Here you go.
"So the plan worked?"
It was the first day of the month of June, with the weather being hot enough for me to want to stay back at home under the comforts of an Air conditioner. Being used to full air conditioner rooms in the white room, I certainly wasn't used to this much sunlight for multiple days.
While the white room gave us plenty of sunlight, it was calculated for the human body and was accurately limited as much as possible. Meanwhile, I had full access to sunlight in the last couple of months and while it was good at the beginning, I still preferred the constant coolness of an Air conditioner.
Loosening the tie around the neck to let some of the air in, I responded back to the question asked by our class leader who was somehow not informed yet from Kuroko.
"Yeah, it went without a hitch, except the Sudou part, but that's manageable."
"I heard about that from Kuroko. But what makes you certain that they won't use the displeasure the class has against Sudou?"
A good question but it was obvious from the tone he used that he knew the answer and was just testing me. And he would have had time to think about that if Kuroko had told him before.
"I am pretty sure they will do just that. Sudou being there was a blessing for us, actually. He has diverted the class C's attention towards himself and we can work with that."
Nodding at the answer, he continued walking towards the school in front of me while ignoring the looks he was receiving from many of the students. The glances were probably due to the fact that he was a pretty popular figure throughout the school, as he was leading the entire class D and was showing some results too. The other year's D sections had entirely given up on coming to the top while our class were still trying to rise back up.
And he also had proper mien to appease the school's female population too.
"Do you think we actually have 0 CP again or is it delayed due to certain circumstances?" Implying about the situation with class C, he asked about the class points.
"I think it might be the latter of the two but I am certain that we have lost some points."
"Yeah, I guess that's correct. No point in thinking about it now as we will probably receive the updated class points list when Sensei comes today."
Entering the classroom, we two went to each other's seats, mine being beside Horikita while Tatsuya sat in front of her, both of us doing our best to ignore the looks that Horikita sent towards us, silently demanding us to explain everything we knew about the class points of our class.
The rest of the class were no different regarding their curiosities, except they were more polite than Horikita. Tatsuya, having no qualms regarding the situation, proceeded to ignore Horikita by answering the other's questions in a Hirata like manner, that is, answering them vaguely and telling everyone to be patient.
Hirata, though, was still depressed at Sakura's expelling and was a lot less cheerful. It made me wonder how he would react if someone else was expelled from the class.
Eventually, Sensei entered the classroom just as the bell rang for the homeroom, a rolled up sheet of paper in her hands.
Surprisingly, Ike came inside slightly late after Sensei, earning a raised eyebrow from Sensei as she saw him apologize and enter the classroom.
"Good morning. Everyone looks more restless than usual today."
"Sae-chan-sensei! Do we have 0 points this month too!? When I checked this morning, I didn't even have a single point!"
"Oh, so is that why you guys were restless?"
"This month, we worked our asses off! We got past the midterms... So isn't it cruel to still be at 0!? We weren't late to class, weren't absent, and didn't whisper!"
"Don't go off deciding things on your own. Let me talk first. Ike, you clearly worked harder than I've ever seen you try. We recognize that. Naturally, the school understands how you feel too."
After being admonished, Ike closed his mouth and sat back down.
"Well then, these are this month's point totals."
The point results were listed starting from class A on the paper she put up on the board.
Other than class D, all the classes were pretty close in points, and everyone had been awarded about 100 points.
Class A was at 1039 points, slightly above the amount of points everyone started with.
"They already are pretty high up," Tatsuya commented on seeing the table.
Following class A was class B with 856 points and class C with 645 points.
The gap between the second last class and our class looked immense yet achievable as we looked at the bottommost class' total class points.
74 Points.
"Huh? Is that, 74... did we actually increase our points!? Woohoo!"
After seeing the points, Ike jumped up and down in excitement.
"Don't be so excited already. All the other classes increased their points about the same amount you guys did. The gap didn't get any closer. This looks like a reward for just passing the midterm. Everyone was paid about 100 points."
