Even though Yosuke had asked everyone to gather early, some idiots still didn’t grasp the gravity of the situation and arrived late.
By the time the ringleader, Sudo, and his cronies finally showed up near the end of first period, Yosuke used the break to recount the events of that morning and announce a strict new policy: no more tardiness, no sleeping in class, and no causing a disturbance.
For the record, the policy was set immediately after homeroom ended. Most of the students accepted it without complaint, and I, having already heard the news, just nodded along.
Of course, even if Chabashira verified Yosuke’s information, plenty of fools wouldn’t come to their senses until next month’s allowance took a hit. Still, this measure should at least slow the relentless drop in points.
Could we drive it down to zero?
Not a chance. The reason was simple.
"Huh? Why the hell should I just listen to whatever you say?"
Because our class had that muscle gorilla.
"...Unbelievable. Not only was he late, but he also fails to grasp the seriousness of it all. I just can’t understand it."
"Well, it’s Sudo."
"What is it with these guys? Since when did they become so chummy?"
As I watched the muscle gorilla’s antics with detached amusement, I began to hear Ayanokouji and Horikita talking quietly behind me. What? They, too? I had assumed they were lonely outsiders like me, incapable of making friends—but apparently they’d found camaraderie with one another.
That was a bit shocking.
Then again, if you could even call it friendship, Horikita’s tone was excessively harsh.
In any case, the guy I had bet on to follow the plan had finally started acting exactly as expected.
Sudo Ken.
I had long suspected that this muscle-bound brute would be our biggest obstacle.
Still, I wasn’t going to do anything about it.
"Hey, you! Didn’t you hear Hirata say it’d be a huge problem if you didn’t follow his lead? I’d rather not have next month’s points slashed because of you!"
"What’d you say, punk?"
"Eek?!"
When Karuizawa—the girl who got along well with Hirata and sported a slightly gyaru look—shouted at Sudo, he lost his temper. He slammed his bag onto the floor and glared furiously, which prompted one of the nearby girls to scream.
What a mess.
Part of me was tempted to step in right then.
I’d thought his temper needed to be reined in at some point, but not now. If I intervened, there was a high chance everyone’s attention would zero in on me.
So I let it go.
With that in mind, I turned away and sprawled out to catch some sleep.
"Violence... isn’t even worth discussing."
"Exactly."
I agreed with Horikita’s muttered comment.
A full month had passed since the entrance ceremony, and during morning homeroom, I took note of the points deposited this month as I surveyed the rare sight of everyone present.
"Twenty thousand points."
I wasn’t exactly sure how the points were calculated, but it appeared we had more than expected.
Judging by everyone’s reactions, though, the situation was pretty serious...
"It really did go down."
"Yeah."
While those in the back remained remarkably calm, the students nearby discussed the matter with gloomy, tense expressions.
I, on the other hand, had barely spent any points last week and had even managed to exceed 100,000. Meanwhile, those who had blown through their points before Yosuke’s warning were probably in for a rough month.
Not my problem.
"...Damn it."
Even the muscle gorilla had finally recognized the gravity of the situation, clicking his tongue as he glared at his terminal. It was a sight to behold.
While I was lost in these trivial thoughts, Chabashira entered the room and began outlining this month’s point changes, the differences between classes, and a brief explanation of the S system.
Most of what he said echoed the information Yosuke had already relayed, so it mostly didn’t matter.
What did matter, however, was the gap between the classes.
Class A: 940
Class B: 650
Class C: 490
Class D: 200
"...Aside from Class A, that’s more or less what I expected."
Although the gap was huge, without the extra information our class’s points might have been even lower…
"Still, I’m glad you managed to hold onto this many points. When I first observed your daily habits, I thought you’d make history as the first class to start at zero. That’s something you should reflect on."
As Chabashira had predicted, we would have started from zero. From nothing.
If you looked at it that way, it might have been a decent start…
"...Not a chance. Bridging that gap is going to be immensely difficult."
Recalling the details of the Special Exams that Yosuke hadn’t mentioned, I couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly.
After that, the teacher carefully went over this month’s midterm, the associated changes in points, and the issue of expulsion, eventually wrapping up morning homeroom.
"Horikita, what are you thinking about?"
"Could you stop addressing me so casually, Ayanokouji?"
"You can think all you want, but I doubt you’ll find an answer."
Listening to the increasingly frequent banter from the back row, I rested my head on my desk.
The next class was swimming.
I was quite surprised that swimming class was already in May instead of waiting until summer, but it didn’t matter to me since I wasn’t participating.
The thought of exposing my bare body in front of others… now that would be incredibly embarrassing!
...Or perhaps I was just having odd thoughts lately because I had no one to share them with.
I did talk to Yosuke from time to time, but since that day our interactions had dwindled—not that I felt left out or anything.
From the viewing area on the second floor, I watched as the students below enthusiastically swam and played, as if the earlier gloom had completely vanished. Then I scanned the room.
On the girls’ side there were only two students: Hasebe Haruka and Sakura Airi, both of whom possessed unusually ample figures for their age.
