A Life Without Color

Chapter 10

The chair I was sitting in was not geared towards the comfort of its occupants. My back was forced into an upright position, forcibly correcting the issues in posture that I'd developed since leaving.The droll voice of the instructor droned on about matrices while Sudou and Kei struggled to keep their eyes from drooping shut.

A banging sound echoed throughout the room as my father strode in with his superior attitude clinging to him like a cat to a tree.

By now, everyone has learned that the appearance of this man is only followed by pain and suffering. They have been conditioned to feel fear at the very sight of him. With one exception apparently.

Kouenji sat next to me, looking for all the world like he was incredibly bored. He even had the gall to lean back in his chair and put his feet up and his desk in front of that man. After everything he'd been through, he should have been cowering at the slightest glimpse of this malicious predator. It was impressive even if it was a facade.

"The first failure of your generation has been dropped from the program. Do your best to succeed or you will be next."

He opened his mouth to continue lecturing, but stopped as something grabbed his attention. He turned his glare to Yosuke Hirata, hero of class D, who was sitting in his seat politely raising his hand like we were back at school, and he wanted to ask Chabashira-sensei a question.

"I will allow you to ask one question, boy. Don't waste it."

He's definitely gonna waste it. That man knows it too. Otherwise, he'd never allow Hirata to even ask.

"What is the threshold required for us to be considered passing?"

He actually did better than I thought. I'd expected him to ask about Ike. Where he'd been taken and how we could ensure his return. Seems like he took my words from lunch to heart.

A sinister smirk spread across that man's face.

"You will complete the tasks given to you within the duration of time allowed. Failure will lead to consequences."

That man appeared to be satisfied that we'd absorbed his warning. As he made his way out the door, he stopped and looked back at us. He tilted up his chin, making it clear that we were all ants that he could squish the moment he grew tired of us and shook his head all the way out the door.

The instructor resumed his position at the podium and began to lecture.

"Cauchy's Mean Value Theorem generalizes Lagrange's Mean Value Theorem. This theorem is also called the Extended or Second Mean Value Theorem. It establishes the relationship between the derivatives of two functions and changes in these functions on a finite interval."

The instructor dragged his chalk across the whiteboard to illustrate the concept. I flinched as the screeching sound felt like it was setting my nerves on fire. Looking around the classroom, Horikita and Yosuke appeared to be hanging by a thread while Kouenji just looked bored as usual.

Sudo and Kei though... both of them had forehead veins that were so swollen they seemed about to burst out of their heads. Sudou's was red and constipated looking as he tried his best to absorb content years above his level. Kei looked like she'd already given up. The only thing stopping her from actively acting disinterested was a fear of the consequences.

I wonder if she'll even be able to last long enough to make it to our escape.

I had to give Sudou credit though, at least he was trying. Not that it'll matter in the end.

I have to act faster if I want to avoid any more losses.

The sound of chalk on the board finally stopped as our instructor finished his lecture.