It had been three weeks since I arrived at Advance Naturing High School.
Nothing significant happened to me during this time. Just plain old school, traditional lessons, quizzes, and the occasional outing with friends. A truly, regular high school life.
But, that was about to change today. It was the 1st of May now. Today was the day the true nature of this school would be revealed to us all. And I don't know if my class will be prepared for that.
The class behavior over these past few weeks has been nothing but terrible.
The "idiot trio" has constantly been nodding off, talking, or going on their phones during lessons. Even at times, not bothering to show up at school.
The rest of the class wasn't much better than them, constantly talking, on their phones, or not paying attention to the lessons.
A few students, like Horikita, Hirata, Kushida, and even Ayanokouji, diligently took notes during the lessons. The students who actually did pay attention were far few, though.
Even during all the disrespectful behavior, Chabashira-sensei never once scolded the class. I didn't know whether she feigned indifference to us or if this was part of a larger plan?
Well, no matter what may happen today, I prepared for the worst in advance.
I had been extremely conservative with my points, only buying the essentials and my own groceries to not have to pay the high prices for meals at the cafeteria.
As of yesterday, I had 84, 187 Private Points in my student account. I finally left my bed, and after getting dressed and having breakfast, I checked my Private Point balance.
"Still the same, huh," I still had 84, 187 Private Points in my account. Considering there was no change after the new month, my class was destined to be in shambles over not getting their 100,000 points.
I know I did well and was part of the few who did participate in class. So why did I not gain any points?
Did the school really think someone like Yamauchi and I were of the same value?
That's absurd.
Well, I guess my theories about this school were somewhat correct. I believe they valued classes as a whole, not individually, and that was linked to Private Point influx. Still, I was curious as to how we were all judged to justify the Private Point income and the criteria we needed to meet to improve our point situation.
There had to be some point system that was forced upon the entire class. Like a "Class Point System", a system to judge the worth of the whole class, which affected Private Points. So it wouldn't matter at the end of the day how well one student did. If the entire class did not demonstrate the same behavior, they wouldn't receive Private Points.
Nevertheless, all these questions would probably be answered at school.
I quickly cleaned my dishes and left for class.
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I was right.
The class was in shambles.
Not everyone was outright panicking and going ballistic about the glaring news of no private points.
But, there was an intense feeling of worry, anxiety, and anger hanging over our class. A few though were frantically complaining and questioning not having any private points. As anyone would guess, those people were mainly Ike and Yamauchi.
I walked to the far back of the class to my seat. There were still a few minutes until class started, so I thought it would be best to be patient and wait for the news about the Private Point situation instead of worrying.
Even though the class was still in a panic about the Private Points, many of the girls had huddled around Karuizawa's desk.
I leaned slightly to my right to ask one of my desk mates about the commotion.
"Hey, Horikita, what's with all the girls at Karuizawa's desk?"
Horikita didn't turn away from the novel in her hands, "apparently, Karuizawa and Hirata have entered a relationship. So all the girls are asking her about it."
The first high school relationship of our class, huh. And it was Karuizawa and Hirata too. I knew something was going on between those two, just from the small get-together we had a while back. Karuizawa had clung onto Hirata pretty closely. So forming a relationship now wasn't totally unexpected.
"Ah... Why aren't you up there asking about it?"
"Contrary to your belief, I find trivial gossip and high school relationships below me. It's not worth my time."
"Yeah, I should've known that. You are the Ice queen for a reason."
"Tch," Horikita clicked her tongue. Obviously annoyed at the marvelous nickname I gave her.
When our quick conversation finished, Ayanokouji strode into the room and took his seat in front of me. There was still some time before class started so I needed to ask these two about the current situation at hand.
"Ayanokouji, Horikita."
"What now?"
"Hmmm?"
Both turned to look back at me as I called for their attention.
"Did you receive any Private Points this morin..."
Before I could finish my sentence, the bell rang for class to begin, and Chabashira-sensei strode to the front of the class to her podium.
"SAE-CHAN-SENSEI!!! I didn't get any points this morning. Is something wrong?" Ike bellowed out his discontent towards Chabashira-sensei about not receiving any Private Points.
