Classroom of the elite: The upheaval of my ordinary life(Reaction)

A gathering between classes

"I want to ask you for a favor," I said.

"What, you're not even going to apologize first for calling me out hereon such a hot day?"

"Want this?"

 I handed her a bottle of tea I hadn't drunk from yet. She hesitated, then reluctantly accepted it.

"It's a little warm," she muttered.

"That's the weather's fault. Nothing I can do."

Some places nearby had recorded temperatures of forty degrees Celsius or higher. Just thinking the number made me feel hot. Karuizawa struggled to uncap her drink.

"You really can't stand the heat buddy." Says Akito. 

Stating the obvious much? 

"Well, yes. I am really not used to it."

For most of my life I spent in a place that had air conditioning. Aside from some occasions. Hopefully, Ryuuen doesn't try to use a trap of some kind that involves heat. It would be bothersome. 

 "Hmph. Guess I got a loser."

"A loser? You don't usually get prizes in tea bottle caps."

"That's not funny, you know. I'm talking about how hard this is to open," she grumbled. Well, it had been a poor joke. I reached over, took the drink, twisted the cap, and returned it.

"Thanks."

After what'd happened on the boat, the distance between Karuizawa and I had diminished. Before summer vacation, it would've been impossible for us to have this kind of conversation. She probably still didn't trust me, but she showed no sign of that. Karuizawa really understood self-control. To protect herself and her status, she could adapt to any environment.

"That is high praise, Ayanokouji-Kun." Says Sakayanagi. 

Why is she observing Kei like that? I do not want to be mean, but Sakayanagi is intellectually on another level. There is no need to think of Kei as a challenge of some kind. 

"It is deserved though, no?" I say. 

It is a certain type of talent, being able to act like that in the face of someone who knows a devastating secret.  She certainly didn't trust me back then. 

"Tomorrow's the last day of summer vacation. One of my friends invited me to make some fun summer memories."

"What do you mean, summer memories? We don't have fireworks or a festival or anything like that here, do we?" asked Karuizawa.

"The school has a big pool, right? It's normally reserved for the swim club. Did you know that the restriction was lifted for today?"

That pool was even bigger than the one we used during swim class. For the last three days of summer vacation, it was open for communal use. When a huge crowd of students flooded the pool on the first day, the school put additional restrictions in place. Students could only use the pool once during those last three days. Apparently, the second day was really busy, too.

"Ah. Now that you mention it, though, I'm not that interested in swimming," muttered Karuizawa.

She always skipped swim class by claiming she didn't feel well. Even though it was difficult to cut class due to the point system, the school couldn't really question a student's poor physical condition, especially not woman-specific problems. There were girls other than Karuizawa who refused to participate, probably for a variety of reasons. They might feel ill, not want other people to know they couldn't swim well, or even hate swimming in the first place. Maybe they didn't want to show that many skins around boys. And so on. However, Karuizawa's circumstances were different. A while ago, Karuizawa had been viciously bullied by her classmates. As a result, she had a terrible scar on her side. If someone saw it, it would definitely cause a stir.