GROUP FAILED, 2ND ATTEMPT
The smell of the first tea of the season is now in the air, hope you all are doing well.
It's been a month and a half since the start of school. I spent every day without a care in the world.
"Excuse me, can you hear me? Is your head okay?"
She hit my forehead with her palm, and I rubbed it in pain.
"You don't have a fever, huh."
"No, I'm just deep in thought."
I remembered how we reached this situation and I unintentionally sighed. Maybe I shouldn't have agreed to cooperate with him.
Oh well, there was no point in crying like spilled milk.
At the time, I agreed to help comfort her, but looking back on it, it's not really like I agreed.
"Mr. Expert, what should I do?"
"Well... of course, we need to persuade Sudou-kun and the others to participate in the study group again. To do that, you must lower your legs, begging them to join."
"Why should I do that... First, you are the reason why there is a fight."
"The real reason is those who don't want to learn, don't blame it on that."
This woman... does she really want to help them?
"It's impossible to gather them again without Kushida's help. You know that too, right?"
"...I know, I guess we'll have to make sacrifices."
It seemed like she didn't want to get involved with Kushida in any way possible. Although she was not happy about it, she agreed because this was an emergency.
This was the best compromise for someone like Horikita who didn't want it.
"Alright, go and quickly get him to cooperate with us."
"Me?"
"Of course, you formed a contract with me, since you agreed to be a hard worker until we reach A class, you must obey."
I don't remember making such a contract.
"Here, take a look at this written contract."
Wow. My name and even my seal.
"You'll be charged for forgery of documents, you know."
Giving up, I walked away from him. Horikita tidied up his desk and faced Kushida.
"Kushida-san, I'd like to talk to you, if possible, have lunch together?"
"Lunch? It's strange to be invited by Horikita-san, but sure."
Even though I was nearby, Kushida didn't falter at all. She quickly agreed. Kushida then walked towards the school's most popular Palette Cafe.
This is where Horikita got mad at us because we lied and called him out.
Horikita paid for Kushida's drink. Of course, I paid for my own.
Sipping her drink with a smile, Kushida sat down on a chair. We also sat in front of her.
"Thank you, what do you have to talk about?"
"I made a study group to help Sudou-kun, can you help us once again?"
"What are you doing this for? Is it for Sudou-kun's sake?"
Kushida also realized that his request was not purely altruistic.
"No, it's for me."
"Is that so, Horikita-san, as usual, acting for yourself, huh."
"Would you not help people who don't act for their friends?"
"I guess you're free to think whatever you want, but I wanted to make sure that you wouldn't lie, so I'm glad you answered honestly. Alright, I'll help you, we're classmates, right? Ayanokouji-kun. "
"Y-yes, please help us."
"I want to ask you directly, not for your friend, not for the points, but do you want to help in order to reach class A?"
"That's right."
"That, that doesn't make sense... isn't that impossible? Oh, I'm not trying to call you stupid, but how should I put it... more than half of the class has already given up, you know?"
"Is it because the difference between our class and Class A is too big?"
"Yeah... to be honest, I don't know if we can catch up, I don't even know if we can get points next month, I feel discouraged."
Horikita hit the table hard.
"I'm really going to do it."
"Ayanokouji-kun, do you want Class A too?"
"Yes, she's my assistant in achieving A grade."
You're calling me an assistant without my consent...
"Hmm... well, let me help."
"Of course, that's why we asked in the first place"
"Not that, I want to join you guys for class A. Not just the study group, but I want to help with everything else you'll be doing from now on."
"E-eh? But..."
"In that case, don't you want me to help?"
Kushida looked at Horikita with widened eyes.
"Well, I'll formally ask for your help again if this study group goes well."
That was her answer. Although Kushida might have something in mind, Horikita decided to let him look for a reason and let him join.
After receiving such a thoughtful answer from the usually stubborn Horikita, Kushida jumped with joy.
"Really? Yay!"
Looking very happy, she cheered happily. Her appearance on this one was also cute.
"Best relationship again, Horikita-san! Ayanokouji-kun!"
She extended her left and right hands towards both of us.
Feeling somewhat confused, Horikita and I shook her hand.
"However, I don't know if Sudou-kun and his friends agree to join again."
"Yes. In the current situation, it certainly seems difficult."
"In that case, can you leave it to me again? I can do this at least after joining you guys. Okay?"
I felt overwhelmed by the speed Horikita and Kushida were going.
As if about to spring into action, she took out her phone. Soon after, Ike and Yamauchi came over with excited expressions. As soon as they saw me and Horikita, they looked at me as if they were saying, "You really told him about that chat!?". Well, it fits, so I'll just keep quiet. Their guilt will probably be effective in getting them to agree.
"Sorry for calling you two, either Horikita or I have a request to make to you two."
"A-a-what, what's wrong? What are you doing with us?"
What an overreaction... They backed away nervously.
"Do you two have plans to join Hirata-kun's study group?"
