution? We would probably have to wait for some time and let them take the first step."
That sounds about right. But is that all we can do right now? Wait for them to make the first step that might result in our loss in the worst-case scenario?
Thinking over it, I suppose there's one thing we can do.
"That might not work all the time. They are obviously trying to separate us, seeing as the three were following us for quite a while. I do have an idea but it might be a bit risky."
Glancing at me in surprise, the two gestured for me to continue.
"Let's exchange our student ID for around a week and wait for something to happen. Hypothetically, Tatsuya is their target and we two are quite far away from him. But, if I have Tatsuya's student ID and buy a couple of drinks near the dormitories with it every time we three are separated and out of contact for a while, we could use the machine scanner's record of all the IDs to prove that Tatsuya was with one of us at the time they were confronting him."
Catching on to my plan, Tatsuya nodded in thought. "That would provide us with an alibi and any of their accusations would be baseless as I am not present at the exact time they accused me of doing something. That would tear a hole in their theory, that is, if all they are doing is target one of us."
Pausing slightly, he continued.
"I like the plan. It's risky but it's the best thing we could do right now."
Figuring out the plan, Kuroko presented his own opinion. "Who do you think we should exchange our ID with, then? I have enough points to go along with the plan and only you two seem to be rich, points-wise."
"That can be easily solved. I will take your ID, you will take Tatsuya's ID and Tatsuya will take my ID. We two have plenty of points and you are saying you have enough points too. And if you want, we will send some points to you after this whole thing gets finished as a backup in emergencies."
A few exchanges later, we arrived at our destination. The stalking had stopped a while ago but the plan did bring with it some anxiety as it involved a fair amount of risk. We would essentially be fooling the entire school and would have to stay out of the cameras' sight for a while.
Entering the classroom, we waited for the Sensei to enter, all the while greeting some nervous students. A few minutes later, Chiyabashira-sensei strolled into the classroom looking around the room with a carefree look, enjoying the suspense she had created a bit too much
"Sensei. I heard that the results will be released today, but when exactly?"
"There's no need for you to be that excited about it, Hirata. You probably passed."
"...When will they be released?"
"Well, now is a good time. There isn't much time for certain procedures if we did it after school."
At the words "certain procedures", some of the students had a visible reaction.
"What... what do you mean?"
"Don't be confused. I'll explain it now."
After all, this school likes to explain the details all at once.
She stuck the paper with everyone's names and scores on the board. Glancing over it, my score of two 69s, one, 70 and two 71s greeted me with a monotonous expression. It wasn't as exciting to see good marks if you were certain you would do good.
"Honestly, good job. I didn't think this class would do this well. In math, Japanese, and social studies, there were over 13 perfects."
Looking at the row of 100s, the students were cheering. However, one few certain students weren't smiling, Azuma and Sudou being one of them.
Glancing at the board again, Sudoku had more than 60 in four subjects and above 50 in English. Azuma too had good marks, with all the subjects being above 60. She had passed too, something that she saw too as she sighed in relief.
Although there was no red line on the board depicting the passing marks, a certain score of 41 stood out.
Belonging to a student named Sakura Airi, receiving 42 in Math. A subject where most had above 60, she was the odd one out, even with Ike receiving 54. The only one who should be fearing expulsion would be Sakura Airi.
Sharing a look with Tatsuya, he too had seen her marks. Seeing my look, he took out a small piece of paper and wrote something in it before folding it neatly and discreetly tossing it to me.
'She will probably fail. I think we should let her get expelled as she doesn't seem to mind leaving the school'
Looking in the direction of the red-haired girl, she indeed seemed relieved to see her low score. Was homesickness her reason for not liking this school or was it something else? Anyways, she didn't contribute much to the class and cutting our losses early was better.
Nodding in agreement towards Tatsuya, who was waiting for an answer, I focused on what Sensei was saying.
"Yea, I recognize that. You did well. However—"
Chiyabashira-sensei had a red pen in her hand.
"Huh...?"
Sudou let out a concerned voice.
She drew a red line right below Sudou's name, while the line stood above Sakura's name.
Sudo sighed in relief at seeing the line below his name while Sakura gave a defeated sigh.
"Unfortunately, you failed, Sakura. After school, you will be asked to fill out a dropout form, but you will need a legal guardian. I'll contact them for you afterwards."
Hirata, the gentleman of our class, stood up to convey the class's questions.
"But, Sensei, wasn't the passing grade 30?"
