'Italic': Notebook
May 1st
I woke up relatively early and checked my phone. It was the day that we would receive our private points. A lot should be excited, but instead of getting 100k... We got 8,000 points.
Kagurazaka's private points: 89,410+8,000=97,410
I should get ready for the meeting.
Chabashira's office
She had a severe expression as if she were analyzing me. She must be irritated to see a student of hers after our class didn't receive any points.
'Class D is at the bottom of the barrel, right?'
Chabashira-sensei's lips twitched like she wanted to smile, but she forced herself not to.
"How long did you know?" She asked.
'Since the first day, but I wasn't sure.'
"How did you figure out that Class D was at the bottom?"
'The way my classmates were acting during class, but you were the biggest hint.'
Intrigued and amusement appeared in Chabashira-sensei's eyes, "What gave it away?"
'Your speech on the first day, you didn't reprimand the troublemaker and the hidden camera in the corner of the room.'
"It looks like someone was paying attention. Tell me, why didn't you tell your classmates."
I shrugged.
I didn't have a reason to tell them. A reality check will give them understand that this school is anything but ordinary.
"Let's talk about the practice test."
I don't feel like talking about it.
"You purposely chose the wrong answers."
I saw a slight smile on Chabashira-sensei's face for the first time. It made her more attractive.
"I don't think I need to tell you your score."
Great...
"Do you have any more questions?"
'I think you'll answer more questions when homeroom begins.'
Chabashira-sensei's chuckled at the comment.
~Timeskip~
I arrived at the classroom and noticed the tense atmosphere. I sat at my desk and glanced at Horikita, noticing the irritated expression on her face as she tried to hide it.
The morning bell for the first school day of May rang. Soon after, Chabashira-sensei walked in, holding a poster rolled into a tube. She had a grim and severe expression.
"Sensei, we only got 8,000 points; I thought we would receive 100k monthly," Ike was the first to speak.
A slight cold smirk appeared on Chabashira-sensei's face, "What was I expecting from multiple idiots? I'm surprised that you're asking that."
I could feel the tension rising inside the classroom as she showed her cold side.
"Um, I checked my point balance this morning, and no points were deposited. Weren't they supposed to be provided every month on the first day of the month? I was impatient because I couldn't buy the juice I wanted."
"Are you guys that stupid?" Chabashira-sensei had an ominous feeling about her.
"Stupid? What?"
Chabashira-sensei had a sharp glint in her eyes as Hondou repeated her words like a parrot.
"Points were deposited without fail. The likelihood that this class was left out is very low. Do you understand?"
"No, even if I say I do understand, we barely received any points..." Hondou seemed dissatisfied with her explanation.
"Let me explain the S-System," Chabashira-sensei said.
"Earlier this month, all the classes, Class A through D, were provided with an equal amount of Class Points, starting from 1000. This exercise aims to determine each student's class standing."
She continued, "Let me clarify something. While it's true that this school boasts a 100% employment rate, it's also not entirely accurate. To be considered for admission into any university or to qualify for any job or career, you need to be a Class A graduate. Does that make sense to everyone, or is your brain too small for you to comprehend?"
"Let's move on to the Class Points."
Class Points
Class A - 940
Class B - 730
Class C - 570
Class D - 80
"Would you look at that? You're at the bottom of the list. To graduate from Class A, you must surpass the three other classes."
"S-Sensei, how did we lose a lot of points?" Yamauchi asked.
"60 total absences and tardies. A hundred ninety-one incidences of talking or using cell phones in class. I counted every infraction. In this school, your class performance is reflected in the points received. As a result of your behavior, the 100,000 points you could've gotten went down the drain."
"You're lucky that Hirata warned you, or else it could've been worse. You could've been at zero points, and wouldn't that be embarrassing? You would have been first Class D to achieve zero points," Chabashira-sensei mocked the class.
"I honestly want to laugh... Did you think the school would give high school students 100k monthly without a catch? At least try to use your non-existent brains."
The atmosphere turned gloomy from the repeated insults that Chabashira-sensei spat out without remorse.
The bell rang, signaling the end of homeroom.
"Looks like we had too much idle chit-chat. Hopefully, you understood. Anyway, let's move on to the main issue at hand."
She put one more piece of paper onto the blackboard. The names of all the classmates were listed. Next to everyone's character was a number.