"Eh? Study group? No, we don't want to join because he's too popular... We'll speed up the night before the exam, it's always worked since middle school."
To Ike's words, Yamauchi nodded twice, three times. They seemed to have succeeded with last-minute cramming these past few years.
"That kind of thinking suits you two. However, the possibility of being expelled from school is quite high right now."
"You're the same as before, whatever that means."
Sudou appeared while scowling at Horikita. It seemed Sudou was also caught in Kushida's trap.
"The only one who's most worried is you, Sudou-kun, you don't seem to be worried about school expulsion at all."
"You already know that. If you're not careful, I'll hit you, I'm busy with basketball right now, good enough to study before exams."
"Calm down, Sudou."
Ike tried to calm Sudou down, as if he didn't know what he was saying in the chat.
"Hey, Sudou-kun, would you like to try studying one more time? You probably barely passed the exam by speeding up last night. However, if it doesn't work out, you won't be able to play basketball here anymore, you know?"
"That... but I don't want to accept 'kindness' from this woman, I haven't forgotten the words you threw at me the other day, if you're going to ask, apologize first sincerely."
Sudou stated so, showing hostility towards Horikita. Personally, I think that although he felt it was dangerous not to study, he felt more insulted by her words about basketball.
Of course, Horikita would not apologize easily. There is no one who openly brags about being wrong with their own mouth.
"I think you're wrong, Sudou-kun."
"What!?"
Instead of apologizing, she only added more fuel to the fire.
"Anyway, our hatred for each other is just a trivial matter in this situation, I will teach you for my sake, you will learn for your sake, is that bad?"
"Do you really want to transfer to A class? Going this far to invite me."
"Yes, otherwise, who would choose to care about you?"
At Horikita's harsh words, Sudou grew even angrier.
"I'm busy with basketball, even before the exam, the others didn't take the time to study. I don't want to fall behind while I'm busy studying."
Having predicted that Sudou would say such words, Horikita took out a piece of paper and showed it to him. It was a detailed schedule until the day of the exam.
"At the last study session, I learned that the organized study method does not suit you. None of you understood the basics of the topic, like taking a frog and introducing it to the sea. Frogs don't know where to start. I also understood that taking time away from your hobbies would add to your stress. Therefore, I thought of a plan to solve that problem. "
"What kind of witchcraft is this? If there is such a plan, tell me."
The two of them, studying for tests and club activities could coexist. Believing that there was no way it could exist, Sudou burst out laughing.
"We have two weeks from now, you'll start studying every day in class as if you're going to die tomorrow."
At first, I didn't understand what he was saying. Everyone was confused.
"Normally, you three aren't serious in class, are you?"
"Don't decide that yourself."
Ike objected
"Then, were you diligent in class?"
"...No, no, I didn't do anything until the class was over."
"Right? In other words, you spend six hours a day just lazing around. Even beyond the one, two hours available after school, there is plenty of precious time to waste. We should make use of it this time."
"Of course... in theory it would work, but... isn't that absurd?"
Kushida's concerns were spot on. It was because they couldn't study all the time during class was wasted.
If they couldn't even stop talking in class, I guess they couldn't understand the problem themselves.
"I can't keep up with the material in class."
"I already know that, so we'll use all the free time we have and have a small study session."
Horikita then turned to the next page. It had a full description of what we would be doing.
In short, it goes like this. After the first period, everyone will meet and discuss what they don't understand. In a ten-minute break, Horikita would then teach what they didn't know.
And then the whole process would repeat for the next period. Of course it wasn't as simple as it sounds.
However, since they couldn't keep up with the lessons, it might be difficult for them to understand in a short period of time.
"W-wait, I'm confused, is this possible?"
Ike also realized that this would be a tough task.
"Yeah, isn't it unreasonable to think that you can teach us in just 10 minutes?"
"Don't worry, during class, I'll make sure all the questions are answered. Ayanokouji-kun and Kushida-san will teach each of you."
If it's like that, I guess there's a chance that everyone can understand in just 10 minutes.
"You two, if it's just explaining the answer, you can do it, right?"
"But... I still don't think that it's possible in that amount of time. Learning is hard, so I don't know..."
"The content covered in one period is very small, only 1 page of notes, or about 2 at most. And the test-related material only takes up half a page. Anyway, if there isn't enough time, we can always use the lunch break. I'm not saying I want you to understand the material, I just want to make sure that it's in your head... the important thing is to make sure that you pay attention to the teacher's voice and the writing on the blackboard, just forget the notes. "
"Are you telling us not to take notes?"
"Trying to memorize the question and the answer will be difficult when taking notes."
Sure, that may be true. By focusing on taking notes, precious time was wasted.
However, it seemed that Horikita did not want to use the time after school.
"Just give it a try. You can try it before you refuse."
"...I still don't want to do it. I want to spend my time differently than someone who studies 24/7... Also, I don't think I'll be able to learn with such cheap tricks."
