Classroom Of The Elite: Variable [Hiatus]

[Vol 1] Chapter 11: The Beginning

There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than the long-range risks of comfortable inaction. -John F. Kennedy

Everyone was on edge as Chabashira-sensei entered the classroom. After all, they're eager to see the results of their tests.

    "Sensei. We were told that the results would be announced today, but when."

    "There's no need for you to get so worked up, Hirata. You should have passed quite easily."

    I agreed with her thoughts. We already confirmed that the test papers Kushida obtained and the midterms were the same, so there shouldn't be any worry. Then again, it's probably because Hirata wants to see if someone failed. He's that nice of a guy.

    "So, when will the results be released?"

    "Well, if you'd like, now is as good a time as any. If we waited to do it after class, we would have enough time for other procedures."

    That sounded ominous. The other students also noticed and reacted to her words.

    "What...do you mean by that?"

    "Don't get flustered. I'll tell you now."

    Once again, she pulled out a white sheet of paper with everyone's names and scores and put it on the blackboard.

    "Honestly, I'm impressed. I didn't think that you'd score so well. Many students tied with perfect scores in mathematics, Japanese, and social studies. More than ten of you actually."

    I was one of those people. Considering it was just memorizing answers, it wasn't so hard. Looking over Sudo's name, I found that he had scored sixty points in four out of the five main subjects, considerably higher than his scores from the short test. But that wasn't the main concern. Sudo's English score was.

    "Yes!" Sudo leapt up and shouted in joy. He had gotten a thirty-nine. Six more than the minimum of thirty-two needed to pass. Akito nodded at me while Haruka gave me the thumbs up while looking around. Next to me, Airi had given me a simple thank you, while Horikita was visibly relieved at Sudo's results. Good for you, Sudo.

    "We showed you, sensei! When we really try our best, we can do anything!" Ike smugly said.

    With Kushida's help that is.

    "Yes, I recognize that. You all did very well. However—" To everyone's horror, Chbashira-sensei was holding a red pen in her hand.

    "Huh?"

    She drew a red line right above Sudo's name.

    "Wh-what is that? What does that mean?"

    "You failed, Sudo."

    "Huh? You're lying, right? Don't give me that crap! Why did I fail?" A frantic Sudo cried out.

    Everyone's cheerful mood had already been replaced by confusion. They were all thinking the same thing as Sudo.

    "Sudo, you failed the English exam. That's all."

    "Don't screw with me! I got thirty-two points! I passed!"

    "When did anyone say that thirty-two points was a passing grade?"

    Once again, Chabashira-sensei didn't tell us about this. Was this something the school said to keep quiet about? Or did she simply "forget" to tell us, as she did with the midterm questions?

    "No, no. You said so, sensei! Right, everyone?" Ike came to Sudo's defense.

    "Say whatever you want, it won't matter. This is the undeniable truth. You had to score at least a forty to pass the midterm exam. In other words, you were just one point short. You were so close."