"From looking at these numbers, I came to understand that there are a lot of idiots in this class," she glanced at the class as her heels clacked against the floor.
"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?"
I should've gotten a zero on the practice test but saw a fifty after my name.
"If this test were recorded, seven of you would already have to drop out. It's a good thing it wasn't, right?"
"D-drop out? What do you mean?"
"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 foolish."
The seven failed people had a red line separating them from the rest of the class.
After Chabashira-sensei left the room, the whole classroom was in an uproar.
"Why was I put in class D!?" Yukimura vented in frustration. There were beads of sweat on his forehead.
"Wait, does that mean we won't be able to attend a college we want to attend? Then why did I come to this school in the first place? I wonder if Sae-chan-sensei hates me..."
None of the students can hide their confusion.
"I understand that everyone is panicking, but calm down," Hirata took control of the class, trying to calm down the sense of impending crisis.
"How can we calm down in this situation? Are you not frustrated that we are the class of leftovers!?" Yukimura argued.
"Even if I say I am, isn't it better to work together to get out of this situation?" Hirata suggested, staying calm.
"Get out of this situation? First, I don't even agree with this hierarchy of classes!"
"I completely understand your feelings. However, there's no use in sitting here and complaining about it."
"What!?" Yukimura walked up to Hirata and grabbed him by his collar.
"Calm down, you two, okay? Surely Sensei must have explained it to us sternly to cheer us up, right?"
I don't know about that. She was happy to insult our class after all the stress we put on her.
She broke the two apart and gently took Yukimura's balled fist in her hand. Yukimura, as one would expect, tried not to hurt Kushida and unintentionally took a step back.
"Also, it's only been a month since school has started. As Hirata-kun said, I think that all of us should persevere through this situation. Do you think I'm wrong?"
"N-no, that's... Certainly, I don't think what Kushida said is wrong, but..."
Yukimura's wrath had already dissipated. Kushida sincerely looked at everyone in class D and wished for everyone's cooperation.
"That's right. We shouldn't be impatient. There's no need for Yukimura and Hirata to fight."
"My bad. I lost my composure for a bit there."
"It's fine. I should've chosen my words more carefully as well."
With the help of Kushida Kikyou, the fight was resolved in an orderly way.
"Last month, how many points did you use Kagurazaka-kun?" Horikita asked.
'Barely over 20,000 points.'
"Even though I think it's unfortunate, they're paying for their mistakes."
Indeed, using up all 100,000 points in a single month is a small problem.
"Everyone, once classes start, I ask that everyone pays attention earnestly, especially you, Sudou-kun."
Hirata attracted the attention of the noisy classroom by standing up at the podium.
"Tch, what is it?"
"This month, we only got 80 points. This is a problem that will hugely affect our future student life. We can't go on like this and graduate with 80 points, can we?"
"We can't!" One girl shouted at Hirata's words.
Hirata gave a gentle nod.
"Of course not. So, everyone in the class has to work together to fix our problem. We should refrain from being late to and talking during class. Naturally, using cell phones during class is also prohibited."
"However, if we continue being late and talking during class, our points will not increase. We will drop to zero."
Well, everyone was having the time of their life until this morning.
Coming down from the podium, Hirata walked to the front of the room.
"Horikita-san and Kagurazaka-kun, do you have time later? After school, I want to discuss how we can increase our points. I want you guys to participate. Can you?"
"Why us?" Horikita asked.
"I want to hear everyone's thoughts. However, even if I ask everyone to speak up, I think more than half will not listen seriously."
"Sorry, but can you ask someone else? I'm not very good at discussing things," Horikita said.
"You don't have to force yourself to say anything in particular. It's good enough just to be there."
"I'm sorry, but I have no intention of meeting for a pointless reason."
"I think that this is our first trial as a united class. So—"
"I already refused. I am not participating."
Calm yet strong words. Despite considering Hirata's standpoint, Horikita rejected him again.
"I-is that so. Sorry... If you ever change your mind, please participate."
Horikita already stopped paying attention to Hirata, who had given up.
"How about you, Kagurazaka-kun?"
'I will join the meeting.'
"Thank you," Hirata smiled with relief.
~Timeskip~
It was after school. Hirata was on the podium, using the blackboard to prepare for the discussion. Due to Hirata's charisma, everyone except Horikita appeared. She had already left the room.