Glancing at the board, our class had the lowest increase in points from the exam, making me wonder how the points had been distributed.
Raising my hand, I decided to ask Sensei about it.
"Sensei, how are the points for the exams awarded then?"
Nodding at my question as if she had been waiting for it, she pointed towards the board as she spoke up.
"The average score of the classes in the midterms are added to the total class points. Hence, you were awarded 87 points, making your total count come to 97 points."
Noticing that the numbers were not what was displayed on the board, I again questioned sensei.
"What are the reasons for the deducted points, then?"
"Every time a class loses one student, 20% of the total class points are taken. It was 19 points this time for you guys. Add a few misbehaviour related deductions and your points have come to 74 points."
Although a few were dismayed at the deductions of points, the rest were more concerned about the fact that they hadn't received the 7400 points they had rightfully earned.
Meanwhile, the fact that 20% of the total points were reduced for every expulsion meant that it was better to get rid of the students who were our major cause of points loss. It would be difficult to do that when we get higher up as the losses will be harder to deal with.
"Huh? Then why didn't we get any points?"
Returning back to the original question, Ike looked at Chiyabashira-Sensei.
"This time, there's a bit of trouble. The points for the first-years were delayed. Sorry, but you'll have to wait for a bit longer."
"Eh~, seriously? Because the school is having trouble, shouldn't we get some kind of freebie?"
All the students grumbled in discontent. As soon as they understood that they got points, their attitudes completely changed. Having 74 points and no points is a world of difference for them.
A darker look approached her face as she heard the general reply of the class, giving me a bad feeling about what she was going to do.
"Don't blame the school for that. It's mostly you students who are at fault."
Eliciting a surprised reaction from most of the class, she glanced slightly at my general direction. Or more precisely, at Kuroko.
"A few students from class C have filed a complaint that Kuroko Tetsuya and Sudou Ken called them out on a deserted corridor and beat them on a disagreement they had regarding something."
"What the hell!"
Sudou, being the loud and brash person he was, gave a reaction well expected from him.
Sighing as sensei revealed the reason for the delay of point, I ignored the commotion as the class tried to reason at the fact that Kuroko, the ever so silent and invisible student of our class probably had a personality like Sudou.
Continuing with a disinterested expression on her face, she explained the school's neutral position regarding the whole situation.
"Uh... why hasn't the matter been resolved already?"
Hirata asked a reasonable question.
"The complaint was raised by class C. They said it was a one-sided fight and even showed their injuries, which should be enough to expel the accused. However, the school wants to hear both sides and has decided on holding a trial regarding the situation."
Ignoring the angered looks many of the students sent him, Kuroko raised his hand for permission to ask a question, which sensei granted to him.
"I would like to say that they were lying, but that should be obvious. And considering the trial being held, it seems that the school shares our opinion. But, the major question I have is that why isn't the school checking the cameras for the truth?"
Slightly interested in what this conversation could lead to, Sensei replied back immediately.
"There are no cameras in the place where the fight happened."
He continued his ray of questions as fast as he could, an expressionless face as he queried.
"Then what about cameras near the place? They would have to go back after talking with us and would eventually end up under a camera. The camera can verify if they were injured during the 'fight' or after the fight."
An amused look flashed on Sensei's face as she saw the doubt spreading on her stupid students' faces. Nevertheless, she answered the question after thinking over it for a few seconds.
"They were covered with black paint during the time the fight happened."
Tatsuya, who had stayed silent along with the rest of the class for most of the conversation, interrupted the two of them.
"Wasn't a student accused of doing the same a month ago?"
Sensei turned towards him with an eyebrow raised.
"I am not going to ask how you got to know such confidential information, but yes. A student of class C was accused of covering the cameras with black paint."
Disregarding the first part of the answer, his lips curled upwards slightly as snapped his finger in a manner indicating that he had gotten the answer to the entire situation.
"Then we just need to check the sales of the shops who sell back spray."
