"What do you mean exactly?" Ike said confused.
"Heh. What our sensei is saying that we won't be getting any points because we're class D." Koenji said with the same arrogant smile.
I had schooled my expression as I lowered my hand and looked at the class as they were confused. They were told that they weren't given any points but they weren't told on what criteria their points have been reduced.
"What is that supposed to mean?!" Yamauchi asked a bit frantically.
"Even after all of that you weren't able to understand it." Sae said as she looked at us.
"But sensei, you said that we would be given 100,000 points every month." Yamauchi said as he looked at her.
Is he mental? She just said that our class doesn't have any points to give.
"I don't remember hearing that. Right?" Koenji said as he looked at Sae.
"Your attitude has some problems, but what Koenji is saying is on the right track. Not many people seem to have noticed my hint. How sad." Sae said as she looked at us.
"Wh-What hint are you talking about?" One classmate asked.
The others also erupted in confusion from her words as they didn't seem to fully grasp the situation. Some like Sakura, Haruka, Horikita, Hirata didn't as they looked at the others.
Hmm. Denial of the things that are happening in front of them. A coping mechanism to help themselves.
"… Sensei, can I ask a question? I still don’t understand." Hirata said as he raised his hand.
He managed to get the class under control somewhat as the students became quiet as they looked at Hirata and then at Sae.
"Please tell me why we didn’t get any points. If that’s not possible, we can never understand. After all, we were never given information on what criteria you had reduced our points." Hirata said to her seriously.
"Like I said before, I had counted every single one of your infraction during class and due to that your points have been reduced. So while you would've gotten 100,000, all of it went down the drain due to your behaviour during class. That's all that happened." Sae said to us seriously and mechanically.
Horikita is writing on her book as I glanced at her but there wasn't much. And as for the school, my initial doubts have finally been proven right. The government never wanted self-indulging students from the start. From the very beginning, they were testing the students and Class D has failed in that regard.
Fuu~. I better keep myself under control. This feels like those mystery novels I read and this is getting me excited due to this happening in real life. Man, I'm feeling excited.
"Chabashira-sensei, I don’t remember ever hearing that explanation before…" Hirata said to her seriously.
"What? Are you people incapable of understanding without any explanations?" Sae asked exasperated when she heard him.
Not him. Hirata is smart enough, and a handful of students in the, to have harbored some doubts. The problem is that the majority are idiots. They obviously needed an even detailed explanation to make them understand and so he is trying to provide them with that.
"Naturally. There was no mention of reducing the number of points transferred to us at the beginning of each month. If it was explained before, I’m sure that we would’ve tried not to be late and not to talk during class." Hirata said to her seriously.
And there goes the argument.
"An interesting argument, Hirata. I also don’t remember explaining the rules about the points received at the beginning of each month. However, haven’t you guys learned not to talk in class and get to class on time since elementary school?" Sae asked him in return when she heard him.
"That is..." Hirata said a bit speechless from that rebuttal.
"I’m pretty sure you guys have learned. In the 9 years of compulsory education, they’ve always told you that such things are frowned upon. Talking in class and being late to class is bad. Also, did you say that you couldn’t understand because I didn’t explain it? That excuse doesn’t fly. If you behaved as a student should, your points wouldn’t have dropped to 0. It’s your own self-responsibility." Sae said to us harshly.
Her reasoning is sound. As high school students, they don't need to be taught about good and bad behaviour. Hirata and the class also knows it as well which is why they are now silent.
"After becoming first year high schoolers, did you really think that you would get 100,000 points every month without any restrictions? In this school created by the Japanese government to train excellent people? That’s impossible, just use your common sense." Sae said to us with a shake of her head.
"Well then, can you at least tell us the details about how points are increased or decreased? We will always try to do our best from now on." Hirata asked her quickly recovering from the previous rebuttal.
