The next day Kazami came to school with his face covered in band-aids. It shocked the whole class. Even Shionome-sensei also asked what happened to him and Kazami lied that he fell down the stairs. Even though he didn't seem to believe that excuse, Shionome sensei didn't say anything. Me and Shinji pretended to be stupid and acted like innocent cute boys. Satonaka also acted like she didn't know anything but there were some people who suspected us. For example Tsukimi who had already seen us go to the roof or Sawatari who was currently glancing at us with suspicious eyes. Shinji and I tried our best to ignore it. At last we have completed our task.
Kazami had promised to come to the study session this afternoon, now it was just Nanahara. That morning I couldn't concentrate on my studies because I kept thinking about how to persuade Nanahara. This time I couldn't use violence like Shinji did to Kazami. Nanahara may be a fighter and probably have some endurance, but that's not the point. If I dared to throw my hands at a girl—regardless of how strong the girl is—then my school life here would definitely end.
Verbally persuading her will also be difficult. The current Nanahara doesn't believe me. She didn't even return my greeting at the morning. I've given my word to Sawatari that I will take the two delinquents with me this afternoon, but right now I'm almost at my wit's end. Should I challenge her to a game? No, I'm sure she'll just ignore me. The same method will not work twice.
If I wanted to get her attention, I might need some help. Nanahara doesn't trust other people, and considering what she's been through I don't blame her. Maybe she'd open up more if I asked another girl for help, but who? Satonaka was busy teaching other students, Miwa also had to study, and so did Nee-chan. The only one I could possibly ask for help is Kasai, but why would she help me. Me and Kasai are having a bet. If any students were expelled then she would win, so she had no reason to help me. Maybe I should just try my luck for now. If it fails then I ask for help.
At lunchtime, some of us would go to the cafeteria, some would eat bento in class either with friends or alone. Nanahara is often seen carrying lunch, but she never eats in class. She's also rarely seen in the cafeteria so maybe she has her own lunch spot. That's why when lunch time came I...decided to follow her.
I walked and following Nanahara from afar. We're currently still inside the school where a lot of students are still hanging around, so it shouldn't be strange if Nanahara saw me in the crowd when she turned around. The problem is when she was already outside the building.
Nanahara took the path past the garden and gymnase. There is a small park which is not very popular because it is a bit far from the park in front of the school. It was there that Nanahara decided to spend her lunch time. She took his place on a bench near a tree behind the gymnase building and started to open his lunch box, I saw that the box contained three rather thick sandwiches. She also brought a box of chocolate milk.
It felt a bit uneasy when I had to interrupt her lunch time. Unfortunately I don't have much of a choice either. Time is running out and if possible I want her to attend the study group this afternoon.
I decided to approach her. I hope she doesn't run away when she sees me. Today is still spring but for some reason the temperature has started to rise. If Nanahara doesn't mind, maybe I can sit together on that cool-looking park bench.
"Hey, Nanahara..." I called her. The girl turned towards me and instantly her face became sour. She quickly packed up her unfinished lunch. I hastily stopped her before she could stand up. "No, no, don't go. Just carry on eating. God, you're being so rude. What did I do wrong for you to treat me like this?"
"What do you want?" Nanahara asked warily.
"I just want to talk."
"I don't want to talk to you."
"Okay then I'll get straight to the point. May I sit here?"
"No."
"...Come on, it's tiring talking while standing all the time. After all, the benches in the park are public property."
"I sat here first. If you don't like it, just leave."
Oh, God. Nanahara...are you really going to die if you treat me nicely for just a minute? As much as possible I hold back my frustration. Right now being patient is the best.
"Okay, then I won't beat around the bush anymore," I said. "You must know why I'm here, right?"
Nanahara looked at me coldly. "You are so stubborn."
"Since things are like this, I have no choice but to be stubborn. Everyone wants to be class A after all."
Nanahara sighed. "That's your problem. I don't really care about this stupid competition."
"Maybe, but at least you want to stay in school, right?"
Nanahara didn't answer but she lowered her head for a moment with a sullen face. I could tell there was a sense of doubt in her eyes. There is something that keeps her from leaving this school.
"Then come to the study session. We can help you."
"I told you, I can study by myself." Nanahara said with a rather harsh tone.
"Then prove it. Come to the library and let us test you. If you can really raise your score without our help, then I won't bother you anymore. But if you don't show up, then I won't give up on persuading you until the midterms and you definitely don't want that, do you?"
Nanahara glared at me. "If you do that then I will beat you up."
"Then come, the only thing you need to do is a small test from us then everyone will be happy."
Nanahara didn't answer right away and instead looked into my eyes. We both stared at each other for a while while Nanahara considered my offer. In the end she gave up.
"Okay..." she sighed. "I will come, but you have to keep your promise."