"When did anyone say that the passing grade is a 32?"
"No Sensei, you said so a month ago! Right, everyone!?"
"That was the passing grade for the surprise test. The passing grade for the midterms is 44, meaning Sakura failed by 3 marks."
"F-forty four!? You never told us the passing grade for the exam, so it doesn't seem fair."
"Then, should I tell you how we decide what is a passing grade?"
Chiyabashira-sensei wrote a formula on the board.
She wrote, "87.2/2 = 43.6".
"Last test, and this test as well, each class has a set passing grade. And that grade was half the average. We just round them towards the nearest digit."
In other words, anything lower than a 44 was a failing grade.
Seeing everything progress so casually, all the students knew that it was actually happening.
"The rest of you, good job for passing. Now that you know the reality of this school, I hope you start studying seriously. In the final, please work hard to do the same and pass the test. Well then, onto the next topic—"
Hirata was the first to reach out to Sakura, even though he had probably never talked to the shy girl once.
"It's the truth. He got a failing grade, so he will have to drop out."
"...Can we see her answer sheet? I don't want to lose a classmate this early."
"It's fine Hirata-kun, I don't mind."
Sakura, who was less concerned about her marks than Hirata, tried to stop him but was left unheard.
"Even if you look at it, you won't find any mistakes in the grading. Well, I expected you guys to make a fuss about it."
Taking her Math exam answer sheet, she passed it to Hirata.
Hirata looked through every question with a dark and defeated expression.
"There are... no mistakes."
"Well, if that's all, homeroom is now over."
Without any sympathy or any second chances, Chiyabashira-sensei ruthlessly announced his expulsion. Knowing that any comforting words would have the opposite effect, the rare few of Sakura's friends stayed silent. Hirata was also the same. And sadly, it looks like one portion of the class was relieved. Are they happy someone else other than them was kicked out?
Horikita, who was silently watching the entire show, finally broke the silence and spoke towards me with an disagreeable tone.
"I guess I was right to not expect Shiba-kun to be able to save everyone in our class. Now, who knows what will happen because of her expulsion."
Was she implying that it was Tatsuya's fault that Sakura failed?
"He was busy trying to control the damage you caused in the study session you took with the three idiots. It was pretty difficult to reorganize things after that and Sakura's situation was looked over by her tutor."
Huffing slightly, she turned away with a dark expression, which reminded me to step away from her lest I wanted more scars on my arm. She was somehow even more unbearable than a moth before.
Exiting the classroom before she went bloodthirsty, the familiar feeling of being followed greeted me for the second time of the day.
Sighing, I turned towards the person following me to see a familiar cheerful girl looking at me with her usual angelic smile.
"You seem to be a bit bothered regarding something, Ayanokouji-kun."
"It's nothing I can't deal with Kushida. So, please don't worry about me."
Tilting her head slightly, she continued.
"Are you sure?"
Sighing again in tiredness, I spoke up. "What do you need, Kushida?"
Dropping her smile slightly, she responded back.
"A small favor which you might be able to give me."
"Is it about expelling Horikita?"
Shocked at my answer for a second, she recomposed herself and grinned faintly, completely different from her normal benevolent behavior.
"How do you...? Nevermind, I suppose you are a bit different from the others in our class. And you got it right in the first guess, Ayanokouji-kun."
"I have everything I need to expel Horikita except a valid reason to do it. Our class leader might get suspicious about it and trace it back to you, something which you obviously don't want to happen. So, be patient because I am all for expelling her."
Anger flashed in her eyes for a millisecond before she steeled her expression. Was she not that happy with Horikita or was it with me for not being able to expel her?
"Ok, Ayanokouji-kun. I guess being patient is all I can do right now."
Nodding at her answer, I switched my gaze towards the window, drinking in the view the window provided at the height I was in. Hearing Kushida's footsteps leading back to the class, I pondered over the recent conversation.
Hoping that she doesn't try anything foolish due to her impatience, I tried my best to ignore the dark voice in the back of my head suggesting otherwise.
Impatience had ruined many lives and it certainly wouldn't mind another one.
Word Count = 4628 words.
You must have noticed that Sakura is expelled, something which will cause a lot of changes in the parts of the second volume.
Plans are made and Horikita is getting dumber while Kushida is getting more impatient.
All the above may affect the upcoming situation.
Anyways, all ideas are appreciated, don't hesitate to ask questions and Follow and Fav if you like it.
That's all.
Bye.