The 24th of February rolled around, and the rumours only continued to amp up. And they all revolved around one specific leader.
Speaking of Ichinose, when walking to school that day with Kei at her side, she spotted Ichinose happily chatting with Kanzaki over by the fountain, who seemed to be grinning non-stop at her return.
Suzune noticed some people being a little more wary of her, even more so than before.
Word must have got around that she's stronger than she looks. It didn't start from Hashimoto, though--because when she said what she said the other day during their brawl, she knew that he knew exactly what she was referring to. And he knew that his hands were now tied for a long, long time.
Which helps her in quite a lot of ways. Especially because now, he doesn't start immediately attempting to flirt with her when they meet eyes, albeit failing miserably to win her heart all the while.
(She won't admit it to anyone, ever, but she kinda missed his dumb presence. He was a spike of adrenaline, energy-full and acted like a dunce, and now he's gone.
... Oh, look at her. Going and getting herself attached to a fucking pretty boy because they share the trauma of wearing a mask to hide their ugly truths because they're both emo fucks.
How mortifying.)
By the time her and Kei reached their classroom, they noticed it was empty, yet everyone's bag was hanging behind the back of their chairs. They saw the crowd swarming outside class B, and when peering inside and seeing Ichinose give a final bow, the entire class started cheering loud and proud at her sob story.
Suzune had to bite back a grimaced smile; Ichinose was too good at pulling at your heartstrings, intentionally or not (when it becomes intentional, is what Suzune is waiting for.)
Seeing the teachers plus Nagumo enter into the classroom, Suzune slightly nudged Kei, signalling that it was time for them to bounce. Right as the two of them were about to walk back to class D, Suzune heard a familiar tapping against the floor.
"Horikita-san." Sakayanagi's voice rang throughout the hallway, sugary and honey-coated. She turned her head over her shoulder to see the class A leader's face, which didn't look all too happy. "May I have a word with you?"
"... Yeah, sure." Suzune turned back to Kei, who looked worried out of her mind. "You can go on ahead, I'll be fine."
"... If you say so." Kei pulled out her phone and began tapping away at it while making her way back to their classroom.
---
Suzune leaned up against the wall, waiting for Sakayanagi to talk.
"I must say, Horikita-san." Sakayanagi voice came out silky smooth, dripped in honey. "Your play then was quite the impressive one. Not many could have accomplished such an outcome."
"... pardon?"
"Come on, don't play dumb with me now." Sakayanagi flashed her a serene smile that was the embodiment of pissed. "Those rumours about Ichinose; you started those, correct?"
"Woah, Sakayanagi." Suzune slipped her phone in her pocket, meeting the other girl's rageful gaze. "You've got this all wrong. You see the thing is, I actually didn't start those rumours about Ichinose."
"And how am I supposed to believe that?"
"Because there's a person named Ayanokoji Kiyotaka in our grade."
"That is a good point." Sakayanagi tapped her nails on the top of her cane. "So, you really didn't start them?" She asked, her words patronizing and sugar-coated.
Suzune held back the urge to pinch her nose bridge. "No. I did not spread rumours about Ichinose."
"Hmm..." The teen then took a step closer. "Perhaps you're not as manipulative as I thought you were."
"... mind elaborating?"
"Well, if you must know." Sakayanai's blue eyes fluttered closed. "Originally, I thought you spread the rumours to isolate poor Ichinose in order to manipulate her feelings for leverage. Am I wrong for thinking this way?"
Suzune blinked a few times. "You do have a right to think that way, but no. I rather not use a womanizer's tactics for some so-called leverage."
Sakayanagi gave an amused smile. "Nagumo-san does have a way with his words."
"Also, one more thing." Suzune pushed off the wall. She levelled smug loli with a Done expression. "Is there another reason why you're having Kamuro follow my trail every other day of the week? Or do you just enjoy making others feel pain and misery? After what you just pulled on Ichinose I wouldn't be surprised if it was the latter, to be honest."
Sakayanagi gave a haughty laugh. "You can be very amusing when you want to be, Horikita-san. I'll see you later."
