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Chapter 2: Before that Happens Part 2

"Let's go back. If anyone saw us out here, they'd probably get ideas."

She was certainly right about that. Rumors about a boy and a girl hanging out alone in the dark would be bound to circulate. Not to mention the fact that our relationship seemed to be intensifying. Horikita got up slowly and walked toward the dorm.

"Hey. Were you really okay with how the study group went?" I asked.

If I didn't broach the subject now, I'd likely never get the chance again.

"Why are you asking me? I was the one who proposed holding the study group in the first place. Besides, I got the feeling that you considered it a hassle. Am I wrong?"

"It just left a bad taste in my mouth. Look, I think things are going to get worse with the others."

"I don't care. I'm used to it. Besides, Hirata-kun picked up most of the failing students. He knows how to study, he seems to get along with others, and, unlike me, he'll be a good tutor. At the very least, they should all pass. It was pointless to try teaching the failing students myself. We would go through this same scenario for every test until graduation. It would be pointless to try making up for their failure every single time."

"Sudou and the others don't much like Hirata. I doubt they'll participate in his study group."

"That's their decision, which has nothing to do with me. Besides, if they're facing expulsion, they shouldn't grumble about trivial nonsense. If they don't get closer to Hirata-kun, then they'll be expelled. Of course, my goal is to have Class D reach Class A status. However, that's for my own sake and no one else's. I don't care about anyone else. Really, if we dump the failures on this next midterm, then the better students will be left. That's what I need, correct? In that case, attaining a higher rank will be simple. Everything will work out perfectly."

She wasn't wrong about that. Our conversation continued; Horikita was strangely talkative tonight.

"Horikita, isn't that way of thinking flawed?"

"Flawed? What's flawed? You're not going to give me some gibberish about how there's no future for someone who would abandon her classmates, are you?

"Relax. I understand you well enough to know that you don't really understand me."

"Then what is it? There's no strategic advantage to helping failures."

"There are probably very few advantages, certainly. However, it does help prevent a setback."

"Demerit?"

"Do you really think that the school hasn't considered this? They've deducted points for students arriving late or playing around during class time. Let's say these students are expelled because no one helped them. How many points do you think they'll deduct from us then?"

"That's—" she began.

"Of course, we don't have any proof that's how it works. However, isn't it possible? 100 points? 1,000 points? They might even deduct 10,000 or 100,000 points. If that happens, it'll be very difficult for you to reach Class A."

"We've gone down to zero points because of our infractions. We can't go any lower. If we're currently at zero, don't you think it's best to eliminate the dead weight? That would be the same as taking no damage."

"There's no guarantee that'd be the case. There could be penalties we just don't see yet. Do you really think it's okay to take such a dangerous risk? Well. I'm sure that someone as smart as you must have thought about that already. Otherwise, you would never have suggested creating a study group in the first place. You would've just abandoned the failures from the very beginning."