Part 1
After school, Hirata issued a discussion round to plan how we should proceed next.
Utilizing his charisma, almost everyone showed up, even Horikita. Though Sudou refrained from coming, everyone else in our class is present.
Sitting on my seat, I rewatched the video I bought during break and tried to ignore the sound of Yamauchi harassing Ayanokoji in the background.
Usually, I would've intervened but I was on a time limit and wanted to finish this before the discussion began.
"What are you doing, Sia?"
Sakura approached me from the side and looked over my shoulder. I could see her curious eyes reflected on my phone screen.
"Nothing, really."
I turned off my phone when I finished watching the last few seconds of the video. Putting it away, I turned my head to Sakura, facing her with a weak smile.
"Just some research."
"Really? What have you been researching about?"
"Well, it would be best if you just waited. I'll tell you soon enough."
"Alright..."
Sakura looked a little disappointed, but she quickly recovered, clasping her hands together as if she suddenly remembered something important.
"Right! I almost forgot what day it was!"
"The first of May?"
"No, something else. Do you still remember what you promised me?"
"What I promised you..?"
Repeating the words, I tilted my head to the side, trying to remember what she was talking about. However, nothing came to my mind. Was it something important for me to forget it like that?
"Really..."
She sighed with a look that said 'what am I going to do with you?'.
"Sometimes you can remember everything at a single glance and other times you forget what you are doing at the moment. I don't get how your brain works."
"Meh." I clicked my tongue, before chuckling lightly. "Me neither. Though looking at your excitement now, I'm guessing that it has something to do with your hobby's...you wanted to take some photos with me, no?"
"Right!" Sakura seemed so excited that she completely forgot about the fact that we were in the classroom and not my room, thus talking louder than she would normally. "You promised me we'll take some together after we received our points.
"I did." I couldn't help but form a smile at the sight of seeing the usually timid Sakura be so open with me. Although that hasn't translated to other social situations yet, it was still an improvement nonetheless. "Let's do it later, alright?"
"Yes!"
At the first day of my school life, I hadn't expected it to turn out like this. I expected to spend the rest of my school life without friends, as a cynical loner. However, looking back at it now, I can honestly say that I don't regret it. In fact, I'm thankful to my aunt for dragging me to this school.
Sadly, I couldn't enjoy the memories for much longer, as a jingle interrupted my train of thought.
After a jingle, a voice came over the loudspeaker.
"Ayanokoji and Hirano from class D. Chiyabashira-sensei is calling for you. Please come to the staff room."
I and Ayanokoji locked eyes for a split moment, sharing a surprised expression. At least I thought he was surprised. His face didn't change all too much.
Why would she call for both of us anyway? Are we in trouble? Is it because of him coming over to my room? That's allowed, isn't it?
Shaking those thoughts off my head, I pushed my chair away, standing up.
"I gotta go, Sakura."
Part 2
"Do you think we are in trouble?" I asked as we walked to the staff room together. The hallway is surprisingly quiet. In fact, so quiet that our footsteps echoed throughout the hallway.
"Maybe. But I don't think so. We haven't done anything wrong."
"You sound so sure. Have you perhaps memorized all the school rules?"
"I didn't. I saw you reading through all the school rules last time we ate together though, so I'm surprised you're so worried."
"What if I forgot something though?"
"You don't forget things you've read."
"What if-"
"No."
Ayanokoji shut me down with a single word and I laughed at his bluntness, finding the combination of his emotionless voice and unexpressive face to be amusing.
We soon reached the staff room and I quietly opened the door. There might have been some other teachers inside and I didn't want to interrupt their peace. Who knows? We might lose our last class points and even maybe even more due to that. Though I didn't see Chiyabashira-sensei, we immediately spotted a teacher who was checking out herself in the mirror.
"Um, is Chiyabashira-sensei here?"
Ayanokoji asked after realizing that the teacher didn't notice our presence.
"What? Sae-chan? She was here until a few moments ago..."
The teacher turned around, revealing her beautiful face, complimented by her wavy, shoulder-length hair. Just from the looks, she reminded me of an adult version of 'Honami Ichinose'.
Though I've only seen some pictures and videos of her, so I don't know how accurate my evaluation is.
"Looks like she had something to do. Do you two want to wait inside."
"No, waiting in the hallway is fine."
Before Ayanokoji could say anything, I cut him off. I didn't want to wait in the lion's den. While I was fine with students, I absolutely couldn't stand the presence of a majority of adults. For some reason, they were just scary to me.
"I'm Hoshinomiya Chie, responsible for class B. I've been best friends with Sae since high school. We're close enough to call each other Sae-chan and Chie-chan~."
Hearing her introduction, I took it as a clue for us to introduce ourselves.