"Of course," I smiled contentedly, this was easier than I thought. "Come to the library this afternoon. Do not be late. The sooner you come, the sooner it will end."
"Yes...yes, just go away."
"Okay, see you this afternoon." I left Nanahara. It seems that today she is not as aggressive as usual. I don't know why either but maybe she's just in a good mood, or maybe she agreed just to make me leave. Whatever the reason, I'm grateful that she will be available in the afternoon. Now all I have to do is give Sawatari the news.
***
"Why did you make such a deal with her?" the voice from the phone called out to me.
Currently Shinji and I are having lunch together in the park. We ate while sitting on the grass, in the shade of a shady tree. I also decided to report to Sawatari, but instead of being happy she nagged me.
"What else can I do to persuade her?" I'm trying to defend myself. "At least she's willing to show up."
"But you also gave her a way to not show up for the next session and so on."
"Only if she can get higher scores on the short test you gave her. Come on, her score was only around 30 in yesterday's mock test. There's no way she could increase her grades in just three days."
"Yes, but don't forget. At that time sensei said that the results of the mock test would not affect our report cards. Some of the students might not take the test seriously."
Well, she has a point. I myself was not that serious when doing the test. Even if I were serious my grades probably wouldn't be much different. Even so, it is not impossible that there are some students who can get higher scores than the results they got during the mock test. But we shouldn't worry too much about that.
"That's good, right? If she is indeed able to achieve a higher score than during the mock test, then we don't even need to bother with her anymore."
"Yes, but who can guarantee that they will actually study by themselves?" That's also true. But speaking of Nanahara...probably not a problem.
"You probably don't need to worry about that...because Nanahara seems to have a reason to stay at this school."
"What reason?"
"I don't know...but that's the impression I get from her."
"...That...isn't very convincing."
I know. But I don't know a better way to explain it. "Basically, don't worry too much. Everything will be fine in the end. You just focus on Kazami and Togashi. Those two people definitely won't be able to study alone."
"...Well, I hope you're right."
Sawatari ended the call and I continued eating. Shinij next to me is finishing his food with a somber face. He's probably still upset about having to pay for my lunch as well. To be honest, I myself am still a little surprised because he is still willing to eat with me.
"Are you sure about what you said?" asked Shinji.
"Yeah, if Nanahara fails the test then she has to study with us, if she succeeds then that means she can study alone and Sawatari has one less student to worry about. It's a win-win situation." I explained it to Shinji but he still didn't look convinced. In the end we could only wait until it was time to go to the library.
***
After school we all went to the library as usual. We gathered at the long table we usually use. Here and there you can see dozens of students studying together. Everyone was present except for Arai who couldn't attend because he had a cold.
In the afternoon Kazami and Nanahara kept their promise. The two of them both came to the study session at the library, even though Nanahara was a bit late. Miwa looked slightly impressed as she watched the two of them come to our table.
"Oh, you really make them come, good job Kuro-chan."
Again he called me Kuro-chan. But right now I'm not in the mood to bother with it. The more important thing right now were Nanahara and Kazami. Sawatari has now distributed short test sheets to Nanahara and Kazami. The problem is different from what we did yesterday but the level of difficulty is more or less the same. Kazami looked very worried when he saw the questions. While they were working on a short test, the other students were studying as usual.
"I just want to make sure," Nanahara said. "This messy hair guy said that I don't need to take part in the study session if I can get a higher score than mine on the mock test?"
Does my hair really that messy? I don't think so. I often comb it every morning. Well, whatever, she can call me anything she want.
"Huh, seriously?" Togashi exclaimed. Miwa also seemed surprised.
"Yes, if you can answer half of it correctly," Sawatari confirmed then reprimanded Miwa and Togashi. "And you two don't look at me like that, your grades haven't improved at all so you'll still be studying with me until the midterm."
"But...ugh you're right..." Togashi looked down resignedly.
"If you can get a score of more than 60...no, 55 is enough. If the two of you can get a score above 55 then you can study alone."
"Hey, I'm my score is higher than that," Miwa protested. "Doesn't that mean I can go home now?"
"It's about increasing your grades," Sawatari explains. "I gave them that standard because their mock test scores were only around 30. If you want to be given the freedom to study on your own then you should at least be able to get grades in the 70s and above."
"Tch...fine." Miwa sneered then fell silent.
We continued our study session while Kazami and Nanahara worked on their tests. Today we are studying English. This lesson is a problem for many students because the pronunciation and sentence structure are very different from Japanese. Currently Sawatari is teaching us about sentences.
"This is past tense, so the word will also change. For positive sentences, usually '-ed' will be added to the verb."
"I see," Togashi nodded. "So the word 'work' becomes 'worked' and 'ask' becomes 'asked'."
"Right, looks like you've started to understand about grammar."
"What the hell is a grammar?"