On the boys’ side, it was just me and a guy nicknamed "the Professor"—Sotomura Hideo.
I could vaguely understand why the girls weren’t joining in, but why was this guy here? And what exactly was he recording on that tablet?
I was a little curious.
So I slowly approached him and asked,
"What are you writing down?"
"Kyaaaaa?!"
As I inched closer and asked, the Professor began trembling violently, letting out a bizarre scream before collapsing forward. The tablet flew into the air, and fearing he might later make me pay for it, I snatched it out of midair.
"Nice catch."
"Huh?"
"Ah..."
Just as I secured the tablet, I heard a voice. Glancing to the side, I saw Hasebe—seated a short distance away—watching the commotion and muttering something. Noticing my reaction, she simply shook her head and looked away.
"W-Weren’t you surprised?!"
"Wow, that tone is something else."
That’s what I thought as I straightened up and handed the tablet back to him, then asked once more,
"Sorry if I startled you, but I was really curious about what you were writing so intently."
"Th-That...! It’s a s-secret!"
"I see. Too bad."
"W-Wait? You’re not going to pry?"
"You said it was a secret."
I had only asked because I was interested; if he didn’t want to share, it wasn’t a big deal.
Just then, as I was about to return to my seat, my eyes met those of Sakura Airi, who was sitting a little higher than Hasebe.
She looked timid.
Getting that impression, I gave her a small nod in greeting, but she seemed flustered and quickly turned her head away.
Boring.
Still, just watching the kids play was growing dull. Since things had come to this, why not try something productive?
That’s right—something I was attempting for the first time in my life.
Making a friend of the opposite sex!
After all, people are meant to live as they please. I didn’t need friends, but new experiences were always welcome.
Having attended an all-boys middle school, I’d had almost no interaction with girls. So if I had a chance to make a friend of the opposite sex in a place like this—where I wouldn’t stand out—it would be a missed opportunity not to seize it.
Convinced, I made my way over to Hasebe.
"Hello, Hasebe."
"...Huh?"
My sudden approach startled her. I thought I’d just offered a normal greeting, but clearly not.
"...If you keep reacting like that, it kind of hurts."
"Ah, sorry. And more importantly, Ian—you can talk, right?"
"Huh?"
What kind of rude remark was that supposed to be?
"I mean, you never speak to the other kids and instead just lie face-down at your desk every day."
"Ah... well, it’s true I don’t really fit in. The whole culture feels a bit awkward to me."
"Huh? You mean there’s a culture to the way you talk too? Come to think of it, didn’t you say you were from Korea?"
"I’ve been here a while now, but it still feels strange."
Good. The conversation was actually moving forward.
Hasebe Haruka.
I had always thought she was quite expressive when she was with other girls, but she turned out to be even easier to talk to than I expected.
She’d be great for passing the time.
With that in mind, I kept chatting with her.
"Ah..."
There was a girl watching us from behind with a pained expression, but my ears—already attuned to the thrill of chatting with someone of the opposite sex—naturally tuned her out.
"So, Ian, why didn’t you participate?"
"I just don’t like getting wet."
"Hee~. That’s unexpected. So you actually had a proper reason? I thought you were just skipping it."
"Am I... really that badly perceived?"
"Hmm... maybe not entirely?"
"Which is it?"
"Ahaha—just kidding, just kidding."
Hasebe laughed.
"And what about you, Hasebe? Why aren’t you participating?"
"Hmm... should I say I’m a little uncomfortable?"
That was a lie. It was probably the sight of all the boys that made her uneasy.
"Not uneasy about being watched by boys?"
"Ew... Ian, are you maybe a pervert? Into that sort of thing?"
"...Sorry if that made you uncomfortable."
"Ahaha—look at you get discouraged so easily. Well... you’re half right, but you really shouldn’t say things like that to a girl, okay?"
I had assumed it was a sensitive topic, but apparently not as much as I thought.
After we’d bantered about for a while, swimming class ended. I still felt eyes on us from the back, but my goal wasn’t to make friends with everyone—it was simply to try talking to a girl. So I decided not to worry about the lingering stares.
"Now then, what am I going to do about the midterms?"
Contemplating the midterms and the expulsion warnings Chabashira had mentioned, I lay back on my bed.
Of course, I didn’t have long to deliberate.
This time, I was staying out of it.
At the high school level, it wasn’t really a threat. In fact, the tests at my previous school weren’t hard at all. Sure, I didn’t get every answer right—I was aiming for an average of around 60 points—but that was more than enough.
Still, as Chabashira had noted, our Class D was lagging behind the others. After all, seven students hadn’t even managed to clear the cutoff score of 32 on the test results.
If that had been the midterm, our class would have started with seven expulsions right out of the gate.
There’s always a chance that a class’s numbers might work in its favor.
I couldn’t be entirely sure—since the contents of the Special Exams differed every year and by grade—but...
Well, I’d leave that alone. Besides, it looked like Yosuke was planning to organize study groups and whatnot, so there was no need for me to step up.
That was what I thought.
"Ayanokouji, Ian. Do you have a moment?"
That was until Horikita—the haughty beauty at the back—addressed me.
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