It's the 26th of April, the Monday of our fourth week in this school. The class has been doing alright after three weeks. Before our third period, I found myself reading back on some text conversations between me and Karuizawa Kei.
(21:56) [Hirata-kun did it.]
(21:56) [We're going out now.]
(21:56) [I see.]
(21:56) [That's good then.]
(21:56) [You've done well in establishing a stable foothold in our class, and after this, you'll probably be regarded as the girls' leader.]
(21:57) [Yeah...]
(21:57) [It'll be different with Kushida, who's more on the universal side of things with her kindness and friendliness, but I'm sure you'll be just fine.]
This conversation happened two days ago, on a Saturday evening. In the end, they chose to delay the plan by a week. It's probably for the best since Hirata's popularity was just hitting its peak outside the class. Hirata texted me about this, too.
(21:58) [Ayanokouji-kun...]
(21:58) [Wait, you know what, I'll just call you.]
That was the last message she's sent since then. As for our call...
"Hello?" I asked.
"Sorry for my sudden call," Karuizawa said.
"I don't mind. Sorry if I was being too wordy with my texts. I'm just not used to it yet," I replied with an apology.
"It's fine. That's your well-established quirk, right? A lot of girls think it's cute-- your lack of conversational skills, I mean," Karuizawa elaborated.
"Is that how it works? I thought it's just a negative trait," I mused.
"You really are a beginner when it comes to these things aren't you?" she snickered. "First of all, you're the class's academic genius, answering every question perfectly when asked by the teacher. To be honest, none of us will be surprised if you aced every written test or exam. And secondly... you're super-duper athletic... Like, super-duper..."
I stayed silent in the midst of her lack of vocabulary.
"On paper, you really are the ideal boy in our class alongside Hirata-kun. But unlike him, you're not that outgoing and friendly. You can even be considered gloomy at times," Karuizawa explained.
"That's exactly my point..." I think she just dissed me on the last part there.
"Yes, that's exactly the point. You two are different, but one's not better than the other. After all, girls have their own preferences, just like guys. On one hand, there are a lot who prefer a princely boy like Hirata-kun. On the other hand, a star student who's actually insecure about his social skills is also a hit among girls." Karuizawa seemed to be having fun while telling me this.
"Is that really how it works?"
Of course, I'm also curious. The intricacies of modern social high school norms aren't something that I'm really familiar with.
"Yeah. What do they call it again? Ah, that's right! "Gap-Moe"! Yeah, that's it," she said. "Have you heard of it? You don't seem like you watch anime or read manga, so it might not be familiar to you."
Woah, that's great. I've actually encountered gap-moe during my research. I never thought I'd hear it again since a lot of the stories that use the concept seem unrealistic.
Well, the ironic thing is that it's being used to describe me...
"I've heard of it. It's the affection to the inconsistencies between two different or opposite characteristics of a person, right?"
Now that I think about it, it's kinda like Karuizawa. On the surface, she's a strong-willed tough girl which gives you the impression of a bully. But on the inside, while she's still strong-willed, she's actually a very delicate and observant girl-- most likely caused by the bullying she's suffered.
Then again, while it didn't look like she was lying about her past, it's not like I believed everything that she told us.
"Yeah, you're right... But geez, your knowledge on it seems like nothing but a definition pulled out from a dictionary..." And she was exactly right about that. "Wait a minute, we're going on a complete tangent! I haven't gotten to the main reason why I called you!"
"Which is?" I asked.
"Well... I just wanted to thank you and Hirata-kun... You know, for protecting me and stuff." Karuizawa said.
"It's no problem. You've been cooperating well, so I don't have any complaints," I replied. "If that's all, then why don't we end the call here? You just got yourself a boyfriend. Won't it be bad to be on a call with another man?"
"I don't really mind. It's just a farce, anyway." Karuizawa replied instantly before panicking. "Ah-- Unless you're against it, of course!"
Well, that was completely unexpected.
"Not really."
After that, we did some friendly small talk. She told me about some of the girls in class. It's pretty much the same as how Kushida would tell me her stories. Of course, a lot of them are pointless stuff, but those pointless stuff were actually kind of fun to hear about.
Maybe this really is the essence of friendship, much like how Sudou would tell me about his club matters.
"Ah-! We've been talking for a while now. Let's call it quits for tonight, Ayanokouji-kun," she said.
"Sure. I had fun, Karuizawa," I replied.
And the call ended. I noticed that I got a bunch of texts from different people. Mori, Satou, Rino, Yokoyama, and some other girls. There were also a lot of notifications from Class D's group chat and the smaller group chats that I'm a part of, too.
Well, it's not like I have anything else to do. I'll try to chat with them while I can.
"You seem to be thinking about deep stuff." Horikita suddenly spoke while I was reminiscing about my weekend.
"Not really. Just some random stuff," I replied.
In the end, the plan was a success. After they flaunted their relationship in public, rumors quickly spread. Karuizawa's popularity was instantly boosted. She was cute, anyway, so it's not like other girls had complaints apart from being a bit jealous.
Before we could continue our budding conversation, Chabashira-sensei entered the classroom.
"Alright, class. Today, we're going to have a short test. Please pass these to the back." Without any explanation, Chabashira-sensei's cold words reverberated across the room.
None of us reacted in a way that caused a commotion, but a lot of our classmates had nervous expressions.
"Since you know already know about the S-System, it's alright for me to tell you more than what other classes are allowed to know. Frankly, this test is just a reference. There will be no risk involved because the results won't be reflected on your report cards. That's what we're supposed to say to our classes. However, you are different," she explained. "You can probably already guess that this test will reflect on your class points for May. This surprise test is taken by freshmen every year during the end of their first month."
Horikita and I instantly looked at each other. Her face indicated a little bit of panic. If she's telling the truth, then we're not that immune to the system even if we know about it. After all, even if no one misbehaves in our class, they can still opt to not listen to the discussions.
We only had preparations for midterms and final exams, so no study groups have been formed yet. In other words, the ones who are bad at studying are clearly in trouble.
In the end, we can only give this test our all.
"No cheating now. Harsh punishments are in line should you break the rules." Chabashira-sensei announced as she walked around the classroom.
After scanning the test, I noticed that a lot of the questions were too easy. With a rough estimate, it's about two levels below what we took in the entrance exam, in terms of difficulty. I answered everything quickly, but as I reached the end of the test...
As I thought...
The last three questions were too difficult for any students in our year. It's almost like they were put on the test by mistake. For now, I'll just answer them.
Finally, I was finished with the test. After doing a brief check, I'm pretty sure I answered everything correctly. I scanned everyone as they did the test. Hopefully, the results wouldn't be too bad.