"Ike, I explained this on the first day of school. All Private Points would be allotted to students on the first of every month. All the points were wired to accounts without any problem."
"But... I didn't get any points?"
The majority of the class started to get anxious now. They exchanged worried looks among their friends, concerned about the idea of not receiving any points.
"You're all fools."
Chabashira-sensei had grasped both sides of the podium and delivered a cold line to all the students. I couldn't tell if she was angry or delighted about the current situation.
"W-what do you mean?" Kushida was the first to speak at Chabashira-sensei's remark.
"Once again, all Private Points have been distributed. There is no mistake. No one was left behind. We would never forget to distribute points. That idea is irrational."
Everyone was shocked. They had finally been hit with the realization we wouldn't be getting points this month.
"Ha ha ha!" A booming laugh echoed throughout the room, "I see teacher. I have figured out your mystery," Kouenji swung his feet on top of his desk and confidently declared he figured out the reason for zero points.
"We are in Class D. So we didn't receive any points," Kouenji smugly declared to everyone.
Ike was the first to react to this bold statement, "what are you talking about? They said we'd get 100,000 points every month..."
"I don't remember hearing that," Kouenji turned his gaze toward sensei to get her response.
"Yes. Kouenji is right, even with his pompous attitude. For crying out loud. I gave you a hint on the first day, but it seems you were all too stupid to see it."
The class exploded into an uproar about the situation.
"She's right," I spoke up to the entire class. "Even though I wasn't here for Chabashira-sensei's explanation of the Private Point system, the sensei who told me about the system clearly emphasized in his explanation that this month, meaning April, we would receive 100,000 points. He never said anything about the next month's points."
Chabashira-sensei had a slight grin on her face at my explanation. Everyone was still in a state of shock at the revelation. It was clear now, the school never promised to give us 100,000 points every month. And the students were now realizing how blinded they were about their excitement for 100,000 points that they missed this crucial detail.
"I'm sorry sensei. I'm afraid I still don't understand," Hirata had raised his hand, obviously wanting to address the lingering confusion within our class, "could you tell us why we didn't receive any Private Points. Without that explanation, we'll still be left in the dark."
A good question.
"A total of 92 absences and late arrivals. 367 instances of talking or using a mobile device during class. That is quite the number of infractions your class accumulated. In this school, the class results have a direct influence on the number of Private Points you receive. As a result, you all wasted your 100,000 points." Chabashira-sensei continued with her explanation. "This school is a meritocracy judging its student's true abilities and rewarding them for it. You were all evaluated as being worth nothing."
Chabashira-sensei spoke with no emotion, a robotic tone to address the crisis within the class. All my doubts about this school and its system had been confirmed. It was a harsh reality we all needed to face now.
I glanced around the classroom to gauge the overall emotion of everyone. Most were in shock and angered about this news. But, as my eyes landed on the person in front of me, the feeling was different. I may not have been able to see his face, but Ayanokouji's body language was completely calm, not even affected by this news. Did he figure out the school's system like Kouenji and me? Or was he able to control his emotions in any situation?
I looked to my right and noticed Horikita furiously taking down notes. Probably tallying all the infractions together in hopes of making sense of the situation.
"Sensei? I don't remember ever being told about point reduction."
"Are you serious Hirata? It is certainly true I did not explain all the rules to you. However, in your 9 years of education, where you never taught to not be late or talk during class?"
"W-well no..."
"Exactly. This comes down to your personal responsibility. Up until now, you were all coddled and hidden from the real world. This school prepares its students for the real world. The real world is not always fair, and you need to do some of your own thinking to uncover its secrets."
A fair argument. We can't be expected to always be told everything as we grow older and enter the real world. Nothing comes easy in this life, you need to work for it to achieve your desired results.
"Did you really believe this school could give 100,000 points every month to its students? We can't, so we use a system to evaluate you all and award you the deserved amount of points."
Hirata was obviously frustrated by this explanation but continued on for the sake of the class, "well, could you at least tell us exactly how points are added or deducted?"
"I cannot disclose that information," Chabashira-sensei then grabbed a poster she had carried into class with her, and hung it on the board.