"Yeah, see you... wait, you never answered my question- "
---
The next day, Ichinose had texted Suzune that morning asking if she wanted to walk to school together. She didn't see why not.
Which lead to right now, where Suzune was listening to Ichinose spew her gratitude towards her every other second.
"Anytime. No problem." Suzune found herself repeating over and over again when listening to the other girl talk. It was repetitive, but she couldn't find herself to be annoyed at Ichinose.
'It's definitely witchcraft, no doubt.'
Hey, if reincarnation/multi-universal travel is real, she's not taking her chances. She's heard enough ghost stories in both lifetimes, thank you very much.
"But seriously, Horikita-san." Ichinose's eyes shone brightly under the hallway lights. But not from the light reflection. "You were such a big help. I don't know how I could ever repay you- "
"Please don't." Suzune cut her off, a little rudely. "Favours aren't something I want to do deal with; they hold too much power."
Ichinose let out a laugh. "They sure are handy to have!" She then spotted bitchboy heading there way, a receptionist smile on his face.
"Ah, Ichinose. I do hope the rumours didn't affect you too much." He bullshitted.
"I appreciate the concern, President! But no, thanks to Horikita-san, I'm feeling much better now." Ichinose gestured towards her, an oblivious, carefree smile on her face, having no idea what she just implied.
Nagumo's eyes drifted over to Suzune, seemingly a slight bit shocked. She matched his gaze with a blank look, gave him a very deserved middle finger, before walking up the stairs to her education for the day.
---
Later that same day, Suzune found a box of chocolates in her mailbox. The mystery person didn't even try to hide it.
Happy Valentines Day!! <3
'She completely ignored my request to not be repaid...
At least she got me dark chocolate, though.'
---
Time skip:
Chabashira Sensei walked into the classroom on March 1st, the results of their latest finals from last Friday. The clown trio were significantly less loud this morning, well, Sudo mainly. His character growth was pretty significant compared to the likes of Yamauchi, who wouldn't even have the chance to.
He was doomed the moment he bumped into Sakayanagi Arisu all those weeks ago.
"Sensei." Ike spoke up. "Are you gonna' announce the results now?" He tried to remain calm but his whole body was shaking with stress.
Their classmates nodded along to his statement, trying to keep their composures.
Chabashira tapped the podium. "You'll know soon enough."
She rolled out a large piece of paper and stuck magnets on the corners. When she stepped out the way, everyone immediately stood up out their seats to see their scores, pointing it out to their friends.
Hirata had asked her again to keep the study groups going earlier that month, and she had agreed all the while noticing the anxious twinge in his right eye.
'He's bound to snap within the next week or so.' Her mind supplied, albeit unecessarily. She gave a nod of acknowledgement when seeing Sudo's grade. It was a 64. Not bad considering he got a whopping 14 about 10 months ago.
"It's quite interesting to see just how much you kids have grown. Luckily..." Chabashira pulled out a red marker and drew a line under Yamauchi's name which had a 57 beside it. "No one was expelled. Everyone successfully passed this exam. These have been your best results so far."
She went on about how they were improving, but still needed improvement as they weren't good enough yet, special exam next week, yada yada yada, you know when your teacher just get's so hellbent on your failures that they actually forget that they're in a classroom full of minors and they just tear you a new one?
"Horikita-san." Suzune blinked out of her daze to see the entire class looking at her. Hirata was standing at the podium, no Chabashira Sensei in sight.
"Sorry, I zoned out. Did you ask me something?"
"Yeah, I was wondering if you had any words to say to the class?"
Suzune took a glance around the room, seeing everyone's penetrating gazes still on her. "Not really. Just keep up your guard for the next exam. That's pretty much it."
---
Lunch time came around soon enough. Suzune slung her bag over her shoulder and walked out the classroom.
Kiryuuin had asked to hang out up on the rooftop again, so the stairs were calling her name. She turned the corner of the hallway only to run right into Manabu and Nagumo.
Both immediately snapped their necks towards her, but bitchboy had the gall to skip up to her as if they were best buds. "Ah, Horikita-chan! Just the person I wanted to see!"
