The Defiant Elite {Discontinued}

Chapter 9. Speculations and Some Plans

"Since failing leads to expulsion, wouldn't that mean that we will lose points if we student gets expelled too?"

"That's correct Shiba-san, since the older classes haven't expelled the useless students who might cause a loss in points, that must mean that there is a rule that will make it more harmful than helpful."

Confirming her theory, I glanced towards Tatsuya who suddenly turned towards Matsushita. She had stayed silent throughout our conversation, opting to listen then speak. It's not like she wasn't smart. She just didn't like to show her intelligence.

"Matsushita-san, I need to talk to you for a bit about your exam. You don't mind it, do you?" Ending the sentence with a question made it into an innocent question asking for her permission. It was more of a hidden command than anything else, something which she quickly understood and consented to.

Glancing towards Miyuki to see her expression, she knew what her brother wanted to talk about to her best friend. Maybe it was because of her exam last Friday.

Glancing towards me to catch me looking at her, she thankfully immediately understood what I was doing. Smiling slightly as her brother and Matsushita picked the lace and separated from us, she turned towards me.

"Ayanokouji-kun knows what nii-san wanted to talk about to Matsushita-san."

It was a statement rather than a question. A confident one over that. She knew I had seen Matsushita-san during the exams last Friday.

"Is it about the fact that she was solving questions and then erasing them deliberately, hence lowering the score to an average student?"

Nodding at my answer, she continued with a rather teasing glint in her eyes. "You know that lot about how to lower the score, don't you?"

"Nothing like that. It was just easy for me to see since she was sitting opposite of me."

Mulling over her thoughts for a while, we walked in silence a few meters behind Tatsuya and Matsushita. Suddenly breaking the silence, she questioned me.

"Do you know about Miyake-kun and Hasabe-san's scores?"

"No. Is there anything wrong with their results? They looked fairly capable of studying, to be honest."

Shaking her head to deny my assumption, she continued.

"They were pretty good in all subjects except a couple of them. It's just that their answers are really similar and they weren't even cheating throughout the exam on Friday."

"Really?"

"Yeah. They both made the same mistake and did the same answers correctly. And it was all a coincidence since both nii-san and I had kept an eye on them. Also, according to nii-san, their surprise test results are like that too and they have quite a few spaces between their seats."

Huh.

That's quite a surprising coincidence. If their results were that similar, tutoring them together would be easier had they been in a smaller group. But, I suppose larger study groups were to be expected for our class.

Interrupting my thoughts, Miyuki regarded me with an innocent look that screamed the exact opposite of what it was supposed to express. "Of course, coincidence or not, they are under my suspicion. Which includes you too, Ayanokouji-kun. I still think that your marks are not some coincidence."

Playing along with her, I responded to her accusation. "It's not something I can do against anyway. Under suspicion or not, my marks will improve only if I study. Which is something that I don't. It's not like I am a genius in hiding."