On the left side, it seemed to show the scores of everyone's quizzes we took three weeks ago. And on the right side, under a heading titled "Class Points", were all the classes A-D of this year. With a number beside them.
"As you can see on the right side of the poster, this is all the first years Class Points. 1 Class Point is equal to 100 Private Points."
"So, are those the Class rankings?" Horikita murmured to herself, but it seemed Chabashira-sensei heard her.
I took a better look at the Class Points to see how well the other classes did.
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Class A: 952
Class B: 694
Class C: 473
Class D: 0
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"Yes. These are the class rankings. In this school, those who graduate from Class A receive their choice of any job or school. All those below them receive nothing. But, of all the classes, Class D is considered the defectives. The worst of the worst."
"WHAT!"
The class exploded once again at this new information.
"What do you mean, only Class A gets this school's benefits?!"
It was probably a major blow to the class morale, knowing now that the reason why they had enrolled here was taken from them.
"Only those in Class A are deemed worthy of that benefit. That is all." Chabashira-sensei answered back coldly. "They are of higher excellence than you in Class D, hence, the superior students did not lose as many points from bad behavior. You are all defective."
"Tch," Horikita's expression darkened. As someone who probably deemed themself worthy of Class A. The revelation of being called defective was a hard pill to swallow.
I turned my vision to the other side of the poster, which showed our quiz scores. It seemed that Kouenji had scored a 95, which was impressive, Hirata and Kushida both got an 80, I had scored an 83, which wasn't too bad, and Horikita scored an 89...
"Haha," I turned to face Horikita, "look who said they'd easily get a 95 or higher. Seems you overestimated your skills Horikita. Maybe that's why you're in Class D..."
Horikita turned to me with a sharp gaze, her eyes screaming with the intent to kill, "your lucky, it seems I misplaced my compass."
Phew. Seemed like I was a little lucky today.
Still, I watched Horikita closely. Her face was stiff from this news and coupled with the discourse with her brother, she probably was struggling the most internally from the news being labeled as defective.
I continued to look at the scores on the board. Mei-Yu Wang: 88, Yukimura: 91, and finally, I had seen the most interesting score. Ayanokouji: 65. The exact score he mentioned to me when we took this quiz. Whether that was a crazy coincidence or planned, it was something worth remembering.
With that, Chabashira-sensei picked up a red marker and drew a line above 8 names on the quiz list. Of those names included the "three idiots", "the passing grade for this test was a 32%," Chabashira stated. "As you can see, these 8 people scored below that mark. If this had been a real test, those 8 people would've been expelled."
The class went silent. The threat of expulsion immediately hushed our chaotic class.
Ike was the first to speak up, "what do you mean by expelled sensei?"
"It's exactly as it sounds. If you fail a test, your expelled from this school."
Ike didn't respond back, probably digesting the fact that if this quiz was real he would've been expelled from this school.
"Sensei?" I looked towards the front of the classroom, and it seemed Hirata had taken the leading role of our class again, "when is the next opportunity to gain Class Points?"
Another great question from Hirata. One I wanted to know myself too.
"The next time you have a chance to gain Class Points will be on your upcoming midterms. If you do well then, there might be a change in your Class Points."
Even if we had a chance to gain Class Points, that didn't mean we would get them. Was there a certain score everyone needed to get points? There were still many questions floating around about how this system worked.
"Also, say, by the end of the month, you somehow manage to gain 474 class points. Your Class D would then rise and overtake Class C. Hence, making your class the new Class C. So there is still the chance for this class to receive the benefits of this school by graduation."
With this information, everything started to come together. If we gained more Class Points than the other classes; we would effectively change our class status. Which still gave us a chance to overcome Class A, even though the margin was almost 1000 points, we had three years to try and surpass them. It was an all-out battle then between the classes, one that would go on until the day of graduation.
With that, Chabashira-sensei left the class in silence as the class had finished now. The students threatened with expulsion were left dejected, and the rest of the class was all shocked about how cruel this school could be.
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"Hey, Fukumoto-kun, you got lots of points right? Wanna buy my gaming system?"
