"Sensei, may I ask a few questions?"
The sound of cheering stopped as soon as I spoke those words. All of my classmates' eyes are now glued towards me. Somehow, having this kind of attention feels somewhat nerve wracking.
"You're Ayanokouji Kiyotaka-kun, right? As long as it is something I am permitted to answer, you can feel free to ask me your question" She replied.
"Okay then, could you explain why there are multiple surveillance cameras installed in the classroom?" I asked.
As I said those words, I could see a confused expression on my classmates. Seeing this, I let out a small sigh and point my finger to one of the corners of the classroom.
At the direction of where I was pointing, there was a surveillance camera attached to the roof. It was cleverly hidden to the point that most people wouldn't be able to spot it unless they have good eyes.
"What the hell?!"
"... I didn't even notice..."
All of my classmates began to murmur as they showed their surprise, except for Koenji. From the very beginning, he had been only looking towards his own reflection with delight. It seems he had already noticed the cameras as soon as he entered the classroom.
"Isn't it obvious? The cameras are placed there to observe the students." She answered.
Well it isn't unnatural to have set up cameras in classrooms to prevent things like bullying, it's rather strange that they had kept its existence hidden from the students. Also, it felt like she had emphasized the word 'observe' rather strongly when she answered.
"Is that all?"
"No, I have a couple more question I wanted to ask. Firstly, I'm still concerned about the mechanics of transferring points. Is there a way to make sure that no one would get scammed during a negotiation?"
Once again, my question raise quite a commotion among my classmates.
"Quite down, all of you." Chabashira-sensei warned the group of students who were making loud noises before continuing."You don't have to worry about getting scammed, if there are negotiations with complicated conditions ever happens, you can make them sign a contract, thus making the deal foolproof."
I would've at least expected this school to have this kind of system in place, but it still has some loopholes that could be used, such as tricking or forcing someone to sign a contract with unfair conditions, and if those conditions were to be broken or be unfulfilled, then they would probably get punished as well.
"Are there any other questions?" She asked while looking at me with eyes full of expectation.
"Yes, there are. Could you explain to us the details of the point-system?"
"I'm sorry, Ayanokouji. But I can't answer that." At this moment, the apathetic expression that she had been showing earlier has now been completely replaced with a pleased smile. I would have said "You look more beautiful when you smile" to her, but the serious atmosphere in the classroom prevented me from doing so.
"Why? Can you tell us the reason?"
"No, I don't have the authority to answer that kind of question." She said. I had noticed that she said 'permitted to answer' earlier at our conversation. Does this mean the school is withholding information about S-system?
"I see, thank you, sensei. That is all the questions I have for now."
Sensei's smile slightly twitched when she heard my words, I guess she didn't expect me to end the conversation right here.
I was planning to buy information about the S-system from her, since earlier she had explained that we could buy anything in this school. But since that would bring me a lot of unwanted attention, I decided to put that plan on-hold for now.
"...I see, then does anyone else had any question?" That question was directed towards all of my classmates, but her gaze was still focused on me. Her pleased smile replaced with an irritated glare.
"If that is all, then I'm leaving. I hope that you enjoy your time as students here." Noticing her question was met with silence, she walked towards the entrance of the classroom. "...Tch" As she exited the classroom, I could hear her clicking her tongue out of irritation.
After she left, most of my classmates were beginning to discussing how to spend their points with each other. I was amazed with the fact that none of them seems to have any doubts about this school.
"Well, this is getting interesting..." I quietly muttered, while looking at my student ID card.
"it does seems like the school is extremely lenient, isn't it?" A voice next to me said. I was a little surprised to see that Horikita was responding to me. I thought that she would be the type of person who would look down on other people, but I guess her opinion of me changed after what I did earlier.
"Is that how you see it?"
"Don't you think so too? This is too much preferential treatment. it's almost frightening."
It looks like that Horikita had some doubts about this school, and I can say the same about myself as well. This school is definitely more complex and mysterious than what it had let on. From the amount of points that the students receive, to the cameras that is set to 'observe' the students, and the fact that sensei was withholding information about S-system.
"Well, my from my perspective ‒"
"Everyone, can you listen to me for a moment?" Before I could finished my sentence, I was interrupted by another person calling out to everyone in the classroom.
The person who spoke was a handsome young man who looked like an Honor student. I could easily imagine him to be popular in middle school.
"Starting today, we will be in the same class for the next three years. Therefore, it would be great if all of us could introduce ourselves and become friends. So what do you think?"
All of the sudden, he made an interesting proposal. This person sure is incredible, I can't even imagine myself saying something like that.
"Sound good to me!"
"Me too! After all, we don't know each other names, let alone anything about each other."
Voices of agreement can be heard throughout the classroom. I looked back towards my seatmate, who was sighing in irritation. Probably due to having our conversation interrupted.
"I'll go first. My name is Hirata Yousuke. In middle school, a lot of people called me Yousuke, so feel free to use my first name if you like. My hobby is playing sports, but my favorite sports is soccer. I'm also planning to join the soccer club. Nice to meet you, and I hope we'll get along!"
After finishing his introduction with a fresh smile, all of the girls that were near him started to have eyes in their eyes. With his handsome appearance and communication abilities, he'll probably end up being a central figure of the class.