"The mood feels somber..." Kushida said, looking around the classroom.
'How many points have you used up?'
"Hmm, well, for now. I've used up about half my points. I used too many points this first month, so it'll be hard to control myself. Kagurazaka-kun, how about you?"
'I barely used over 20,000 points.'
"Is that because you don't have friends?"
'So, we aren't friends?'
"Ahaha, sorry, sorry. We are friends," Kushida apologized to me while giggling.
I poked her in the side, causing her to let out a quiet squeak.
"Eep... Why did you do that?" She pouted.
'You're bullying me.'
"Kagurazaka-kun from class D. Chabashira-sensei is calling for you. Please come to the staff room."
After a jingle, a voice came over the loudspeaker.
"Looks like the teacher called you," Kushida said.
I don't know why...
I looked at Hirata as he gave me a reassuring smile that it would be alright if it were severe if I had to leave.
Since the first day of school, I don't remember doing anything that would get me called. Feeling the heavy gazes of the other students, I exited the room.
I reached the staff room and timidly opened the door. Looking around the room, I didn't see Chabashira-sensei anywhere. I called out to the teacher, checking their face in the mirror.
"Hmm, what's a handsome student like you doing here?" She teased.
Uh, okay?
'I'm looking for Chabashira-sensei.'
"What? Sae-chan? She was here until a few moments ago..."
The teacher who looked back had wavy, shoulder-length hair that gave off an adult-like impression. She said Chiyabashira-sensei's name as if they were close. They also look close in age.
"Looks like she had something to do. Do you want to wait inside?"
I started walking out into the hallway. She followed 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~."
"Hey, why did Sae-chan call you here? Why, why?"
I shrugged.
"I don't understand. You were called out without being given the reason? What's your name?"
She was hitting me with a barrage of questions.
'Kagurazaka.'
"Kagurazaka-kun? Isn't that a cool name~? You're popular, right~?"
She was acting overly casually as a teacher. She's closer to a student than a teacher like Chabashira-sensei. If this were an all-boys school, she'd probably capture the hearts of every student.
"Hey, do you already have a girlfriend?"
I shook my head.
Hoshinomiya-sensei still assertively approached me. With smooth motions, she grabbed my shoulders with her slender hands.
"That's weird; I would've gone for you if we were in the same class~. Is it because you're too innocent? I have a thing for the handsome and quiet types~."
She wiggled her eyebrows with a teasing smile.
She poked my cheeks with her fingers. I wasn't sure what to say.
"What are you doing, Hoshinomiya?"
She was harassing your student.
Suddenly, Chaabashira-sensei hit Hoshinomiya-sensei's head with a clipboard. Hoshinomiya-sensei squatted down, holding her head in pain.
"Oww. What'd you do that for!"
"That's because you were doing weird things with students here."
"I was only talking to him while he was waiting for you to return!"
"Just leave it at that. Sorry for making you wait, Kagurazaka. Well then, let's move to the guidance room."
I nodded.
Suddenly, Hoshinomiya-sensei walked up next to me with a smile. When she noticed, Chabashira-sensei turned around and looked at her like a demon.
"Not you, you stay back."
"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 one-on-one lessons, right? Also, you want Kagurazaka-kun to go to the guidance room immediately... Do you have some goal?"
Replying to Chabashira-sensei's question with a grin, she got behind me and put her hands on my shoulders.
I couldn't see Hoshinomiya-sensei's face, but I understood there was electricity in the air.
"By any chance, Sae-chan, are you looking for a younger man?"
Are you, Chabashira-sensei?
"Don't say stupid things. That's impossible."
"Fufu, certainly. It's impossible for Sae-chan~."
Hoshinomiya-sensei kept following us.
"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~."
As Hoshinomiya-sensei followed us against our will, a student suddenly walked up in front of us and blocked our way.
It was a beautiful girl with light pink hair I'd never seen before.
"Hoshinomiya-sensei. Do you have time right now? The student council has matters to discuss."
She looked at us for a moment but went back to face Hoshinomiya-sensei.
"Look, she's looking for you. Hurry up and go."
Chiyabashira-sensei hit Hoshinomiya-sensei's butt with her clipboard.
"Boo~. I think she'll get mad if I stay longer, so see you later, Kagurazaka-kun. Well, let's go to the staff room, Ichinose-san."