"What does this have anything to do with Suzune?" Manabu deadpanned.
"Don't take it the wrong way, Horikita Senpai. It's only natural considering I'll be looking for more recruits to the council next year. Getting to know the ex-president's cute little sister is all part of the process."
Manabu rewarded his shitty excuse with a blank look.
"Also, on that topic, can you like, not spam my email until I reply?" Suzune spoke with an unimpressed voice. Nagumo and Manabu both blinked her way dumbly. "I appreciate having a clear inbox."
"Ahaha! Sorry about that, Horikita-chan! It was the only way I could get your attention." He walked closer, staring at his nails as if he wasn't ordering his slaves- cough, year mates to stalk her. "I didn't expect my Senpai's little sister to be in class D after enrolment."
"And I didn't expect ex-president's Kouhai to be such a skank but here we are." She didn't give him a chance to reply as she kept walking past. "By the way, a no is a no. Learn what the word means before I teach you it with a kick to your limp dick."
She then skipped away, one air pod singing cruel summer at full volume (the other one's in Kei's ear). She will not be joining the Student Council.
No thank you.
---
Next day rolled around and Chabashira came in looking half-dead and pale as fuck.
"Sensei, are you alright?" Hirata asked, standing up out of his seat in a flash when seeing her face.
Chabashira didn't answer for a moment. "There's something I have to tell you all." The atmosphere instantly dropped. Tense, awkward, and no one moved.
Not how Suzune wanted to start her Tuesday morning, personally. She slipped another piece of watermelon gum in her mouth.
"Like I told you yesterday, the final special exam for all first years will commence on March 8th, and everyone who passes will advance to their second year at this school. This year, however, the school has decided to do something different."
"Different how?" Hirata inquired.
Chabashira picked up a marker and began writing on the board. "I'm sure that you've all noticed by now that none of the first years have been expelled. Getting this far in the year without a single expulsion is a first in the history of this school."
"Well, when you put it like that, it means we're pretty splendid, huh?" Ike said with a more cheerful expression. Some of the class nodded along to his words, but those who knew what was coming kept their mouths shut.
"The school thinks so, too. In a normal situation, this would be something to celebrate. The teachers and I like to see as many graduates as possible by the end of the students' three years here. However, when things don't go as planned, that's where the problems start."
Sudo suddenly got up from his desk. "Hold on, you're saying that the school is not happy that there aren't any dropouts? That they want to see us get expelled?"
The students nodded in both confusion and slight anger when hearing this.
Chabashira merely shook her head. "No, that's not it. Not for the teachers, anyway." There was a moment of silence after that before she started talking again. "Due to the fact that no one has been expelled among the first years, the school... the school has decided to hold a bonus exam, starting today."
"" HUUUUUH?!!""
"What the hell? Another exam?!" Ike shrieked. "Are you kidding?! Were all these exams were made for students to drop out?!!"
Many other students hollered in agreement, shouting their complaints.
"Silence!" Chabashira yelled. "Only the students who pass this exam will be allowed to participate in the special exam on March 8th." Sensei wrote the words 'Supplementary Special Exam' at the top of the board.
"I understand your disappointment with the current circumstances, and it is noted, but there is no choice. Everyone will participate in this bonus exam, whether they like it or not." That got the class to shut up very quickly. "This exam will not be easy, and I request you go into it with caution. The context of the exam is very simple. The dropout rate is only three percent per class."
Multiple students' shoulders sagged in relief when hearing the low dropout rate.
That won't last when they find out why it's so low.
"What will the exam ask from us?" Hirata asked.
"This exam is not difficult to understand, so don't worry. When the time comes, you'll be asked to give your opinions on the exam questions. Your time limit is the entire six hours of the school day, so there's no need to be anxious over running out of time." Chabashira began writing another line of words. "The name of this exam is... The Class Poll."
"The Class... Poll?" Hirata inquired, a bewildered look on his face.
"Indeed. For the next four days, you'll be evaluating your fellow classmates. Then on Saturday, when the exam commences, you'll be asked to select the names of three students who you, personally, find worthy of praise. Along with naming three students who you find worthy of criticism and cast your votes on to them."
