I don't have a clear reason for why I started smoking cigarettes, it had been something I picked up at some point during my life in college.
Maybe it was me trying to find a distraction or maybe I just liked the feeling it gave me. I wasn't sure.
Of course I never tried too hard to understand it, my inner self was quite literally the last on the list of things I cared about.
Incidentally, the thing I cared the most about in my present life amounted to nothing more than superficial gratification. It was something I longed for only as a means to satisfy my past regrets and remove my present dissatisfaction.
But even that was out of reach. At the beginning I accused life of being unfair to me, I lamented my own bad luck.
But as I watched my selfish goals inevitably slip from my hands, I buried my stupid fantasies deep inside. With no hope in sight, it was a foregone conclusion that those thoughts would never surface again.
That changed this year.
This batch of new students was a host to a lot of talent, talent that reached even me despite my post as class D's homeroom teacher.
Albeit flawed, as expected of defective products, I could see the potential they had. One standing out to me in particular.
Unknown to me at the beginning, my buried desires had surfaced up like a seed sprouting from within the ground, receiving sustenance from the glowing prospects of class D's alleged defects.
So I decided to bide my time, wait for the perfect opportunity to step in.
Admittedly my plans were unfit for a teacher, but what was one more regret added to an already swollen mountain of similar regrets?
If it's only one more chance I get, I will make use of it.
My heart lifted, my mind had begun to spread once again, latching unto the fleeting opportunity I now had.
I will grab on, and never let go.
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The look in Chabashira-sensei's eyes gave away what she was feeling. It was a subtle detail but I was able to pick it up.
Disbelief, skepticism, elation.
Deducing the catalysts for the disbelief and skepticism was easy, her assumed elation was something I couldn't determine right now.
Horikita had surprised me, she actually deviated from what I expected her to do. Given her personality, I assumed a whole different path to this little saga, but it seems her thinking isn't as rigid as I assumed it to be.
Well, another facet of Horikita Suzune to take note of.
"Why don't you ask your classmates? I'm sure some of them remember."
"Excuse me, but I refuse to hear it any other place than the source."
This play from Horikita is arguably one of the best moves within her capabilities.
Information is a peculiar thing, constantly influencing itself and other things. Horikita had acquired new information from Ichinose and her own personal deductions.
She had decided the best path to take was to listen to the original speech from Chabashira-sensei, take it in and analyze it from the perspective of someone who had been in the school for almost a month.
Her line of thought getting here was quite easy to trace back. She believes the school wouldn't blatantly lie about anything, but her discoveries boldly contrasted that. Either she believed wrong, or the school had actually left discoverable hints.
As who she is, she obviously pursued the latter scenario first.
"Heh, is that so? What part of it didn't you understand then?"
Chuckling while shaking her head slightly, Chabashira-sensei gave up.
"I believe I was clear earlier, all of it." The air in the room had become stagnant.
"All of it?" Chabashira-sensei looked flabbergasted.
"All of it." Horikita emphasized.
Chuckling again, Chabashira-sensei turned away from us walking deeper into the staffroom.
"Follow me, I'll explain after you settle down. Make sure not to forget it again."
Horikita said nothing and just followed, I did the same.
'
'
"Like I said last time, with your student ID cards which can be used like credit cards, you can use the school's services by spending points. In this school, anything can be bought with points."
In a smaller room within the staff quarters, Chabashira-sensei began her second explanation of the S system that I requested.
And right off the bat, I noticed something odd.
"Excuse my interruption, but I have a question." I cut her off as she was preparing to continue her speech.
She didn't seem the least bit offended, gesturing at me with her right hand to speak.
"What qualifies as anything when you say' 'anything can be bought with points'?"
That one statement seemed so ordinary now that I think of it. But now, knowing this school is more than what meets the eye, it's a valid strategy to question anything and everything. So even if it might be a huge reach, I will ask anyway.
"I don't have a comprehensive answer for that, is that all?"
That's odd...shouldn't something like that be easy to determine? It's easy to say what can or can't be bought, but for some reason she didn't give me a straight answer.
What does this mean?
"Yes, for now. Please continue."
Chabashira-sense nodded, smiled and continued to speak.
"At the beginning of the month, you all had 100,000 points pre deposited into your accounts. As students who managed to get into this school, this much is deserved, the points you received reflects your worth and potential as students. Any leftover points at time of graduation will be returned to the school, points cannot be exchanged for money so don't bother saving them. Points are automatically deposited into your accounts on the first of every month."
Our...worth? Points are deposited automatically. Points, no specified amount.
How embarrassing of me....to miss something so obvious.
What does she mean by our worth though?
I observed the woman in question, she had a small smile plastered on her face. I couldn't put my hand on it but she seemed to be in better spirits than she was prior to this conversation.
"Bullying, extortion and the like are prohibited, the school takes careful note of these."
( A/N: Sure....kei wants a word...)
"That's about it, any questions?"
My decision to come here proved fruitful, hidden in that speech with words that deceived the senses were useful bits of information.
From my earlier question I can deduce that the actual information we could get out of our emotionally distant teacher is considerably limited so I'll hold on to my questions.
"None." I answered with no further hesitation.
She only scoffed and looked behind me, at the person who had been so silent that his presence in the room could be debated.
"And you, Ayanokouji?" Her eyes sharpened as she queried the impassive boy.
"You've given us all we need, sensei. I have no questions."
"Is that so? I don't know what you two are trying to pull but I look forward to it. You're dismissed."