I don't think she is allowed to do that. Considering that the school hasn't revealed the information it isn't likely that she is given clearance to tell her class anything regarding the school.
Unless we use the right things of course. But I currently have no need for that.
"That’s not possible. We are not allowed to divulge the details of how we assess merit to the students. It’s the same as the real world. When all of you enter society, and find work in some kind of business, they probably won’t tell you how you’re assessed—that’s up to the company, though. However… I’m not trying to be cold, nor do I hate you guys. This is such a pitiful sight that I’ll tell everyone here one thing." Sae said to us matter of factly.
She's right about that. It's not like a real life company will tell it's newly employed staff about its system of management. The school is doing a good job emulating a system like that.
But then suddenly a faint smile appeared on her face, which is the first time I'm seeing her with an expression like that.
"For arguments sake, if we say that everyone stopped being late and stopped talking in class… your deduction would be zero, but that doesn’t mean you’ll get more points. In other words, next month’s allowance is also 0 points. Not being late or not talking to class won’t help you get back up from the bottom. Keep that in mind, it’ll help you." Sae said to us all with the same faint smile on her face.
Heh. I don't know if she is trying to mock the class but it is quite enjoyable to watch. At the very least no one is able to discern what I'm thinking and my usual emotionless face is back so they can't exactly know what I'm thinking.
Hirata's face darkened and the mood of the entire class plummeted when they heard her. I know that many students wanted to change their bad behaviour but after hearing that their mood was dampened further.
But then the bell rang as the homeroom had ended, but it could not do anything for the atmosphere that has been created in the class right now.
"Looks like we had too much idle chit-chat. Hopefully you understood. Anyway, let’s move onto the main issue at hand." Sae said as she spread the white poster out of the tube and stuck it onto the board using a magnet.
I looked at the poster with the others also looking at it with looks of confusion.
"Is that... the results of each class?" Horikita asked unsure, I can infer from her expression that she wasn't sure about it.
Though she is true though. The classes from A to D were shown on it with their corresponding points or class points being shown right beside their respective classes.
Class A - 940
Class B - 650
Class C - 490
Class D - 0
The points were evenly distributed and I'm sure that many in the class had also realised it when they saw the points being shown. Though from seeing the points, the most impressive one is Class A with only losing 60 points, which means that each of their students got 94,000 points, with classes B and C getting 65,000 and 49,000 respectively. While my own class got nothing due to losing all points.
"Hey, don’t you think this is strange?" Ayanokoji said as I glanced at his direction.
"Yea… the numbers are too clean." Horikita said as she agreed to his words, something which is quite rare mind you.
It looks like Horikita still hasn't figures it out yet. She will be positively angry when she learns about how the classes have been divided.
"For the first month, all of you have been doing as you please. Now, the school’s not saying that this is prohibited. Your actions, such as talking during class and being late to class, just affects the number of points you get. It’s the same with how you use points. You have the freedom to use points how you want. We haven’t restricted how you use your points." Sae said without missing any beat.
"This isn’t fair! We can’t lead a normal school life like that!" Ike shouted in despair.
Yamauchi is also the same as he is also wallowing and crying out in agony and despair at the fact that he used all his points.
There's no point in acting like that now. They were the ones who decided to use the entirety of their points on things without giving it a single thought. It's their mistake and they have to live with the fact that they have no points.
"Look carefully, you stupid kids. Every other class except class D got some points. The amount of points you guys have should still be plenty enough to last for a month." Sae said as she looked at us harshly.
"H-how do the other classes have any points left? That’s strange…" One student said confused.
"I’ll tell you, but it’s not like this is some kind of fraud. For this past month, all the classes were judged by the same rules. Nevertheless, they didn’t lose as many points as you guys did. That’s a fact." Sae said seriously.
"How… how is there so much difference in points between the classes?" Hirata asked as he also noticed something odd about the numbers.
"Did you guys finally understand? Why you were put in class D." Sae said getting the attention of the class.
