Starting in class C: not completely defective.

Arc 10 chapter 4: pawns

"Isn't it possible that it was just a simple coincidence?" Replied Hirata calmly, trying to reason with the upset Sudou.

However, Sudou seemed to be convinced otherwise, because he immediately denied the possibility.

"It's not. That was the third time just today. Get it? They're definitely trying to pick a fight!" He asserted.

Hirata noticed us, and gently gestured to Sudou, who looked over at us with a slightly embarrassed expression on his face. Recently, from what I'd heard, he'd started to get a handle on his anger. It was a slightly rarer sight to see him angry nowadays than it had been at the start of the year, and he knew that.

"Hey, were you guys just on your way to lunch?" Asked Hirata, calling out to us.

From what I'd heard, Hirata was still the general leader of class D, but it was Horikita who took the reins during exams. Hirata was good at keeping a social equilibrium, while Horikita was good at strategic quick thinking.

He wasn't addressing a specific person, but rather our group as a whole. My friends had interacted a few times with class D, but that was only when Kushida was around to bridge the gap between the classes, until...

No. Don't go there.

"Yeah. We're headed to the cafe. What's up?" I asked.

After hearing my answer, Hirata smiled happily.

"Oh, hey, what a coincidence. We're headed there too," he replied.

"Hey, if you like, how about we all have lunch together?" I asked.

The three class D students exchanged glances with one another, a bit bewildered at my sudden invitation.

"What are you doing, Ichinose?" Asked Kanzaki. He sounded a little flustered and confused, probably because he hadn't expected me to offer them something like that.

"What am I doing...? We're not competing against class D or anything, so it's not a problem, is it?" I replied.

"Well, that's true, it's not, but..."

Kanzaki didn't seem that open to the idea of inviting them to join us for lunch. I wonder why?

"Come on, times a-wastin'! Let's go!" I said cheerfully, smiling.

We joined two tables in a corner of the cafe and ate lunch together. Not only was this group made up of class C and D students, but it was just a generally odd combination of folks.

"Sorry for inviting you to join us out of the blue like that. It's my treat though, so please, eat up!" I apologised, then announced happily.

"Are you sure about that, Ichinose?" Said Kanzaki, reacting strongly to me offering to treat them.

In the last special exam, I made a deal with class A. I'd had my class cast their praise votes for nii-san to keep him from being expelled, and in return, I'd saved a class C student from the same fate. Doing so used up all my private points. Kiyotaka gave me a few points extra, so I was able to live fairly lavishly.

"Don't worry, it's fine, we can pay for ourselves," said Horikita, speaking for the first time since our two groups merged.

"I kind of strong-armed you into coming, though, so you don't have to force yourself..." I said quietly.

"No, it's fine. This way we can eat without being in your debt," she declined my offer.

"So...why did you invite us to join you, anyway?" Asked Hirata, apparently unable to hold himself back any longer.

"Well, I guess it's just because I was shocked at how upset Sudou looked earlier. I guess I was just curious as to why," I reasoned.

The three looked at each other.

"To be honest, I'm just grumbling," said Sudou

"About what?" I asked.

"To put it simply, it seems that class A, in an effort to demoralise us before the special exam, has decided to start harassing me and my classmates," said Horikita.

"They've been messing with me, Sotomura, Hondou. It's like, I dunno, they're messing around with us for no reason at all or like, they're just following us around. Kanji was nearly scared half to death when that Albert guy slightly cornered him against a wall," said Sudou.

Oh god. What are you doing Kiyotaka?

I made a mental note to myself to talk to him about this later.

1277 words
A slightly longer chapter
Finally, some original content for more that 10 words at a time
Boris Johnson has finally resigned. What a fucking joy.
Hope you're all doing well and I hope you enjoyed