She turned on her heel and returned to the staff room with Ichinose.
After seeing off Hoshinomiya-sensei, Chabashira-sensei lightly scratched her head, "She's a bit..."
'Over-bearing, eccentric, handsy...'
"Yeah, let's go with those words."
Soon after, we arrived at the guidance room right next to the staff room.
'Did you enjoy insulting the class?'
"I did. I was able to release some stress."
"Come over here."
Glancing at the clock on the wall, she opened a door in the room. She put a kettle on top of the stove in the office kitchen.
"I'll be making some green tea. Are you okay with roasted green tea?"
I picked up the container with roasted green tea powder.
"Don't do anything extra. Enter quietly. Stand here quietly until I say it's okay to come back out. If you don't, you'll be expelled."
Without giving me an explanation, she closed the office kitchen door.
It wasn't long before I heard the sound of the guidance room door opening.
"Here, come in. Well then, what do you have to say to me? Horikita."
She must be frustrated about being put into Class D.
"I will ask you frankly. Why was I put into Class D?"
Your superior complex.
"Are you asking frankly?"
"Today, you said that the classes were divided by superiority and that class D had the lowest collection of leftovers."
"I did indeed say that. It looks like you consider yourself a 'superior' person."
We are touching the tip of the iceberg of Horikita's superior complex.
"I believe that I solved nearly all the problems on the entrance exam and made no big mistakes during the interview. At the very least, I don't think I should be in class D."
I beg to differ.
"You solved nearly all the problems on the entrance exam. Usually, we can't show the entrance exam results, but I'll give you a special exception. I have your answer sheet here by chance."
"You are thoroughly prepared, I see... You also knew I would come here to protest my placement."
"I'm a teacher. I understand the students to some degree, at the very least. Horikita Suzune. As you thought, on the entrance examination, you were in 4th place among the incoming first-years. Your scores were behind first and second by only a small margin. You did very well. We observed no particular problems during the interview either. Rather, you were highly rated."
"Thank you very much. Then—why?"
"Before that, why are you dissatisfied with Class D?"
"No one would be happy when they are not correctly evaluated. Also, the differences between classes greatly affect prospects. It's only natural that I'm unhappy."
Her evaluation of herself is too high.
Chabashira-sensei snickered or rather openly laughed at Horikita.
"I recognize that your academic ability is high. You are smart. However, who decided that smart people were the ones who got into the superior classes? We never said that."
"That's—that's just common sense."
"Common sense? Didn't that 'common sense' create the broken Japan we live in now? Indeed, we used to separate the inferior from the superior using the test scores. As a result, incompetent people tried to make up the difference in desperation to defeat the truly superior people. In the end, it led to a heredity system."
"Certainly, you can study. I won't deny that. However, this school's goal is to produce excellent people. It is a big mistake to think that you can be assigned to a superior class by only studying. That was the very first thing we explained at the entrance ceremony. Besides, think about it calmly. Would someone like Sudou make it if we determined acceptance only by intelligence?
I don't know, but I think Yamauchi and Ike are dumber than Sudou.
How did those two manage to get into this school?
"Also, it's rash to say that no one would be happy when incorrectly evaluated. Class A, for example, receives a lot of pressure from the school and envy from the lower classes. Competing under heavy pressure is harder than you think. Some students are fine with being evaluated lower than they are."
"That's a joke, right? I can't understand those kind of people."
"Really? A few in Class D. Oddball students would stay in a low-level class with pleasure."
"You still haven't explained clearly. Is my placement in class D the truth, and was there no mistake in my evaluation? Please double-check."
"It's too bad, but your placement in class D was not a mistake. You're definitely in Class D. You are a student only at that level."
"Is that so? I will hear from the school at another time."
"You'll get the same result if you try to talk to anyone in a higher position. There's no need to be that disappointed. As I said this morning, classes can overtake and surpass one another. Remember that rising to class A is possible before graduation."
"It does not seem like a straightforward path. How will the immature Class D get more points than Class A? No matter how I look at it, it is impossible."
That was Horikita's honest opinion. There is an enormous point difference this time.
"I wouldn't know. It's your choice whether to head down that reckless path. By any chance, do you have a special reason why you need to be in Class A?"
"That is... I will excuse myself for today. However, please remember that I still do not understand."
"All right, I'll remember that."