Horikita thought about his plan while considering the three, but Sudou still disagreed.
"It seems like you misunderstood the basic concept here. Cheap tricks. There is no such thing. There is no way but to spend time and study carefully, it's not just for studying, but also for other things. Or did you say that? There are cheap tricks and shortcuts to basketball?"
"Of course there is no such thing. Only after you practice and practice will you become proficient."
Realizing what he had said, Sudou took a breath with his eyes wide open in surprise.
"It's really impossible for people who don't have the ability to focus. However, you will devote all your energy to gaining better basketball skills. Even if it's only a small portion, use that portion of energy to study. In order to continue playing basketball in this school, so as not to get kicked out. "
It was very small, but Horikita was clearly offering Sudou a small compromise. He hesitated.
However, his pride got through. No matter what, he would not agree.
"...I still don't want to come, thanks for being more polite, but I still don't agree."
Sudou tried to leave without ever sitting down, but Horikita stopped him.
If he let this opportunity pass, there might not be another chance to form a study group. Normally, I wouldn't say anything, but I feel I should step in and help out here.
"Hey, Kushida, do you have a girlfriend yet?"
"Uh, Uh, I don't have one, why are you asking me suddenly?"
"Then, if I get 50 points on the next test, will you date me?"
I held out my hand.
"Ha? What are you saying, Ayanokouji! Date me! I'll get 51 points!"
"No, no, me! Just with me! I'll get 52 points!"
Ike quickly responded. And then Yamauchi. Kushida quickly realized what I wanted to do.
"This is... M-embarrassing... I don't judge people by their test scores, you know?"
"But they want rewards for doing well. Look at their enthusiasm. If there's such a reward, they might try even harder."
"Y-uah, how about this? I'll date the person who gets the highest test score... I like people who work hard to achieve something they might not like."
"Woahhhhh, I'll do it, I'll do it!"
They were all very breathless. I called out to Sudou.
"Hey, Sudou, are you going to do it? This is your chance."
This was a little different from saying "Do you want to date Kushida?"
I had a rough understanding of Sudou's character. In a situation like this, it was difficult to get her to participate. So, I had to find a compromise in order to join in.
"...Dating, yeah, I guess it's not bad, Seriously, can't help it... I'll participate too."
Sudou turned around and replied in a small voice. Kushida sighed with relief.
"Remember, boys are simpler creatures than you might think."
I welcomed Sudou to the group after saying so to Horikita.
The reunited study group began, and it started off smoothly enough.
Of course, no one really found studying for fun or really enjoyed being able to study, but everyone worked hard so that they wouldn't have to drop out. The stupid trio, unlike their usual selves, were frantically repeating problems on the board, twisting their necks as they tried to understand.
Sudou was occasionally on the verge of falling asleep, but for the sake of being a basketball player, he barely slept in class. He was earnestly pursuing an absurd dream that some people would laugh at.
Most of us first years, fresh out of high school, don't have dreams yet. Many had only briefly thought, "What will it be like when I grow up?", but nothing more than that. In comparison, Sudou, who is already working hard towards her dream, is a person to be commended.
After all, how does this school define and measure ability?
At the very least, it's not measured only by academic ability.
That's obvious when you look at Ike, Sudou, and me. All were admitted.
If you were admitted for something other than your academic ability, you had to make sure you never got a failing mark. Or at least, it seems that way to me.
If the system itself doesn't lie, then not many answers are possible.
Or did they make the problem difficult for Ike and Sudou so that they could overcome it?
The question arose in my mind. Well, there might not be such a simple answer. Both the lesson and the small test were more difficult than Sudou and the others could solve.
After the morning class ended, Horikita looked down with a small tone. It seemed like he was satisfied with the notes he took.
Even if it was teaching the stupid trio, Horikita would definitely do his best to create the best results. It was natural since he wanted to improve the class grades and enhance the students' abilities.
However, we are not aiming for a perfect score. All we wanted was for Ike and the others to pass.
As soon as the bell rang for lunch, Ike and the others ran for their lives. Lunch is 45 minutes. After eating, it was promised that everyone would meet in the library for 20 minutes to study.
Originally, we planned to study in class, but since it would be noisy, it was decided that we would study in the library so that we could concentrate more.
However, I think the real reason was so that Horikita could avoid Hirata. Hirata's group usually discussed study methods for school after lunch. If we were near him, we could probably hear everything they said. He probably didn't want that.
"Horikita, what did you do for lunch?"
"Wellh-"
"Ayanakouji-kun, do you want to have lunch together? I have no other plans today."
Kushida suddenly jumped into my vision.
"Oh, sure, then you want to eat with Kushida too-"
"See you later, I already have plans, excuse me."
Getting up quickly, she left the classroom alone.
"Sorry, Ayanakouji-kun, am I... interrupting?"
"No, no, it's fine."
Kushida looked at Horikita's back and waved "Bye bye~".