All of my classmates then began to introduce themselves one by one, starting from the front row seats.
The first one to introduce herself was Inogarisha Kokoro. From how she was stuttering during her introduction, it was clear that she is timid and shy. She also does sewing as her hobby, and is good at knitting.
Most of the introduction after that were similar. None of them really stood out that much, except for Yamauchi Haruki, who only told a blatant lie about being an ace in his baseball team. He seems like the type of person to get carried away easily.
"Well then, I'm next, aren't I?"
The one who said that was a cheerful girl with short beige-colored hair. If I remember correctly, she was also in the same bus as me and Horikita.
"My name is Kushida Kikyou, and since none of my friends from middle school came to this school, I want to get to know everyone and become friends as soon as possible!"
Most students finished their greetings after a few words, but Kushida continued to talk.
"First of all, I want to become friends with everyone here. After all of you are done with your introductions, please exchange contact information with me!"
With her attractive appearance and approachable demeanor, she will probably be the most popular girl in the class, or maybe even in the whole year. I could tell that she will be popular with both guys and girls.
But for some reason, I could feel that there is something more to her than what it seems, but I don't know what it is.
"Then, during vacations or after school, I want to make memories with many people, so please invite me to many events. I've been talking for a while, so I'll end my self-introduction here."
I wonder what should I say during my introduction? Should I introduce myself normally? Or should I try to be a little more friendlier? I had already gathered quite the amount of attention from my classmates earlier, so it would be ideal if I do something that make me look like an ordinary student.
Although I wanted to make some friends, I didn't really want to stand out to much. The Ideal situation would be me blending in with other people so that I would look like an average student to my surroundings. In other words, I wanted to be a background character with no particular trait at all.
But since I had showed off my observational skill earlier, it would be hard to make everyone perceive me as an average student. As I was starting to think restlessly, the introduction continued.
The next one to introduce himself was Koenji, the boy who had argument earlier in the bus. While inspecting his bangs in a hand mirror, he combed his hair.
"Um, can you introduce yourself?" Hirata asked him.
"Hmm~. Fine"
He slightly shifted in his seat, and unexpectedly placed both of his legs on his desk, and introduced himself with a smirk similar to that of an aristocrat.
"My name is Koenji Rokusuke. As the sole male heir of the Koenji conglomerate group, I will soon be tasked with carrying the future of japan. Pleased to meet with you, Ladies."
It was an introduction aimed towards the opposite sex, rather than the whole class. After hearing about how rich he was, some of the girls started to looked at him with sparkling eyes, while other people were looking at him as if he was crazy.
Apparently, he is also the heir of the Koenji conglomerate group. This is surprising, I didn't expect a future president of wealthy company to act like this. Since, he is the heir of one of the 'white room' investors, I wouldn't be surprised if he knew of its existence.
He could be a potential threat to my peaceful life, but he could also be a potential 'ally' that can help me. For now though, I'll just leave him alone.
"Then, the next one is─"
As Hirata was looking at the next student encouragingly, the student only glared back at him. His hair was dyed in fiery red. He both looked and sounded like a delinquent.
"What are we? A bunch of kids or something? I don't need to introduce myself. People who want to do that can go ahead. Just leave me out of it." The red-haired student scowled at Hirata, He had quite an intimidating presence.
"I can't force you to introduce yourself. If you thought I made you uncomfortable, I apologize." Hirata said while bowing his head, some of the girls then glared at the red-haired guy. As I'd expected, Hirata has captured most of the girls hearts in a blink of an eye.
"I don't care, I didn't come here to make friends." The red-haired guy got up from his seat and left. At the same time, several other students left the room. They probably had no intention to get to know their classmates. Horikita also started to got up from her seat.
Horikita then briefly glanced my way, and in response to that, I─
Also got up from my seat.
When she noticed me leaving my seat, she started to walk out of the door. Soon after, I followed her. I noticed that Hirata was looking at me with a sad expression. He might thought that I would have stayed, but unfortunately that wasn't the case.
It's not like that I didn't want to get along my classmates or anything, it just that I had realized that the chance of me making friends if I stayed in the classroom are low. I doubt that anyone would be willing to approach me to become friends with them. Hirata and Kushida might approach me, but it will be probably out of pity or because they were worried about me.
I had heard that it is the quality of a friend that you have and not the quantity. With that, I thought that I might have a better chance to become friends with other loners who isn't good at socializing like myself, since it would be easier to build a good relationship with them.
And I also didn't want to embarrass myself in front of my classmates...
-‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒
AN: Hey Guys, its almost been a month since I had last released a new chapter. I'm sorry since I haven't update in a long time. I have been busy with school and dealing with a personal issue. I also have an important exam coming in a week from today. So I probably won't post the next chapter in 2 or 3 weeks.
To be honest, the last part was pretty rush, I was planning on having Kiyo meet with a student from another class, but I had to scrap that because I didn't really make sense. Also some of you might noticed, that they were some similarities to other Fanfic like Cote: Alter and Unconfined Genius, this is because I was kind of lost when I writing the Q&A between Chabs and Kiyo. So check two of those fanfic out, since they were the one who inspired me to make my one fanfic.
Anyway, Arigato, and Sampai Jumpa.