"... That's it?"
"That's it."
"Really?" Yamauchi asked, surprised. "That's all there is to it? No twists or... hidden rules?"
Chabashira nodded her head.
"If that really is the case," Hirata began. "How does the school determine the outcome of the exam?"
"Good question. I'll explain that now." Suzune noticed Chabashira's grip on the black marker slightly tighten before she started writing out the rules. "The principle for this exam is the number of votes you obtain, either criticism or praise votes, on Saturday. The person who obtains the most praise votes will not receive private points, but they... will receive a Protection Point.
Protection points grant you the right to override an expulsion. Even if you fail a test, as long as you have a protection point, you can't be expelled. However, these points cannot be traded between students. You can buy protection points, as well, but that will cost you 20 million private points."
"Will there be a penalty to the lowest ranking student?" Hirata asked.
"Yes, there will only be a penalty to the lowest ranking student, or in other words, the student who receives the most criticism votes out of everyone in the class. They will be the only student penalized."
"What exactly is the penalty, Sensei?"
That should be obvious by now. This school is representing society, after all.
"This special exam is exactly how I explained it to you." Chabashira said. "There are no academic tests, or physical tests during it. So, you may be wondering, why would the school go out of its way to provide you with such powerful rewards? Well... that's because you can't head into your second year as one cohort. Someone will have to be left behind."
Lights of realization lit up in the students' eyes, finally realizing the weight on their shoulders.
"The student who is ranked the lowest in this exam... will be expelled."
"You can't be serious, Sensei." Hirata's eyes were looking a lot less lively now. "The person in last place... they'll be expelled?"
"Yes, Hirata. There's no way around it, and the person expelled will be the only one to suffer a penalty. That's just the type of exam this is."
Suzune could see the cogs turning in Kushida's head, thoughts running a million miles an hour.
"No... no, surely there's a way to tie the vote. There has to be a loophole somewhere. Do you have any ideas, Horikita-san?" Hirata swivelled over to her with hopeful eyes.
"Let's wait for Sensei to finish explaining the rules first. Then we can decide on a plan." Everyone nodded along to her answer and turned back around to face the board with blank and worried faces.
"Moving on, the praise votes and criticism votes cancel each other out. For example, a person receives 30 praise votes, and 10 criticism votes. Their end result will consist of 20 praise votes. Additionally, you are not allowed to vote for yourself for either category, and you also aren't allowed to vote for someone multiple times. You also can't refuse to vote, it is a compulsory part of the exam.
Another rule is that there can't be a tie between students. So, you can't rig the vote in your favour. If there is a tie, say for example, two students received 10 criticism votes each, then they'll be a deciding vote. There will continue to be revotes until someone is the absolute lowest person on the list."
"What if that continues to happen until the time runs out? What will happen then?" Hirata asked.
"That's not going to happen." Chabashira confidently stated. "This is because you're not only receiving votes from your classmates... but also from the other classes."
"Huh?" Ike said confused. Many other students felt the same way.
"You will all be expected to choose one student from the other classes worthy of both a praise vote and a criticism vote. The same rule applies; you can't vote for someone twice. If there's a situation where a student receives the most criticism votes from their own class, but every single other student from the other classes gives them a praise vote, their end result will total to around 70 or 80 praise votes. Even after the criticism votes are counted for."
Chabashira side-stepped out the way of the white-board, revealing all the rules neatly listed vertically in white-board marker.
Supplementary Exam – The Class Poll:
Context:
The exam consists of a class vote where each student in each class is allotted three praise votes and three criticism votes.
Rule 1:
Praise and criticism votes invalidate each other.
Praise votes – Criticism votes = Results.
Rule 2:
You can't cast Praise or Criticism votes on yourself.
Rule 3:
Voting for the same person multiple times, leaving part of the exam blank, refusing to vote altogether, and other acts of this nature are forbidden.
Rule 4:
The exam will be repeated until the first and last place students have been determined. The student in last place will be immediately expelled.
Rule 5:
You are required to cast a separate praise vote on a student from another class, no exceptions.