Was this planned? After discovering her secret a few days ago, I felt like Kushida was trying to track me down more blatantly. Although she said that she trusted me, anyone would be afraid to tell someone.
In the end, we went to a cafe for lunch. When the two of us arrived at the cafe, I felt overwhelmed by the number of girls there.
"What is this, there are so many girls..."
More than 80% of the students were girls.
"This is not a place where boys eat."
The menu was full of items like pasta and pancakes, which girls loved, but athletic guys like Sudou would only complain that the portions were too small. The only boys here were riajuus and playboys. They sat with another girl or several other girls.
"I think the school cafeteria is the best, I feel uncomfortable."
"You'll get used to it. Koenji-kun comes here every day, you know? Look, he's over there."
Kushida pointed towards a large table with many chairs around it. I could see Koenji's figure surrounded by girls.
He had an important casual demeanor.
I never seemed to see him at lunch time; was this the place he always went?
"He looks popular, those girls are all third years."
Kushida was also surprised. I could hear some conversation between Koenji and senpai.
"Koenji-kun, say 'aah~'"
"Haha~! Older girls are definitely better~"
Without any shame in the presence of the third year, he ate his food almost fixated on the girls.
"That guy, he's really something..."
"It seems like his name is already being talked about here and there."
I see, are those girls doing it for money?
"What a sad world we live in."
"Those girls are just being practical, you can't eat with just your dreams."
"Will you do that too?"
"I like to dream more, you know, someone like the knight in shining armor?"
"Knight in shining armor, yes."
We found seats as far away from Koenji as possible.
"What about you, Ayanokouji-kun? Do you like someone like Horikita-san?"
"Why did you bring Horikita?"
"You're always with her, isn't she cute?"
Well, I think he's cute. Only on the outside.
"You know, you've been attracting the attention of those girls for a while, you're even on the ranking list that the first year girls make."
"Attention. Me? And that kind of ranking..."
It seems like I was ranked by girls while I was unconscious.
Is it the same kind of ranking as that boy?
"How many types of rank will there be? Rank of ikemen? Wealth ranking? Dirty ranking? And-"
"...You can stop, I don't want to know anymore."
"It's okay, it's okay, you ranked fifth in the ikemen ranking. Congratulations! By the way, first place is Satonaka-kun from class A. Second is Hirata-kun, and third and fourth are both boys from class A. I feel like Hirata-kun got a lot of points because of his appearance and character. "
As expected of a class D star. She was also noticed by the other girls in the class.
"Can I be happy about this?"
"Of course, but you're also quite high in the gloomy rankings."
"Let's see..."
I looked at the phone. There were several lists of countless boys.
There was also a disturbing ranking titled, "Ranking of boys who should die". Let's say I didn't see that.
"Aren't you happy? You're ranked fifth."
"It would be different if I cared about being popular, but I don't really feel anything."
Actually, I don't remember ever getting a letter with a heart seal on it from a girl.
"Did many people participate?"
"Yes. There were many people who participated, but I don't know the total vote count... The people who commented are also unknown~"
In other words, it wasn't very reliable.
"Speaking of which, I think you're at a disadvantage. I think you must be someone worthy of being an ikemen, but you don't stand out like Hirata-kun. You're not very smart, athletic, or good at talking, so you're missing something, you know?"
"That, that kills me..."
That says that I don't have anything interesting about me...
"M-sorry, maybe I should hold back."
Kushida pondered her rant.
"Mm, in middle school, did you have a boyfriend?"
"Is it bad that I didn't?"
"...So no, Ahaha, it's not so bad."
"Level, yeah, if boys do the same thing, what do the girls think?"
"think of them as horrible humans?"
Although she was smiling, her eyes were not. Well, that's to be expected. If boys judged the girls for cuteness or ugliness, they would definitely object. It was already one double standard between girls and boys. Anyway, Kushida has been interacting with me normally. I thought she would act differently after I found her on the roof.
"Hey, you don't have to force yourself to talk to me, you know."
"No, no, it's not forced. I feel like talking to you is fun."
"Well, didn't you say that you hate talking to me?"
"Ahaha, I did, didn't I? Sorry, sorry, that's how I really feel.
...No, I'm hurt because that's how you really feel. Even though she's smiling, she hates me. That's the worst.
"Actually, I invited you to have lunch with me to keep an eye on you, I'm just asking, but if you had to choose between Horikita-san and me to be your ally, who would you choose? You choose me?"
"I'm neither ally nor foe, I'm neutral."
"I think there are things that can't be avoided just by being neutral, it's fine and all to fight a war for example, but you'll get wrapped up in it at some point, you know? If Horikita-san and I have a fight, it would be nice if you worked together. "
"Even if you say that..."
"Remember that, I expect you to help me."
"Expecting, yes, if you ask me to help, I would think that the first thing you should do is explain the situation."
Still smiling, Kushida shook her head no.
"No, the first thing is to make sure we trust each other."
"Yes, I think."
Both Kushida and I did not understand each other at all.