So she's finally going to reveal it huh.
"The reason we were put in class D? Isn’t that because we were appropriate for this school?" One student said to her.
"Eh? That’s how ordinary classes work, you know?" Sae said in response to it.
At her words the entire class exchanged glances with each other, confusion clearly written on their faces.
"In this school, all the students are divided into classes by merit. The best students are put in class A. The worst in class D. Well, it’s a system that’s found in major cram schools. In other words, class D is the collection of leftovers. That also means that you are the worst students, the defective products of this school. This is really an outcome worthy of defective students. As I had said before, all of you are garbage in the eyes of the school." Sae said sharply and harshly as she fixed us with a serious face.
Bravo Bravo. Great way to take away the spirit of the class sensei. Are you a sadist by any chance?
Meanwhile Horikita's face stiffened when she heard her. Most likely shocked at hearing how they are divided and that she is part of the defective class.
"However, this class D is the first one to lose all their points in the first month. On the contrary, I applaud you for living so lavishly until now. How praiseworthy." Sae said before she gave an unnatural applause to us.
"After hitting zero points, does that mean we will always stay at zero points forever?" One student asked clearly in distress.
"Yea. Your points will stay at 0 until graduation. However, be at ease, since you can still use your dorms, and there are free meals in the cafeteria. You won’t die." Sae said with a sharp look in her eyes.
Of course it isn't as easy as it sounds. Even if a student is able to live like that. To the students of my class, who have enjoyed lavish lives for the entirety of the last month while indulging in every luxury the school can offer. So having to suddenly change to a life of self control will be hard for them.
"… Will we be made fun of by the other classes now?" Sudo asked as he kicked his desk with a bang.
After hearing about how the classes are divided by merit, the other classes will surely make fun of Class D as a class of idiots or defectives. So his reaction isn't that surprising.
"What, you’re still holding onto your pride, Sudou? Then do your best and try to make the worst class the best class." Sae said to him when she heard him.
"Huh?" Sudo let out a sound in confusion.
"These class points aren’t just linked to the amount of money you get each month. It’s also indicative of the class rank." Sae said as she explained more about the system.
So for Class D to move past Class C we will have to get 500 class points. Of course, that's not going to be easy for the class.
"All right, I have one more piece of bad news I have to tell you guys." Sae said as she put one more piece of paper on the blackboard.
I could make out the names of everyone on it. Next to our names were also numbers as well.
"From looking at these numbers, I came to understand that there are a lot of idiots in this class." Sae said as she looked at the new paper.
She glanced at us and scanned the class as the clanking noise of her heels reverberated throughout the class.
"These are the scores from the test a few days back. Sensei was glad after seeing your wonderful performance. Seriously, what the hell did you guys study in middle school?" Sae said as she shook her head in what I could tell is disappointment.
I can see why. Except for the top students in the class, the rest of them have got marks below 60. With the lowest being Sudo with a wonderful score of 14, followed by Ike with a score of 24. I blinked once when I saw them as I thought I wasn't seeing it correctly.
"If this test was actually recorded, seven of you would already have to drop out of school. Good thing it wasn’t, right?" Sae said as she dropped another bomb on the class.
"D-drop out? What do you mean?" Ike asked terrified.
"Why, did I not explain? If you get a failing mark on either a midterm or a final exam in any subject, you have to drop out of school. On this test, that would be everyone who got below a 32. Man, you guys are really foolish and stupid." Sae said nonchalantly when she was asked that.
"W-whaaaaat!?" The seven people who failed, which are Ike and his group, shouted in shock.
There is a visible red line dividing the seven students from the rest. The highest is Kikuchi with 31, the rest being below him.
Man, the chaos here is palpable. These guys seem to not have much self control do they?
"Don’t fuck with me Sae-chan-sensei! Don’t joke about dropping out of school!" Ike shouted clearly terrified.