I heard the sound of a chair being pulled. Looks like the discussion ended.
"Oh, right. I called another person to the guidance room. It's a person that's also relevant to you."
"Relevant to me...? No way... Nii-san..."
I'm not your big brother.
"Come out, Kagurazaka."
The roasted green tea is delicious.
"If you don't come out, you'll be expelled."
Using expulsion as a weapon isn't fair...
I'll come out when I'm done drinking my tea.
"How long will you make me wait?"
When I'm done with my tea.
I heard muffled footsteps, and the door opened. Chabashira-sensei was staring at me as I took a sip from my tea.
"Get out here."
I finished my tea.
I walked out.
"Were you... listening to us?"
'Possibly. I was enjoying my tea.'
Chabashira-sensei's lips twitched, but she stayed composed.
"Sensei, why would you do that?"
Horikita immediately noticed that this was a setup. The anger was evident on her face.
"Because I decided it was necessary. Well then, Kagurazaka, I'll tell you why I called you."
Chabashira-sensei shot down Horikita's question and turned her attention to me.
"Excuse me then..."
"Wait, Horikita. It would be best if you listened to the end. This will hint at how you can get up to class A."
Horikita stopped in her tracks and sat back down in her chair.
"Please keep it short."
Looking down at her clipboard, Chabashira-sensei laughed, "You're an interesting student, Kagurazaka."
Am I?
"After seeing your entrance examination results, I was thinking about potential individual teaching methods, but your test results piqued my interest. I was surprised at first."
A familiar answer sheet from the entrance exam was on the clipboard.
"You scored 100 points in Japanese, 100 points in math, 100 points in English, 100 points in history, and 100 points in science."
Surprised, Horikita looked over my test form and then looked at me.
"You scored a 50 on the recent test," Horikita said.
'It was supposed to be a zero since I purposely answered all the questions wrong.'
I looked over at Chabashira-sensei, who shrugged her shoulders.
Horikita looked bewildered.
"Honestly, you're an extraordinary 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."
'Sorry?'
Chabashira-sensei sent Horikita a look that said, "How was that?"
"Why do you... hide your intelligence?" Horikita asked.
'I was never planning to. I even tried to fail on purpose.'
"What do you think? He seems more intelligent than you are, Horikita."
Horikita visibly flinched.
Why would you say that? Horikita is going to hit me when we are out of sight.
"It's not about the students who choose this school. Like Koenji, others are fine with either Class A or D."
"What is it? What other reasons are there?"
"Maybe another time."
"I will also leave. It's time for the staff meeting to start. I'm going to close this room, so let's leave."
She pushed the two of us out of the room.
I started walking ahead of Horikita without waiting for her.
"Wait."
Horikita called out to me to stop, but I kept walking.
"Kagurazaka-kun, you don't have any interest in class A."
'You have an obsession for Class A.'
"I'm not obsessed. I'm working to make my prospects more advantageous. That has been my goal ever since I entered this school. In truth, it's a bit different. I'm not even at the start line yet."
I noticed that Horikita sped up her pace and was walking beside me.
'So, you're aiming for Class A?'
"First, I want to find the real intention of the school—why I was put into Class D. Chabashira-sensei said that I was only judged as someone fitting for Class D, so... When I figure it out, I'll aim for Class A. No, I'm always aiming for class A."
I had the urge to hit her over the head with my notebook. How does she not know why she was placed in Class D?
Her superior complex is worse than I thought.
"I'm still hoping that my placement was a mistake by the school."
Horikita's previously overflowing confidence had turned into anxiety.
'Are you thinking of taking care of this situation with your own hands?'
"No, it's slightly different. Certainly, a person can't achieve anything by themselves, but if everyone doesn't put in their effort, it'll be a complicated problem. Unless everyone does it, we can't even begin to compete against the other classes."
"That's why..." Horikita took a deep breath.
"I'm asking for your cooperation."
'As a friend?'
It was the wrong choice of words as Horikita jabbed my side.
"I want you as an ally," Horikita sternly said.
'Why me? Why not, Hirata?'
"Hirata has talent and ability, but I can't accept him."
Horikita clenched her teeth in frustration, "I hate admitting this, but you are more intelligent than me, and you would make a good ally even though you plotted with Kushida against me."
'Okay, from today on, we will be allies.'
Well, it was the first step in Horikita's right direction.