A little later, when we trusted each other more, I might be able to understand Kushida better.
***
A minute later than we promised, we all met in the library.
Everyone was ready to take notes and waiting to start. There were also many other students currently studying in the library. From first years to third years, everyone was trying to study.
I could see with a glance.
"You're late."
"Sorry, we were a bit late because it was crowded."
"Did you two eat together!?"
Ike asked us, feeling suspicious that the two of us were together.
We did eat together, but I guess we shouldn't say anything here.
"Yes, we had lunch together."
Like I said, you don't have to say it... With a dissatisfied expression, Ike glared at me. It was as if he saw me as his rival. Without looking at me, Horikita continued to speak.
"Hurry up."
"...Okay."
I quietly sat down and took out my notes.
"I thought I'd need more help, but geography is really easy."
"Chemistry is also easier than I thought."
Ike and Yamauchi spoke up.
"That's because there are a lot of memorization problems. Subjects like Math or English have questions you can't answer if you don't have a foundation."
"Don't let your guard down, there may be current events in this exam."
"Current... events?"
"Current events, political or economic events that may have happened in the past few years. In other words, there may be questions that cover material not in the textbook."
"Ugh, that's foul play! Doesn't that make the scope of the exam useless!?"
"That's why you should study everything."
"I suddenly hate geography..."
Of course, the current event question might appear in the exam, but I think it's something we can ignore for now.
If you worry too much about things that probably won't be tested, you'll miss those important parts.
"Shouldn't we start as soon as possible?"
As the conversation went on endlessly, precious time was wasted.
"Yes, we're currently behind because some people are already late."
"...Are you still disputing that?"
"It's a problem for everyone. Then, who is the person who came up with inductive thinking?"
"Um... it's the person we studied last class, right? Uh..."
While thinking of an answer, Ike turned his pen around.
"Oh, that's that guy. His name made me very hungry, so I remembered."
"Francis Xavier... or something like that, right?"
Sudou could not recall the correct name.
"I remember, it was Francis Bacon!"
"Right."
"Yes, this is definitely a perfect score!"
"No, not at all..."
If we continue this pace for the next week, desperately studying, everyone will probably pass.
"Everyone, just take care of your health. We don't have much time to study."
Kushida also understood that there was almost no room for error this time.
"It's okay, it's okay if it's all three."
"As expected of Horikita-chan, it seems you trust us!"
I think she was trying to say that "Idiots don't get the flu", but whatever.
"Hey, shut up there, the nonsense is too loud."
A student nearby stopped studying and looked at us.
"Sorry, sorry, I was too noisy. I'm happy that I got the right answer. The person who proposed inductive thinking was Francis Bacon, you know? I won't forget it since I learned it once~"
Ike said while laughing happily.
"Huh? ...By the way, are you guys in class D?"
A group of boys nearby all looked at us at once. At their reaction, Sudou fumed with irritation
"So what, so what if we're in class D. Do you have a problem with that?"
"No, we don't have a problem with that, I'm Yamawaki, in C class. Nice to meet you."
Yamawaki looked at us with a laugh.
"Well, how should I put it... I guess it's good that this school divides classes by ability. That way I don't have to study with people like you."
"What!?"
The one who exploded in anger was, obviously, Sudou.
"You're just angry at the truth. If we fight inside the school, I wonder which class points will be deducted. Oh wait, you have no points to begin with. That thing, you'll probably get expelled, you know?"
"You want to fight? Bring it!"
Sudou's outburst attracted the attention of others in the quiet library.
If this situation got worse, the teacher would probably find out.
"He's right. If you create a disturbance, we don't know what will happen. You have to remember that getting kicked out is totally possible and I don't mind that you're insulting us, but you're in Class C, aren't you? It's not a class you should be proud of. "
"There seems to be some kind of miscalculation between classes A to C. But you guys are on different levels."
"Nice way of putting it, as I see it, every class but class A just got together."
Yamawaki stopped laughing and glared at Horikita.
"For an inferior product that doesn't have a single point, you said some naughty things. Do you think you can say anything just because you look cute?"
"Thank you for your words that have no logical connection to this topic. I was never conscious of my appearance until now, but I feel uncomfortable being praised by you."
"Tsu!"
Climbing up the table, Yamawaki stood up.
"H-hey, it's dangerous for you to start because others will hear it."
Another Class C student tried to hold Yamawaki back, tugging at his sleeve.
"For the next test, if you get a fail mark, you know you have to drop out, right? I can't wait to see how many people will drop out of your group."
"Too bad, but no one will drop out of class D. Before worrying about us, why don't you worry about yourself first? If you're not careful, you might fail, you know?"
"My nails are failing? Stop joking."
"We don't study so that we can avoid failing marks. We study to get better grades. Don't join in with us! Also feel happy knowing Francis Bacon is; are you sane? Why are you studying things that aren't even tested?"
"Huh?"