"Sensei, I don't understand." Hirata began. "No matter how I look at the exam... I can't find any loopholes."
"That's because there aren't any loopholes. You're only saving grace that could turn the tables is private points."
Hirata's eyes immediately brightened. "You're saying we can use private points to avoid expulsion?"
Chabashira nodded. "Mhm. That's if you have the right amount."
"Well, how much is needed?"
"20 million." The class went quiet when hearing the number. "20 million private points are needed to cancel an expulsion. No more, no less."
"H-Hold on, Sensei." Hirata was beginning to tremble on the spot. "Isn't 20 million points, um- a little- "
"Expensive, yes." Chabashira finished. "It's meant to be expensive. It decides whether or not you can continue to study here, after all. That is the only way to revoke an expulsion, no exceptions. I'll say this ahead of time for you, so you don't have to waste your own scrambling around," Chabashira packed up her things. "Other attempts at finding a loophole in this exam will always end in failure. That I can say for certain. Everything else is now up to you."
She swiftly turned around and left the room, closing the door behind her. Right on cue, absolute chaos erupted within the room.
"What do we do, what do we do?!" Yamauchi threw his hands up in panic.
"You boys are so noisy and annoying! There's never peace around here with you around!" Shinohara jabbed a finger in the clown trio's direction.
"HuuUUH?! Don't you go pointing fingers when you're not any better! Remember that rumour? Shall I remind you??"
They kept slandering each other, cracking each other's pride and ego via grabbing whatever blackmail they could source.
"How unsightly." Everyone whipped around to find Koenji crossing his arms, looking as privileged and carefree as ever. "There's no use panicking, is there?"
"You can't seriously think that you're in any position to talk? Do you have ANY idea how much trouble you've caused for us this year?!" Sudo nearly went into hysterics when he got closer and closer to Koenji's calm face. "Your selfish ass ditched us in the island exam and the athletics carnival!"
"I'm afraid that it is you who doesn't understand, Red-hair-kun." Koenji didn't lose his smirk as he crossed his legs over the table. "It seems like you're under the impression that everything that has happened over the past year is key to conquering the bonus exam."
"That's exactly right!!"
"Incorrect, Red-hair-kun. This exam is about preparing for the next two years... isn't that right, Cat Girl?"
Thankfully not everyone in the class knew who he was referring to. Though some of the girls did hunch over and whispered into each other's ears, giggling and raising their eyebrows. Suzune wanted to die a little in that moment.
Just a little bit.
"Huh?? Who the hell is... what are you even saying?" Sudo asked, completely dumbfounded.
Koenji gave a posh sigh. "It seems like I have to explain myself... this exam, as Miss previously said, is a bonus exam for a reason. In our past exams, it was customary that the entire class received a penalty from losing. This time however, that's not the case at all. In other words, this is an excellent opportunity to lose some dead weight."
"That's what I'm saying! We don't need someone as selfish as you around here!" Sudo yelled.
"Oh no, that's not it at all."
"What the fu- "
"If you're so curious, well it's because I'm simply that amazing!" Koenji flipped his hair with a grin that showed teeth. "When it comes to written exams, I've never scored less than a 90. Without putting in effort, that is. Furthermore, in terms of physical ability, I surpass even you, Red-hair-kun. What do you have to say to that?"
"Wha- don't play around!" Sudo raised a finger at the blonde's face. "That's all meaningless if you don't step up and take this seriously!"
"Sure. That's why from now on, I'll turn a new leaf. After this exam passes, I'll become a helpful member of this class who brings the class to victory. That will be the best for all of us, ne?"
"Huh- what are you- who do you think's gonna be believing that crap?!"
"When it comes to students who haven't helped at all," Koenji ignored Sudo's rage in favour of further explaining his reasoning (and maybe to piss him off). "There's no guarantee that they'll be of any use to the class in the future, is there? Sure, you can say that I list of empty promises just the same, but unlike them, I have the hidden strength to back up my claims. Without strength backing them up... they're only dead weight."
Sudo threw his head back in fury.
Suzune quietly sighed, clicking up the volume on her phone which hung slightly out her pocket.
Word count: 4114