"I’m also at a loss for words. It’s the school’s rules, so prepare for the worst." Sae said with a shake of her head.
"As sensei said, there seem to be a lot of fools here." Koenji said with a smug smirk on his face as he polished his nails with his legs on his desk.
"What’s that, Koenji!? Your marks are in the red too!" Sudo shouted angrily at him.
"Fu. Where are your eyes looking at, boy? Look carefully." Koenji said as he looked at him.
"H-huh? Hey, Koenji’s name is… huh?" Sudo said as he stuttered and was left dumbfounded as he scanned the list and found Koenji's name on the top.
To his disbelief, Koenji has tied for the top of the class with 90 points. Which shows that he was able to solve one of the tough questions.
"I never thought that Sudou would be a stupid character like me…!" Ike said with sarcasm in his voice.
"Oh, and one more thing. This school, which is under the control of the country, boasts a high percentage of alumni going to higher education and a high employment rate. That’s a well-known fact. Most likely, many people in this class will go on to college or find work at a company." Sae said as she informed the rest.
And I'm pretty she's going to say that graduating from Class D will not do and that it will only help if our class rises in the ranks. Though the offer seems to be real, many rumours say that it is enough to get admission into the Tokyo University.
"But… things aren’t that easy in the world. People like you guys, who are of a really low level, will probably have trouble getting into college or getting a job." Sae said as her words are heard by the class.
"In other words, in order to make our dreams of getting a job or getting into college a reality, surpassing class C is probably a minimum." Hirata said as he said his thoughts.
"That’s also slightly incorrect, Hirata. There’s no way to achieve your dreams except for surpassing class A. The school doesn’t guarantee anything for all the other students." Sae said debunking his words immediately.
"T-that’s… that’s something I never heard about! This is absurd!" Yukimura said as he stood up.
He is the one who tied with Koenji for top place. He is a guy who has a lot of intellect which can be seen by how much he studies and the score he has.
"How shameful. There’s nothing as pitiful as boys making a commotion and panicking." Koenji said as he sighed.
"… Koenji, do you not feel any resentment from being in class D?" Yukimura asked him as he looked at us.
"Because we’ve been told that our class is the collection of leftovers, and that our chances of getting into higher education or getting a job are slim!" Yukimura said to him distressed.
Sorry Yukimura, but that is not a concern for someone like Koenji.
"Fu. That’s nonsense. I can’t even respond to that sheer stupidity." Koenji said as he polished his nails.
Yukimura is visibly confused alongside the rest of the classmates due to his nonchalant attitude.
"This school just hasn’t seen my full potential yet. I value, respect, and regard myself greatly, more than any other person. Even if the school puts me in class D, it means nothing to me. If, for example, I have to drop out of school, it’s completely fine. After all, it’s the school that will come crawling back for me." Keonji said in his usual arrogant tone.
He's right about that though. To someone who doesn't care about class rankings, this isn't much of a concern anyway.
"However, I’m not looking to go to college or find a job somewhere after I graduate. It’s been decided that I will lead the Koenji Conglomerate in the future. It doesn’t matter whether I’m in class A or class D." Koenji said confidently.
I hummed in response to his words as he is telling the truth. As the heir to such a large company, his future has already been defeated. For someone like that, graduating from highschool is a trivial thing. And Yukimura also realised that nothing he says will dissuade Koenji so he also sat down.
"Looks like your happy mood has been dampened. If you guys understood the harsh environment you were put in from the start, we wouldn’t have needed this long homeroom. The midterm is in three weeks, so please avoid getting kicked out of school. I’m sure everyone here can survive without getting any red marks. If possible, please challenge your situation with a behavior appropriate for a capable person." Sae said coolly before she left the class and closed the door, as if for emphasis.
I looked at the red mark students who were crestfallen from the things they have just heard. Even the normally proud Sudo also has his head hung down in what I think is shame.
That being said, I wonder how Fuka is taking this situation?