"Anyway, don't you even know what the exam will cover? This is why you are an inferior class."
"Enough."
Sudou lost his temper and grabbed Yamawaki by the collar.
"Hey hey, are you really going to use force? Your points will be deducted. Are you okay with that?"
"We don't even have points to lose~!"
Sudou pulled her arm. Ah, is he really going to drop it?
I should really stop him. I pushed my chair to get up-
"Alright, stop, stop!"
A girl spoke.
Sudou stopped at the unexpected new character.
"Hey, you're not part of this, don't interfere."
"Not part of this? I'm trying to use this library, I can't ignore this interference. If you really want to hit him, can't you do it outside?"
With the blonde woman's reasonable words, Sudou released Yamawaki.
"And you guys, aren't you provoking him too much? If this continues, do you think it will be alright if the school gets word of this?"
"M-sorry, we didn't mean to do that, Ichinose."
Ichinose. I remember hearing that name before.
Oh, it was the Class B student who was talking to Hoshinomiya-sensei.
"Hey, let's move. If we study here, we'll become stupid too."
"Y-yes."
Yamawaki and his friends left the area.
"If you guys continue to study here, just keep quiet."
With those words, I gave a small nod, feeling amazed at his valiant gaze.
"Unlike Horikita, he still defends this place, huh."
"I'm not trying to cause a disturbance, I'm just telling the truth."
Telling the truth caused a disturbance, though...
"Hey... That guy said that this wasn't tested... right?"
"...What does this mean?"
We glanced at each other.
The material Chiyabashira-sensei was going to study was Age of Exploration.
We all must have made sure to write it down.
"Doesn't this mean each class gets a different test?"
"That's impossible... the test should be the same for everyone in the class."
As Horikita said, all the problems in the test must be the same for the five major subjects.
Otherwise, the effect of our grades on points becomes unclear.
In any case, was class C informed of any changes to the exam before anyone else?
Or was class D the only one who wasn't informed...
From the unexpected new information, we couldn't help but become confused.
What if different topics were tested on the exam history section between classes?
...No... had the history section been different, it would have been very strange.
But if the whole test was different...
This whole week of studying would be a waste.
Ten minutes before the end of lunchtime. All study group members pack up and head to the staff room. After all, we couldn't proceed until we confirmed that we knew what this exam covered.
"Sensei, we have something we want to confirm as soon as possible"
"It's rather fascinating, all the other teachers are surprised."
"Sorry for interrupting."
"It's okay, but we're in the middle of something. Stay calm."
She continued to write in her notebook, continuing her work.
"Last week, when you told us what this exam covered, did you make a mistake? Just a moment ago, a C class student told us that their test was different."
Without raising an eyebrow, Chiyabashira-sensei listened to Horikita. Then Sensei, who was listening silently, suddenly stopped moving his pen.
"...The topic covered in the exam was changed last Friday. Sorry, I forgot to tell you guys."
"What-!?"
After writing down the new test scope on a piece of paper, he tore out the page and handed it to Horikita. The textbook pages on the paper were all the material we had covered, and Sudou and the others had not studied it.
"Horikita, thank you, I noticed my mistake, thanks to all of you too, until later."
"T-wait a minute, Sae-chan-sensei!" Isn't it not too late?"
"No, I don't think so, if they study next week, everything will be fine, right?"
Without a second thought. Chiyabashira-sensei tried to get us out of the staff room. However, no one moved.
"Even if you guys refuse to leave, nothing will change. You understand that right?"
"...Let's go."
"B-but Horikita-chan! I can't agree to this!"
"Like Sensei said, staying here is a waste of time. We've just started studying and learning the revised materials."
"But still!"
Turning around, Horikita left the room. Sudou, Ike, and Yamauchi all followed, albeit reluctantly. Chiyabashira-sensei did not even glance at us as we left. She didn't even say sorry for her mistake. Most importantly, I think the other teachers must have said something after that incident.
Although it was a serious mistake for a homeroom teacher, there was no response from anyone else. My eyes then met Hoshinomiya-sensei's for a moment. With a small smile, he waved at me.
Well, I guess that was his response. However, I don't think that he just "forgot" to tell us about his exam.
Walking into the hallway, the bell for afternoon class rang.
"Kushida-san, I have a favor to ask you."
"Hmm? What is it?"
"I need you to tell the rest of Class D about the changes to the exam."
With that, Sensei handed Kushida a piece of paper.
"I have no problem with that, but... is it okay for me to do that?"
"You're the best person to ask here, also it's impossible to take the test without knowing what the problem is."
"Alright I'll tell everyone about the changes."
"Tomorrow, I'll make sure to revise our study plan as well."
Although Horikita pretended to be calm, I could tell he was feeling a little anxious. The weirdness of us studying the past few days was now pointless. Also, we only have about a week left until the exam.
However, his biggest worry was Sudou, Ike and Yamauchi's motivation.
"Horikita, I know it will be difficult, but I will depend on you."
