"In this school, students are sorted by their level of excellence. The superior students are sorted into Class A, the least capable in class D. In other words, Class D is akin to the last bastion for failures. You are the worst of the worst. You are 'DEFECTIVE'. And this is the result of being defective."
This school divided its students into 4 classes, based on what, knowledge, marks, talent, money…I don't think so.
What were the criteria for each & every student to be placed in each class? There was no way I would believe that they were sorting students based on their level of excellence. I mean Amanda had to be in Class A, she had the third-highest test score among the first-year students. But here she was, sitting beside me in Class D.
Either the school's class dividing system messed up or something bigger was in play here and I had to figure it out.
Either way, things were getting dicey. This school was not some fairyland or wonderful place as I had imagined and my promise of not getting involved was in question.
"You guys are amazing you know that." Teacher spoke.
"What! How?" asked Alex in a bewildered tone.
"How you ask? In my entire teaching carrier, this year's Class D was the first to ever spend all their points in a single month. I mean I am impressed by how much you indulged yourselves."
Her false applause echoed throughout the classroom.
"So, does that mean once we reach zero points, we will always stay there?"
"Yes. You will stay at zero point until you graduate. But don't worry; you can still have a room in the dorms and free meals. You won't die."
Although everyone knew that it was possible to get by with the bare minimum, a lot of students were not comforted by the fact. After all, they had lived a carefree and luxurious life this past month. To suddenly restrain yourself after that would prove kind of impossible.
"Won't the other class make fun of us?"
After hearing that the classes were divided based on merit, everyone else would probably believe that Class D was full of morons. Despair was not unreasonable.
"You are still worried about your dignity, Donald?" She said in an amused tone.
"Yes, I am," said Donald in a loud voice.
"Well, if you are that much worried, why not work to make your class into the best one."
"Huh?"
"Your class points are not just linked to the amount of money that you receive each month. They are also indicative of your class rank."
In other words…If we somehow get 500 points, then Class D would be promoted to class C. This really did sound like a company performance review.
"Now then, I have one more bad news to share with you all."
'More bad news. Everyone in the class looked at each other like this was not enough.
"Your mid-terms are at the end of this month. And the ones failing at this test have to drop out. "
"D-drop out? What do you mean?"
"Oh, did I not explain this to you? If you fail on a midterm or final exam in this school, then you have to drop out."
"Wh-what?" wailed Leo.
"Hey teacher, please don't joke like that?"
"Frankly, I can't do anything. These are the school rules. You should always prepare for the worst."
Again whole class had fallen into utter silence. Everyone was at a loss for words. The teacher was dropping chaotic news one after another; there was no hope of surviving here.
"Oh, one more thing. You people are aware of that, this school, which operates under direct government supervision, boasts a high rate of advancement into elite education & workforce placement. And it's very likely that most of you have chosen a college or future workplace."
Naturally, this school boasted the high rates of advancement in the whole country. There were rumors that it was possible to get into a highly competitive school or company just by graduating from here.
"However, as you have known by now, nothing comes easy in this world. Mediocre people like you would have to be naïve to think that you could easily get into college or workplace of your choice."
Her words carried throughout the room.
"In other words, you are saying that if we want to get into the company or college of our choice, we must at minimum, surpass Class C?" Alex asked.
"You are wrong. To make your dreams of a bright future come true, your only option is to overtake class A. This school guarantees nothing for any other students."
"Th-that's…absurd. We didn't hear anything about that."
"If you didn't hear something or didn't know something; that does not mean that's not going to happen. Rules are rules." She said in such an authoritative tone that made everyone shiver. She could be scary if needed.
'Sigh.'
"It looks like your bubbles have been burst. If you had simply understood the harsh reality of the situation from the start, then this long homeroom period might have meant something. As I have already said, your midterm exams are in three weeks. Please think things over, and be careful not to drop out. I have confidence that you can find a way to avoid getting red marks on your report cards. If at all possible, challenge yourself to act in a way befitting of a skilled individual."
She exited the room, closing the door with some force for added emphasis and the students hung their heads in shame, like what they could have done in any way.
.
.
.
.
"What the hell I am gonna do if we don't get any points?"
"I used up all of my points yesterday…"
During the break, the classroom erupted into an uproar…or rather, what should I call it…chaos.
"Forget about the points. What the hell about this class? Why was I even put into class D?" Cried a boy with glasses. No, he was not John, he was, what was his name again? I think his name was Adam. Apparently, he was good with academics & answered all the questions in class.
"Wait, does this mean that we can't get into college now? Why did we even come to this school in the first place?"
No one could hide their confusion. I mean literally, a bomb had been dropped on their head.
"I understand that you are all confused right now, but please calm down." Alex, sensing the classroom moving towards crisis, stood and attempted to rein everyone in. Well, he was the leader after all.
"How the hell are we supposed to calm down? Are not you frustrated that she called us a bunch of failures?"Adam said.
"Even if I was, is not it better for us to stay together, so we can turn things around?" Alex asked. Yup, he was the definition of a leader, at least in my book.
"Turn things around? Do you even have any idea, how we were sorted in the first place?"
"Honestly, I don't have any idea, how we were sorted, but sitting here whining won't help us right now."
"What the fuck did you say?" Adam quickly went to Alex and forcibly grasped his collar. He was being aggressive.
"Calm down you two. I am sure the teacher's words were harsh, but I am sure she wanted us to do better. Right?"
And that was none other than, the social butterfly who's name was Kate Miller. She slipped between the two and separated them. And as expected, Adam didn't try to hurt her and reflexively took half a step back.
"Besides, it's only been one month since we started here. As Alex said, it's better if we all do our best together. Do you think I am wrong about that?"
"N-no, it's…not that. I just…"
Adam's anger had completely vanished. Kate looked at everyone in the class, and it was almost as if her eyes reflected a sincere wish for us to work together.
"It's better for us to band together. Right? There is no need for you two to fight over such silly matter."
"I…I'm sorry. I lost my cool back there." Adam said.
"It's fine, I should also have chosen my words a little more carefully."
And in the end, Kate's presence brought everyone together.
I took out my phone and snapped a picture of the screen which was showing the class points. Amanda taking notice looked at me with a puzzled expression.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"I was trying to figure out how points are calculated. You have also been taking notes, haven't you?" Apparently, she was writing everything in detail, from the very beginning of the class.
If I could figure out a way of knowing how many points were deducted by being late or talking in class, it would be easier to come up with a countermeasure.
This school was not as simple as it was advertised in any way, as I had thought before.