"I'm Hirano Sia and this is Ayanokoji."
"Hirano and Ayanokoji? What cool names~. You guys must be very popular right?~"
"Not in particular." Ayanokoji said while gesturing to himself. "However, she is quite popular."
"I am?"
"Very."
Ayanokoji gave me a piece of information I hadn't known before. I had already realized that I gathered some attention, but I wouldn't have thought that it went as far as one considering me to be popular.
Quite weird considering the fact that I barely talk to anyone.
"Hmmm, your chemistry is quite good~. Are you guys perhaps a couple?"
"Me and Ayanokoji? Why does everybody think we are? For your information, we are just friends."
"Just friends you say?~" Hoshinomiya-sensei leaned forward, approaching Ayanokoji before she poked his cheek lightly. "Then you wouldn't mind if I take him?~"
What the hell is with this teacher? She is closer to a student than any teacher normally should be.
"I don't mind you going for him if that's what you're asking. However, it would be quite bad from a societal standpoint for a teacher to go for a student, no? In any case, shouldn't you ask for Ayanokoji's opinion first?"
"Do I? Who would ever refuse any confession of m-"
With every word, she seductively came closer to Ayanokoji, her breath almost visibly tickling his neck. However, before she could finish her sentence, she was interrupted.
"What are you doing, Hoshinomiya?"
With a smack to her head by using a clipboard, Chibayashira-sensei made her entrance. Hoshinomiya-sensei squatted down, holding her head in pain.
She calls you 'Chie-chan', huh? That sounds like some heavy delusion right there. In the first place, I hadn't expected Chiyabashira-sensei to act like that toward anyone anyway.
"Oww. What'd you do that for!"
"That's because you were doing weird things with my students in here."
"I was only talking to them while he was waiting for you to come back!"
"Just leave it at that. Sorry for making you wait, Ayanokouji and Hirano. Well then, let's move to the guidance room."
"No, we didn't wait for long. Also, the guidance room...have we done something? I thought I was living a non-conspicuous school life."
Appeasing to Chibayashira-sensei, Ayanokoji basically told her that it was alright for her to come late. However, if the roles were reversed, we would've lost some class points by now.
"-10 teacher points for coming late. Your salary will now be reduced." I whispered, making sure that she wouldn't be able to hear my comment. It was a joke that I made completely on impulse, so I hoped that she didn't notice it.
However, it seemed like I underestimated Chiyabashira-sensei's hearing capabilities.
"What was that, Hirano?"
"HAHAHAHA! I like her, Sae-chan!"
"Whatever, Hoshinomiya. Scram for now."
While Hoshinomiya-sensei found my comment funny, it only ticked Chiyabashira-sensei off. Whatever was going to happen next, it was a bad move to irritate her before that.
"Don't say it so coldly~. It's no big deal if I listen too, right? Besides, Sae-chan isn't the type to give preferential treatment, right?"
Replying to Chiyabashira-sensei's order to leave, Hoshinomiya-sensei hid behind me, causing her sharp glare to turn to my direction. I immediately averted my eyes, not being able to withstand such a glare.
The atmosphere was tense. Electrifying almost.
"By any chance are you trying to play matchmaker? How kind of you, Sae-chan!"
Again, why is everyone so obsessed with the idea of us being a couple? Though I had to admit that Ayanokoji was quite handsome, I never considered him as a potential romantic partner before.
"Don't say stupid things. That's impossible."
"Fufu, certainly. It's impossible for Sae-chan~"
Ignoring Chiyabashira-sensei's orders, Hoshinomiya-sensei stuck to us like glue, refusing to let us go-
"How long are you going to follow us? This is a problem concerning class D."
"Eh? Can't I go with you? Is that no good? Look, I can give advice too~. I'm also a homeroom teacher after all~."
What an extraordinary woman. Although I had already expected her personality to be like this, it was still way too much.
"Besides...I am quite curious...are they the reason why you requested the video recordings?"
"It's nothing that concerns you."
Hoshinomiya-sensei's voice suddenly grew sharp and again, the pressuring atmosphere appeared. Feeling uncomfortable, I tensed up, my eyes randomly wandering through the room as the sudden feeling of danger spread throughout my body.
"It's okay. I'm here."
Ayanokoji touched my shoulder while whispering into my ear in a calm voice. Although it wasn't much, it helped me calm down.
"Thanks."
The tense atmosphere was then suddenly interrupted by a student entering the scene, blocking Hoshinomiya-sensei's way.
"Hoshinomiya-sensei. Do you have time right now? The student council has matters to discuss."
