COTE: The Quiet One Can Be Dangerous

Vol. 10 Chp. 3: Traitor

"Then what the heck are you gonna say?"

"There's something important I want to tell everyone concerning tomorrow's exam and who will be expelled."

Horikita walked to the front of the room and stood behind the teaching podium.

"About who's being expelled...? What are you getting at?" Yamauchi began talking notably faster than usual.

"I've been thinking a lot this past couple of days. Who should be expelled? Who should stay? How do we come to a proper decision? Earlier today, I managed to find a satisfactory answer to these troublesome questions. So please, allow me to lay it all out for everyone."

"Wait a minute, Horikita-san."

It was Hirata, not Yamauchi, who spoke up to stop her.

"Nobody in this class deserves to be expelled."

"Is that true? Isn't it possible that somebody does, though?"

"S-something like that..."

"I've had serious concerns since we were told about this exam. Even though we need to discuss things with each other and decide who we will expel, the school hasn't given us any class time to do it. As a result, it has become a battle where we form into groups and try to control the outcome of the vote. We're running the risk of expelling an excellent student, even though they shouldn't be considered for expulsion at all. Can we call something like that an exam at all?"

Chabashira was the first to look visibly impressed, shortly followed by Kouenji.

"I haven't the faintest idea what's gotten into you, but you seem to me like an entirely different person. You've gotten right to the heart of the matter, right?"

With a clap of the hands, Kouenji continued to speak, "Let us hear it, then. What do you suggest we do?"

"Originally, I thought we should hold a discussion with everyone in the class and collectively decide on who to expel. But I understand that realistically speaking, that would be difficult. Therefore, allow me to nominate someone I think we should expel."

Hirata interjected, "H-hold on Horikita-san!"

"Sorry, but I'm speaking right now. I'll give a proper explanation for my nomination later."

Staying conscious of how much time she was taking, Horikita pushed the discussion forward.

"No way. I'm against you throwing the class into chaos like this."

Even so, Hirata refused to back down.

"She's at least got the right to speak. We can listen to your objections after she's done," Sudou cut in to stop Hirata from interfering.

"It's as Red Hair-kun says. I've given up some of my valuable time to be here, so I'd appreciate it if you'd refrain from wasting it by being a hindrance," Kouenji spoke up in support of hearing Horikita out as well, seemingly interested in the direction the discussion was heading.

"B-but..."

Taking advantage of Hirata's hesitation, Horikita once again opened her mouth.

"For this special exam... I have decided that we should expel Yamauchi Haruki-kun."

Several students had been nominated as targets for censure votes, but until now, it had all been done in secret. Horikita was the first person to nominate a target for public censure. One might wonder why no one else had done the same. 

This is because publicly nominating someone would immediately make the nominee resentful towards the nominator. Moreover, there was a high possibility that if the rest of the class was not convinced, the nominator could become a target themselves.