We left the room, shutting the door behind us. As we walked out of the staff room proper an unwelcome smell tickled my nose.
The smell of cigarettes.
.
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We've taken another step, or at least Horikita has. Grabbing our bags from the now empty classroom, we embarked on our walk to the dorms.
"I assume you're satisfied." As usual, I initiated a conversation.
"From what I've seen of you so far, I doubt I need to explain anything. I have deduced various things; we are not receiving the same amount of points, our points reflect our 'worth', and points might have multifaceted uses other than purchasing of simple goods."
This much is expected from her so I wasn't exactly impressed, or maybe my standards are high?
"You sound unsure of a few things. What's up with that?" As we walked down the still occupied road, occasionally weaving around slower moving students, embroiled in their respective versions of youthful activities, I questioned Horikita's skeptical tone.
"That's because I am. I'm confident in my deductions, albeit some things are still unclear like the true definition of worth and the thing with the points, I'm still sure I haven't gone wrong. The nagging question is, what's the point?"
I see, she can't begin to think of a reason for the school hiding such an elaborate system. Or even why such a thing exists at all.
"Forget about that for now, figure out the smaller things first. For example; worth. What exactly is worth? How does the school measure it? What's the relationship between it and the points? Is it calculated individually or collectively?" Speaking more than my usual, I pushed Horikita towards the right direction in a not so subtle manner.
"First impressions seem to be becoming obsolete. I had pegged you as someone whose only traits were apathy and mediocrity, rejoice at your re-evaluation." How haughty....
"I didn't ask for one though."
"Do you want it or not?"
"....I'll take it then..."
Accepting the intangible re-evaluation, I reminded Horikita of the main issue.
"So?"
"The criteria I'm currently focused on is obviously academics, since that should be what defines a student's worth but seeing as we all received the same amount at the beginning of the year, despite a score disparity in our entrance examination being a foregone conclusion, I'm inclined to believing academics is only a part of it."
Reasonable, she's getting somewhere.
"If you order a set of equipment and have not used them yet, how would you store them? You have idea how they all perform, nor if any one of the equipment is defective. So how?"
She seemed taken aback by my sudden change of topic, but decided to play along.
"Until my evaluations are complete, I suppose they would be kept in the same condition-.........."
Ah, she realized. How nice.
"You don't mean to say..."
I said nothing in response, leaving her to dwell in her thoughts.
"So you're saying they hadn't completed our evaluation at the beginning...and it remains to be seen how we'll be valued at the end of the evaluation period? That's why we all received the same number of points?"
Your fate is in your hands, basically...
I had tried to hint at one of the crucial elements of this school that I had noticed throughout the month, but her reasoning didn't seem to go that deep.
She failed to think about the ranking of the completely evaluated equipment...in other words, a hierarchical system.
Oh well, it will come out in due time.
"Why........"
Hmm?
"You seem to have the answers already..yet you choose to remain cryptic and aloof. Are you looking down on me?" Horikita seemed to be annoyed and displeased with me. Her arrogance is clouding her judgments once again.
"Why assume I am looking down at you? Is it not possible that you are the one staring up?"
"What..?"
"Horikita, I have noticed the immense pride and confidence you have in yourself. While that is a strength on its own. It's also a major weakness. The moment you are outshone, you crumble. You also lack the ability to observe your surroundings outside of your little world where you reign supreme."
"And who are you to say such things? What puts you under the illusion that you understand who I am? Isn't that arrogance on its own?"
She countered fiercely, her indignation bare for me to see, her beautiful crimson eyes leaving nothing to my imagination.
"It could be assumed so, but there's a fundamental difference between me and you. Only when you realize that will you begin to truly become the best version of you."
She scoffed in annoyance.
"I see you have no self awareness, you are just as guilty as I am of the same thing you accuse me of."
We were no longer walking, just standing at the side of the road. Horikita glaring into my soul, while I, just as usual, was unbothered.
"So you admit it. Deep down you realize you're not who you perceive yourself as. You are still seeking some sort of validation, something that will cement your self image if you are able to achieve it. But let me tell you now, Horikita Suzune, with how you are now, you will never reach it."
Silence.
The previously combative girl was now silent, it was like all the fight had drained out of her after hearing my harsh but true words.
Yes, I know who Horikita Suzune is, people like her aren't very rare. They seem strong on the surface but it only takes a little attack in the right direction to give them a reality check.
"Then how....if you are so wise, how!?" Her voice rose, she asked me questions she wished she had answers for.
Confronted with a harsh truth and an unfeeling companion, she could do nothing more than explode in an emotion filled burst.
My relationship with this girl wasn't close by any means, it must have hurt her to be beaten down so ruthlessly by someone she barely knew. I myself had gone out of my way to do more than necessary, so it's best I fixed it.
"I don't know, Horikta. That's something I might be able to tell you with time but as of now, you have only yourself."
"Myself...?"
"Yes, yourself. You'll understand eventually, till then let's focus on the S system, is that fine?"
She only gave a slight nod, then we continued walking to the dorms.
This is fine.
I might have kickstarted it, but the results were promising.
I don't have the luxury to watch the gradual metamorphosis of Horikita Suzune, it would serve me well if things became clear much earlier.
Now, how will you deal with your next challenge?
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Next chapter should be out earlier than usual since I already know what to do with it, rejoice har har.
I see a lot of people are reading and voting, that's very encouraging ig. Keep it up.
Peace mfs!