A now familiar voice spoke to her. The voice belonged to none other than the beautiful strawberry-haired girl, Ichinose Hoshinomiya. By her entrance alone, she defused the situation and replaced the atmosphere with comforting energy.
I'd heard that she was fairly popular and I could immediately guess why she was.
"Look, she's looking for you. Hurry up and go."
Chiyabashira-sensei hit Hoshinomiya-sensei's butt with her clipboard.
"Mou~. I think she'll get mad if I stay any longer, so see you later, Ayanokouji and Hirano~. Well, let's go to the staff room, Ichinose."
Only after she fully disappeared, I dared to fully raise my head again.
After seeing off Hoshinomiya-sensei, Chiyabashira-sensei lightly scratched her head and continued walking towards the guidance room. Soon after, we arrived at the guidance room.
"Then... what was the reason you called us?"
Ayanokoji was the first one to break the silence.
"Umu, about that... before I talk about that, come over here."
She stepped to the side, opened a small door, and put a kettle on top of the stove in the office kitchen.
"Wait here for a while and be quiet while I'll be making some green tea for us. Until I say it's ok to come back out, stand here quietly. If any of you don't, I'll expel both of you."
"Huh? Why?"
I unintentionally let out a sound of surprise, but Chiyabashira-sensei was already gone, leaving the room without answering me. Seriously, what kind of teacher just calls their students over just to leave the room right after?
Not making any sound, I decided to pull out my phone again and rewatch the videos- Of course, I turned the sound off so as to not get expelled.
From the side of my view, I could see how Ayanokoji was looking over my shoulder, trying to see what I was watching. He couldn't ask, as we had to be quiet, so we just stood there in silence, watching the same video.
Soon, I heard the sound of the guidance room door opening. Someone seems to have entered.
"Here, come in. Well then, what do you have to say to me? Horikita."
It seems like Horikita entered the room, but I didn't care about that all that much. My main objective right now was to gather information.
A violent dictator, a good-natured fool, and a conflict between leaders, huh? It seems like the remaining years of my school life could turn out to be quite exhausting...
I don't know how much time had passed, but it seems like I lost track of time, as Ayanokoji suddenly pulled on my clothes.
"We were called."
"Oh, really?"
I didn't notice as I was too lost in my thoughts. Fortunately, Ayanokoji was here to notify me otherwise I might have been expelled.
"Were you... listening to us?"
Horikita asked. It seemed like she wasn't aware that we were eavesdropping on her conversation. And with 'we' I actually meant Ayanokoji as I wasn't paying any attention to what they were saying.
"Listening? I know you guys were talking about something, but I didn't hear anything. The walls are pretty thick."
"Really? I think we could hear them pretty we—Oh."
I hadn't realized that Ayanokoji was lying, thus accidentally revealing the truth. If I don't specifically pay attention, I'm pretty bad at noticing the intentions of people, which led me to make some stupid mistakes sometimes.
Chibayashira- sensei smiled.
"That's right. You can hear everything clearly from that kitchen."
"... Sensei, why would you do that?"
"Because I decided it was necessary. Well then you both, I'll tell you the reason I called you."
Chiyabashira-sensei shot down Horikita's question with a single sentence before turning her attention to us.
"Excuse me then..."
"Wait Horikita. It is better for you to listen to the end. This'll be a hint for how you can get up to class A."
Reluctantly, Horikita stopped and sat down on the chair again.
"Please keep it short."
Looking down at her clipboard, Chiyabashira-sensei released a short laugh.
"Both of you are interesting students."
"If we're talking about interesting, then I would suggest you to focus your attention on the autistic girl next to me."
"I am not autistic. I have ADHD."
"Close enough."
Ignoring our little exchange of words, Chiyabashira-sensei proceeded with her explanation.
"No, I'm talking about both of you. Both of your results until now are far too unordinary to ignore. Ayanokoji, while all your scores seem to be suspiciously consistent, Hirano's scores fluctuate heavily."
She took out two familiar pieces of paper. It was the entrance exam. One of them was mine and the other was Ayanokoji's.
"Regarding Ayanokoiji...50 points in Japanese, 50 points in math, 50 points in english, 50 points in history, 50 points in science, and 50 points in geography and politics... and the result of the most recent test was also 50 points. A consistent 50 points.
If we compare that to Hirano's results, however, it is quite interesting. 100 points in Japanese, 100 points in maths, 100 points in english, 0 points in history, 100 points in science, and 0 points in geography and politics. Her interview was also very bad, notably due to an obvious lack of motivation and interest, so she also got 0 points in that."
In surprise, Horikita looked over my test form then to Ayanokoji's, and then shifted her gaze to us.
Even I was surprised. Not because of my own results, but because of Ayanokoji's. I knew that he was hiding something and I even considered the possibility of it being something like this, but seeing it with my own eyes was something else, entirely.