Smiling slightly for once throughout the day, she destroyed his idea with a simple reply.
"The idea is impractical as the SCP will not bother with such tiring tasks and just give the verdict immediately."
The class groaned collectively as the only idea they had of getting their points was turned useless. Seeing the downcast looks, Sensei decided to give them a ray of hope.
"But keep up with the ideas as one of them will eventually work."
Hearing the bell ring, signifying the end of homeroom, she packed up her roll of paper and started crossing the classroom to the door. Pausing slightly near the door, she threw towards the classroom and destroyed any of the light mood that had formed after the news.
"Don't take this event lightly and forget that the expulsion of 2 students from your class rides on this."
Leaving the sentence in the air, she turned the entire mood upside down. Meanwhile, I tried to ignore the devil beside me who had resorted to using her darkened compass as a method of getting answers from me.
This girl is surely trying to test both my patience and my pain tolerance at once. And it doesn't need a genius to figure out which is wearing down faster.
[Timeskip]
Investigating the scene of crime had yielded no results just as expected.
After asking Horikita out of politeness if she was going to help Sudou, she responded negatively and shrugged him off. Her opinion was that Sudo was not required for the proper functioning of the class and was in fact, quite the opposite of that.
She surely hadn't considered any sports-related events that could happen in the future where Sudou would be important, like basketball or any other outdoor events.
Thus, I was the one who, out of curiosity, decided to investigate the place of crime all the while accompanied by Miyuki, who decided to come too, for the same reason as me.
The place was dark due to the lack of sunlight from the already setting sun and the absence of light bulbs nearby. No cameras could be seen and the only one somewhere near was quite a distance away.
Giving the whole corridor a sweeping glance, I turned towards the only person with me for a quick check of her thoughts on the matter.
"What do you think of the situation?"
Slightly surprised, she looked around for a few seconds before responding back.
"There are no cameras anywhere and this area is hotter than normal, probably due to the closed windows. And there are a lot of hiding places here."
Giving the whole area another analyzing look, she then spoke up again.
"Did I miss anything else, Ayanokouji-kun?"
Not really, except for the fact that heat might cause the hot-headed Sudo to grow angry pretty quickly and it was pretty lucky that Tatsuya was there to stop him.
"No, Shiba-san. But it looks like there's no hope to get some evidence here. We don't have a witness either. Class C was the one who first fired the complaint and now our class looks like the bad guys. I suppose we are cornered pretty nicely."
Giving me a slightly confused look that looked as if she was anything other than confused, she addressed me while heading towards the windows.
"What do you mean, Ayanokouji-kun? We do have evidence. Did you forget about the ID cards?"
Glancing at her in surprise, I wondered how much Tatsuya had actually told her.
"He told you?"
"Yeah."
Joining her beside the window, I took in the scenery the setting sun presented.
"Then, do you think your brother can handle this?"
"Absolutely."
Answering immediately with utmost confidence, her faith in her brother's capabilities were quite apparent. If she was this confident, then I don't have to worry that much.
It was better to see if Tatsuya could actually deal with troublesome situations like these, than to see him mess up sometime in the future at a crucial moment.
"I might just sit this way, then."
"You can trust nii-san to handle this situation, Ayanokouji-kun."
Seeing her bright smile, it was better for me to just go with the flow and stay silent. I might as well just believe in her and have faith in Tatsuya as she has.
And if things would go well, maybe I would somehow go adrift towards the peaceful life which I had wanted at the start of the year.
Yeah, drifting sounds peaceful enough for now.
Word Count = 2591 words.
A.N. = Another chapter done but I regret to inform you that you will sadly won't be receiving a chapter the next week because of exams and all that stressing stuff.
So, the next chapter would be around the 16th to 17th of April.
Anyways, Hirata is sulking, Horikita is asking for hell and Ayanokouji just wants to drift away.
Share your ideas if you want, Follow and Fav if you like it, and as always, have a good day.
Bye.