Sudou bowed to Horikita.
"I... starting tomorrow, will be taking a break from club activities for a week. Will that work?"
"... that..."
Given that we only have a week left, this was a very reasonable decision.
Although it was the best thing he could ask for, Horikita could not immediately accept it.
"Is that really okay? It's going to be hard, you know?"
"Learning is hard, right?"
Grinning widely, Sudou tapped Horikita on the shoulder.
"Sudou, are you serious?"
"Yes, I'm really upset right now, both at our homeroom teacher and the C class kids."
I guess you could call it a blessing in disguise. Because of this difficult situation, Sudou began to give learning a chance. He probably felt that he wouldn't graduate if he didn't try harder. Sudou's new motivation seemed to have made something in Ike and Yamauchi.
"No way, I guess we'll try harder too."
"Alright, if you guys have prepared yourselves for that, then please cooperate with me, but Sudou-kun-"
Horikita brushed Sudou's hand off his shoulder.
"Don't touch me. If you do it again, I will show no mercy."
"...You're not cute, girl..."
"We'll do well!"
"Me too!"
Kushida, also feeling motivated, stuck it out first.
"Ayanokouji-kun, you too!"
"Huh? No, I'll-"
"with the various there is... are you giving up?"
"...I'm thinking about it..."
"You promised to work with me? Did you forget?"
Horikita eyed me after hearing me.
"I'm not good at teaching, good and bad people in some ways, am I?"
To be honest, when it comes to teaching others, Horikita and Kushida are better than me.
Also, I'm not someone who likes teaching.
"No, your test scores aren't that good right?"
"There's no time, so I think it's better for Horikita and Kushida to teach together, rather than doing one-on-one sessions separately. Also, there's something I'm worried about."
"Worried about what?"
The events that had just happened in the staff room were too serious to forget.
At lunchtime, I got out of my seat with a goal in mind. Then I headed to the cafeteria.
"Where are you going?"
After seeing me rush out of the classroom, Kushida followed. Stopping in front of me, she bent down and looked at me.
"Since it's lunchtime, I thought I'd go to the cafeteria."
"Fuun, is it okay if I come with you?"
"It's fine, but you have plenty of other people you can ask too, you know."
"Although I have a lot of friends I can eat with, you have no one, and you usually talk to Horikita-san first, you didn't say anything today. Didn't you say yesterday that you were worried about something in the staff room? What is it?"
As usual, Kushida listened to her surroundings; or rather, observed her surroundings. Honestly, I thought it would be annoying if there was someone who was always like this, but I thought it was fine if it was Kushida. I only got to know her secret by chance. I won't do anything bad.
"I can tell you, but will you promise not to tell anyone else?"
"Keeping secrets is a strong point for me!"
We walked towards the cafeteria. Before long, we entered the crowded cafeteria and got to the meal ticket machine. After buying tickets for two people, I moved away from the ticket vending machine and didn't line up at the counter. From there, I saw the fingertips of the students who were buying their meals.
"What's that?"
Kushida looked at me curiously.
"It's possible that this will yield the answer to what I'm worried about."
I looked at all the students who were buying lunch. After about 20 students, I found my target student. That student bought the food and walked to the table with heavy steps.
"Alright, let's go."
"What?"
Quickly exchanging our tickets for the meal, I approached the student and sat down.
"Um, excuse me, you're... senpai right?"
"...Huh? Who are you?"
Silently looking on, she stared at me, uninterested.
"Are you a second year? Third year?"
"Third year, you're first year, yes."
"I'm Ayanakouji-kun from class D. Senpai, you're also in class D, right?"
"Does it have anything to do with you?"
Kushida looked at me in surprise, asking, "How do you know?"
"Because he's limited to eating free food, it doesn't taste good, right?"
Senpai was eating free plant-based food.
"What, makes me feel annoyed."
She tried to get up with effort, but I stopped her.
"I have something to ask, if you listen to me, I'll show my gratitude."
"...Thank you?"
My small voice was lost in the crowd of the cafeteria.
The students nearby were also engrossed in their conversations with their friends.
"Do you still have problems in the middle semester of your first semester? Or if you know someone who had all the problems of the previous test, can you tell us who it is?"
"Hey, do you understand what you're saying?"
"Nothing surprising, I don't think it's against school policy to use old test problems for study."
"Why are you asking me?"
"That's easy, I thought it would be easier to cut a deal with someone with no points. Honestly, free vegetable food isn't that good. Of course, it makes a difference if you really like eating that food. What would you say?"
"...How much?"
"10,000 points, as far as I can give."
"I don't have any problems, but... I know someone who can do it. If you want to ask him to help, you need at least 30,000 points."
"30,000 is too much, I don't have that much money."
"How much do you have?"
"...20,000 points."
"So, 20,000 points... No, 15,000 points will do. No less."
"15,000 points, yes..."
"If you want to ask a stranger about past problems, you must be very desperate. After all, the school expelled all the failures, I've lost a lot of my friends."