Getting 50 points in every score means that he manipulated the results of every subject perfectly. This would also mean that he could have scored 100 points in every subject.
"What a frightening coincidence."
Ayanokoji seemed unfazed by the revelation of that information, acting as if it was a mere coincidence.
"Honestly, you're a really weird student. Are you sure? Math problem #5 was only solved by 3% of all students this year. Additionally, you included a complex formula and used it flawlessly. On the other hand, the correct answer rate of #10 was 76%. Did you make a mistake? Or is that 'normal'?"
"I don't know what's normal in this world. It's a coincidence, a coincidence."
I could only stare as the conversation between those two unfolded, From what I've gathered, his mistake was one out of a 'lack of common sense'. He said he 'doesn't know what's normal in this world', which made me question what kind of environment he grew up.
Judging by his words, it was an environment where he had either no one to compare himself to or only extraordinary people to compare himself to. Either way, even I know that it wasn't normal.
"Good grief. I admire your attitude, but it'll cause problems for you in the future."
"I'll think about that when I have to."
Chiyabashira-sensei sent Horikita a look that said, 'How was that?'
"Who are you guys...? And why do you pretend to not understand, Ayanokoji?"
"It's not like I'm hiding I'm a genius or something."
Bullshit. There was no other way to explain it. The chances of all this being a coincidence were so ridiculously low that even the chances of me losing to anyone in chess would be higher.
What do you think? He might be more intelligent than you are, Horikita."
Horikita visibly flinched at the mention of someone being more intelligent than her. It seems like it hurt her ego.
"I don't think that's the cas-"
"Why do you think that? Hirano is already evidently more intelligent than you, so why wouldn't Ayanokoji be?"
"..."
Not only the students at this school were extraordinary, but the teachers were also. The whole conversation just now seemed like Chiyabashira-sensei was trying to showcase her power, by revealing that she held every little secret of ours in her hands,
"Do you want to hear more?"
Glancing at Ayanokoji, I could more or less recognize that he didn't like the current situation, thus deciding that I should step in for him.
"I think that this is enough, Chiyabashira-sensei."
"If you say so."
She then turned to Horikita, speaking in a calculating tone.
"If you really want to reach class A you'll have to use the opportunity I gave you."
"..."
"I will also leave. It's time for the staff meeting to start. I'm going to close this room, so let's leave the room."
She pushed us all out of the room, leaving us right in front of it, standing there in awkwardness.
"Shall we go then?"
Ayanokoji said while looking at me. He didn't even glance at Horikita when he started walking.
I couldn't care less about her, so I started following Ayanokoji.
"Wait."
Horikita called out to us, but none of us made an effort to stop. I think we both know what is going to happen next and while Ayanokoji seemed to want to avoid that, I just waited for the right opportunity.
"Your scores...no, more importantly..."
Horikita sped up, trying to catch up to us.
"I'll fix this class and aim for class A."
Realizing that escaping was useless, Ayanokoji slowed down a bit.
"Really? How are you going to do that? It's not a problem you can solve on your own. I'm talking about Sudou. Even if you improve yourself, there's nothing you can do if the rest of a class is a minus."
"There are 3 key points we need to fix in order to improve. Tardies and talking during class. And then making sure that everyone passes the midterm."
"You say it like it's easy." I also slowed down, facing her with a serious expression. "However, while the first two points can be solved, the last point requires cooperation. Judging by the way you refused Hirata this morning, wouldn't something like this be difficult for you?
"...That's why..."
Gulp.
Horikita swallowed. While this was only a small gesture, I knew that the meaning behind that was more than only that. It was like she was swallowing her own pride.
After that talk with Chiyabashira-sensei, it seemed like she was hit with the reality of the situation. She realized that she in fact, wasn't the most competent in the class, thus having to accept the fact that she should try to get help. If it was only Ayanokoji, she could've probably ignored it by deluding herself and trusting his words.
However, I didn't deny my test scores. She couldn't just ignore that, thus being forced into a situation where she could either try to make some important connections or let that chance slip by.
"...that's why I'm asking for the cooperation of you both."
Embarrassed about the sentence she had just uttered, she averted her gaze.
"I refuse."
An answer, which every single one of us had expected from Ayanokoji. He doesn't seem to care about reaching class A. Though, it still seemed to impact Horikita negatively to hear those words.
A suspicion and hearing it turn into reality is something entirely different, after all.
After hearing how Ayanokoji, whom she was closer to than me, refused her offer, the chances of me accepting were even slimmer.
However, I'm not sorry to disappoint her expectations. This is the moment I've been waiting for.
"Hey, Horikita...say, how many points do you have?"