"Pfft—" Miwa was trying hard to hold back her laughter while Sawatari facepalmed. Me and Shinji also tried hard not to laugh out loud. We might be kicked out of the library.
"Didn't you hear what I just explained?" Sawatari barely raised her voice. "What do you think we've learned since then?"
"Calm down, Sawatari-san," I tried to intervene before Sawatari screamed. "We're in the library."
"Could you guys be quiet for a second. I'm trying to concentrate." Unexpectedly Kazami took his test very seriously. Maybe too serious. I saw he was already starting to break out in a cold sweat. Nanahara here looks calm, or rather looks lazy.
"Okay... Let's stay calm," now Miwa also trying to calmed things down. "Sawatari-san, have a little patience. The librarian is glaring at us."
Sawatari took a deep breath. "You're right, forgive me. My fault too for not explaining this in the first place. Togashi, listen. Grammar is a combination of words arranged in such a way as to form meaning. The sentence structure we learned earlier is grammar."
"O-oh. Oh, I see. I understand now."
The study session continued for a few moments until Nanahara finally handed over her answer sheet. Looks like she's done. Sawatari took the paper from her hand.
"I can go now?" asked Nanahara.
"Just a moment, wait until I finish scoring your answers."
Nanahara sat quietly while Sawatari assessed her work. Meanwhile Kazami looks like someone with a stomach ache. After a while, the boy finally gave up and handed over the paper.
"Are you sure? There is still some space that has not been filled."
"I can't do this anymore..." Kazami said softly.
Sawatari then proceeded to check their answers with the help of Kasai. Miwa and the others want to take a look but Sawatari shoos them away and tells them to do the practice questions she created. After a few minutes, Sawatari announced the result. Starting from Kazami.
"Kazami-kun, your score is...30." It was even worse than the mock test scores. Hearing that Kazami could only lower his head in resignation. Now it's Nanahara's turn. "Nanahara-san, your score is...59."
Apparently Nanahara was able to get an average grade. It seems that in the mock test a few days ago, she did not take it very seriously, probably because she really doesn't care. Sawatari looks a little regretful, if only she hadn't lowered her standard from 60 to 55...Well, that's fine. At least now we know that Nanahara can take care of herself.
"There you go," Nanahara looked at me. "Can I go now?"
"Yes, you may go now." I replied. "Make sure to study in your room..."
Nanahara ignored my last sentence and immediately left us. Kazami, Miwa, Togashi, even Shinji could only stare at her with envy. After she left Kasai whispered to me.
"Are you sure you want to let her go like that?"
"A promise is a promise," I said. "It doesn't matter anyway. I guess we can trust Nanahara."
"Well, if that's what you want."
I don't really understand what Kasai is trying to say, but never mind. Now I just have to prioritize my studies. I will pray that Nanahara will really take the midterms seriously.
***
After the study session was over, Sawatari tell me to not go yet. Seeing that, Miwa started teasing Sawatari by saying that she wanted some private time with me. Of course Sawatari denied this with a slightly blushed face. Apparently this girl is easy to teased.
The library became very quiet after they left. It was already dusk and most of the students had gone home. There was only me, Sawatari and one or two other students still studying on their own.
"Kurose-kun," Sawatari looked at me seriously. "I just want to make sure. You didn't use violence when persuading Kazami-kun, right?"
Ah, this again. I should have guessed that she would ask this kind of question. No one eavesdropping so I better be honest. Sawatari may always follow the school rules but I'm sure she won't open her mouth about this.
"Well, not entirely non-violent."
"...What are you doing?"
"I didn't do it myself. Shinji made a deal with Kazami, if he beats him, then Kazami has to attend study sessions until his grades increase."
Sawatari looks at me disappointedly. "We live in the 21st century but why do men still think like cavemen?"
"Hey, he's a delinquent. We did what we could."
"You are lucky because there is a class point system. If not, I will report you to teacher."
Damn, what a snitch. "Yes-yes. At least I did my job, right?"
"But don't do something like this again. If you get caught, our class points might be deducted again."
"Yes, ma'am. I understand. Is that all you had to say?"
"Yes, you may go now?"
"You still want to be here?"
"Yeah, I still have to prepare something for tomorrow's study session."
"Okay, I'll go first then. See you tomorrow." I said my goodbyes leaving Sawatari who soon drowned in her books. That girl is really diligent. She takes her duties as a tutor very seriously. Hopefully the hard work will pay off.
***
Lately, I became quite busy so I try to finish this chapter as fast I could. I hope it turned out alright.
Back then I used to add a bit of characters information at the end of every chapter. I think I'm gonna stop doing it for every chapter but instead I'll put the characters profile at the end of each arc. I'll probably include their OAA updates as well. That's all I can say. As usual please vote and comment if you like this chapter and see you next time.