"I see... Alright, I'll pay 15,000 points."
"Then, good deal. Of course, you have to pay first."
"I don't mind, but if you break your word, I won't forgive you, I'll make sure you get expelled."
"...Well, I don't want any bad records. If rumors arise that I blackmailed a kouhai, I might not be forgiven."
"Now, senpai, since I'm going to pay 15,000 points, can you make it easy for me? I want to see the answers to the mock test."
"Alright, I'll include it. Well, I think whatever you're trying to do will be useful, that's for sure."
It seemed like senpai understood what I was thinking.
"Thank you."
Senpai quickly left his seat. I think he didn't want to be the center of attention.
"H-hey, Ayanokouji-kun... is it... no problem?"
"There's no problem at all. Point transfer is allowed by school rules, so there's no offense."
"No problem, but isn't it dishonest to get last year's questions?"
"Dishonest, I don't think so If the school doesn't allow it, there must be regulations in place, I also confirmed something else when I just talked to the third-year senpai. This kind of transaction is not strange. "
"Huh...?"
"She wasn't too surprised, and she quickly agreed to listen to what I had to say, maybe this isn't her first negotiation, she not only got the answers to the midterm, but even a mock test, there's nothing wrong with that."
Her eyes were transfixed in amazement.
"Ayanokouji-kun, you're really different, I'm surprised."
"This is just an assumption to ensure that Sudou and the others are not expelled."
"But this may turn out to be pointless. The last question was a past question, wasn't it? This year's test may be completely unrelated."
"The problems may not be exactly the same, but there will definitely be some similarities. The last mock exam gave me that clue."
"Clue?"
"You saw that there were really hard problems and easy ones, right?"
"Yes, yes, it was the last problem of each section. I didn't understand that question at all."
"When I looked into it afterwards, it was a problem studied in the second and third years. In other words, they didn't expect the first years to be able to solve the problem. Isn't there no point in throwing out those kinds of problems that can't be solved? Perhaps for no other reason than to really test us. If the problems on the mock exam are exactly the same as the previous mock exam, what will happen? "
"...If I see that problem, I will be able to test the results."
The same goes for the middle semester.
Soon after, I got a message from the third-year senpai with an attachment. It was an old test.
First, I checked the mock test. The main question was, were the last three problems also the same?
Kushida also tried to look at my cell phone.
"What are they? Are they the same?"
"It's completely identical, the problems, sentences, and all the words are the same."
"That's amazing! If we show this to everyone, it'll be an easy success! Don't show it only to Sudou-kun, but also to others!"
"No, we won't show it to Sudou, Ike, and Yamauchi."
"W-why? You've gone so far as to use up a lot of points."
"If they hear that these are test questions, they will lose all motivation and focus. Above all, overconfidence is the biggest problem. The midterm period may not be the same as a mock test, there is a possibility of different problems in the midterm. "
It is important to remember that these old tests are assumptions.
"Then what are you going to use them for?"
"Release these problems the day before the exam. Then we tell everyone that this problem is roughly the same as this year's exam. What will everyone do at that time?"
"That night, everyone will try to memorize the questions!"
"That's how it is."
Students who do not understand the basics may not be able to memorize all the problems in one day. But, it's not hard to understand the problems. We are not trying to get the highest score on the next test. We are trying to avoid failure. If we ask too much, the plan might fail.
But with this, we might be able to get everyone to pass the D class.
"Hey... when did you think of getting this old test?"
"Because we found out that the tests are different, but I have a hunch that the old tests might be similar since the midterms have been announced."
"Eh!? Since the beginning!?"
"When Chiyabashira-sensei first mentioned the midterm, she spoke in an unusual way. Although she knew Sudou and her other grades and attitudes, she spoke with confidence. In other words, she was asserting that there was a sure way to save them."
"Is that... an old test?"
The reason why Sudou, Ike, and Yamauchi were all admitted to this school, regardless of their academic ability, had to be connected to this somehow. If they couldn't get good grades by studying hard, this was some kind of way out for them. In other words, maybe everyone gets perfect grades by getting old tests. That's how I understand it best.
"...Ayanokouji-kun, you're really observant, aren't you?"
"I'm just being sly, I don't think that I can pass the midterm without any help, I'm looking for a way to pass for sure"
"Fuun."
As if something was on his mind, Kushida smiled mischievously.
"I'm asking a favor, can you say that you got the old questions? Say that you got the old test from the third-year senpai that you got from him"
"I'm okay with that, but... are you okay with that?"
"I want to avoid trouble, after all, I don't want to stand out, our classmates trust you, it would be much better if you told others."
"...Alright if you say so."
"Thanks, I don't need to stand out."
"Then, let's keep this between us."
"Yes, that sounds good."
"Don't you feel there's trust between us when we share secrets like this?"
"Well, I don't know, I hope so."
"Thank you."
Kushida replied briefly. But I thought, I don't know what she was thanking me for.