Yamauchi had approached me at the end of the day in hopes of trying to boost his point situation.
"Sure, how much?"
"30,000 points."
"How about 2,000?"
"What! No way this thing is worth 35,000 points! I'm giving you a deal here."
The gaming system was in fact, 20,000 points. I had checked it out at an electronics store when I first came to this school.
"Hmmm, 1,000 points. That's the most I can do."
"You just lowered your offer. You know what, I'll ask someone else."
Yamauchi turned away from me to try and convince his friends to buy his gaming system.
Honestly, though, who would touch anything that Yamauchi has touched? I don't know where those hands have been.
"Everyone, I'd like to have a word with you all before you leave."
Hirata had taken center stage at the teacher's podium, no doubt wanting to discuss ways to improve our current zero-class point situation.
"I was hoping to discuss with you all about our upcoming midterms."
Even though Hirata had gained the attention of the majority of the class, one individual got up and left.
"Kouenji, would you mind staying for this?" Hirata asked politely.
"Fufufu, Hirata-boy, I do not need to stay for this. For one, I did extremely well on the quiz and have nothing to worry about when it comes to my superior skill. Second, you should never keep an upperclassman waiting."
And with that, Kouenji up and disappeared from the class. He definitely was an enigma. He never seemed to take the class seriously but had fantastic results. It was astonishing.
"Well, I guess I can't force you all to stay. But, I do believe this conversation will be beneficial for everyone."
Several classmates, including Ike, and Sudo, up and left too. Obviously, not wanting to participate in a boring after-school discussion.
"As I was saying, I believe since these midterms are the next opportunity to gain Class Points, we should form study groups. It helps the academically weak students to be saved from expulsion while giving us the best chance of increasing Class Points." Hirata presented a phenomenal idea to the class. Unfortunately, the students who needed the most help had just left. "Also, making sure to keep up good behavior in class would most definitely help at not reducing our Class Points."
"That's a great idea!" Exclaimed Karuizawa.
What a supportive girlfriend.
More of the class followed her lead and praised Hirata for his initiative.
"With that settled then, I was thinking, we could host study groups after school and after club activities. That way, anyone who needs the help, has the opportunity to get help."
Another great idea by the leader Hirata.
Honestly, how had this man been placed in Class D. He obviously was intelligent, confident in his speech, athletic, and a great communicator.
"So, I was wondering, if anyone here would be willing to lead a study group?"
Almost instantly, a hand near the front shot up, "I'd be willing to help."
Kushida, without a second thought, grasped at the opportunity to lead a study group. The people around her looked at her with faces of high praise, like they were staring at an angel.
"Thank you, Kushida. Horikita? Could you help out?"
Hirata had now motioned to get one of the higher-scoring students to lead a group. Unfortunately, he chose the least accommodating person here.
"No. I have my own studies to do. I can't waste my time helping out fools."
Horikita grabbed her bag and left the class. Unfazed by the deadly stares from our fellow classmates.
"Mii-Chan, and Yukimura, would you be willing to help?"
Both of them nodded their heads in cooperation.
"Great!" Hirata continued, "that makes me, Kushida, Mii-chan, and Yukimura study group leaders. Anyone else willing to participate?"
They probably needed all the help they could get. So slowly, I raised my hand to offer my help as a group leader. I had scored decently high on the quiz, so my not helping would seem like I didn't care about anyone like Horikita.
"Thank you, Fukumoto-kun! It helps a lot!"
Everyone turned to the back to face me; they all clapped and smiled at me to thank me for my efforts to help everyone out. No doubt, my ranking within the class had shot up now.
"Now that we have all the study group leaders. I'll form the members and times of each group so we can start tomorrow after school."
But, I didn't do this out of compassion.
I truly didn't want to tutor a study group of people I barely knew. I thought it was too troublesome.
But, I did it out of a selfish desire.
Some of the people here could be necessary for this Class to rise up to Class A. Losing them at this early stage could be catastrophic for the success of our class.
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AN's:
1000 READS!!!!
LETSSS GOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Thank you all for the support means a lot to me :)
I'm planning to write out a few chapters in advance since I have the time.
See you all later!