The morning bell rang on the first day of May. Shortly after, Chabashira-sensei entered the classroom holding a rolled-up poster in a tube. Her face always looked stern and serious, but this time, it seemed a bit more alive.
Ike: Sensei~, are you going through menopause?
Ike actually asked out loud.
Chabashira: Alright, the morning class is starting. Any questions before we begin? If there's anything on your mind, feel free to speak up.
Chabashira-sensei completely ignored Ike and continued talking, as if she was convinced the students had something to ask.
Immediately, several people raised their hands.
Hondou: Um, I checked my point balance this morning, and only 11,000 points were deposited. Wasn't it supposed to be 100,000 points on the first day of each month?
Sae: Hondou, I explained it before, didn't I? The points are transferred to students' accounts on the first day of the month, every month. They were transferred without any problem this month as well.
Hondou: Uh, but... I didn't get all the points.
Hondou and Yamauchi exchanged glances. Undoubtedly a pair of fools.
Sae: Are they really that stupid?
Hondou: Stupid? What?
Hahaha, what a beautiful expression on Chabashira-sensei, angry and amazed at the same time. I guess she planned for the class to perform poorly as a way to unite us.
Sae: Sit down, Hondou. I'll explain it again.
Hondou: S-Sae-chan sensei?
Surprised by her stern tone, Hondou slumped into her seat.
Sae: Points were deposited. No mistakes. The probability of this class being left out is very low. Do you understand?
Hondou: No, even if I say I understand, we still haven't received our points.
Hirata, sitting next to me, looked a bit nervous.
Hirata: Yuuichi, it seems we were mistaken. It looks like the points are based on a group evaluation.
Yuuichi: (nodding) It seems so, but it's still a much better scenario than it could have been.
Hirata: Sensei, may I ask a question? I still don't understand. Please tell us why we didn't get 100,000 points. If you don't do that, we'll never understand.
Hirata raised his hand.
Yuuichi: (sighing) Yosuke...
A total of 36 absences and tardiness. 198 incidents of talking or using cell phones in class. I counted each violation. In this school, the class's performance reflects in the points received. As a result of your behavior, most of the 100,000 points you could have obtained went down the drain. That's all that happened.
- I explained all this on the day of the entrance ceremony. That this school measures the students' abilities.
Chabashira-sensei spoke mechanically, without any expression.
Hirata sat with a resigned face.
Sae: What? Are you people incapable of understanding without explanations? Although, I must say, Katagiri and Hirata were quite close, and they're the only reason why the class didn't get 0 points.
Yuuichi: Chabashira-sensei, I have a question. Could you tell us the details of how points increase or decrease? I'm sure all of us will try our best from now on!
Sae: That's not possible. We are not allowed to disclose the details of how we evaluate the students' merits. It's the same as in the real world. When all of you enter society and find jobs in some kind of business, they probably won't tell you how you're evaluated; that depends on the company. However... I'm not trying to be cold or hate you guys. This is such a pitiful sight that I'll tell you all one thing: Let's say everyone stops being late and stops talking in class... your deduction would be zero, but that doesn't mean you'll get more points, it just means you won't lose more.
Sae: Keep that in mind; it will help you.
Hirata: Ughh.
Yuuichi: (holding back laughter) Mhmmhmh, hahahaha.

Yuuichi: Hey, Sensei, didn't anyone teach you that lying is wrong?
As he stood up and approached Chabashira-sensei, he leaned closer to her ear.
Yuuichi: One question, sensei: What's the point of an evaluation system that separates into 4 groups and forces them to compete if there's no real competition? And besides, what's the point of competing if everyone wins no matter what? Haha, it seems like you're hiding a lot of information, sensei.
Yuuichi: (stepping back and speaking loudly) Why don't you tell them that nothing they believe is guaranteed, that their dreams of getting into the best universities and achieving their goals mean nothing if they're not at the top.
Yuuichi: The only ones with everything guaranteed are those in class A. The rest of us are just the school's garbage, the defective ones.
Karuizawa: You never told us that, sensei!!!
Yukimura: (slamming the table) Then what the hell am I doing in this school!
Ike: Say it's a lie, Sae-chan-sensei!
Almost the whole class started shouting at Chabashira-sensei in a loud voice.
After clearing her throat, Sensei spoke.
Sae: Everything Katagiri said is true.
She unfurled the white poster that was rolled up in the tube. Taking a magnet, she hung it on the board.
The students looked at the paper, still angry.
Yuuichi: This is the reason why we are currently in class D.
The classes A to D were listed on the paper, with numbers right next to them.
Class D with 110.
Class C with 490.
Class B with 650.
Class A with 940.
Well, the numbers are more or less what I calculated, although maybe I expected more from Class B.
Sae: Look closely, stupid kids. All the other classes got many more points.
Hirata: Why do the other classes have so many points? It's strange.
Yuuichi: Now you understand what I meant by us being the defective class. All the students are divided into classes by quality, the best students placed in class A and the worst in class D.
Yuuichi: What I meant earlier is that the points are not only the monthly amount but also an indicator of the class's rank, right, Chabashira-sensei?
Sae: Everything you said is correct, Katagiri... Uh, but now I have some bad news.
She placed another sheet of paper on the board. The names of all the classmates were listed, and next to each name was a number.
Sae: Looking at these numbers, I came to understand that there are many idiots in this class. These are the scores from the test a few days ago. Sensei was happy after seeing your wonderful performance. Seriously, what the hell did you study in middle school?
Except for the top students in the class, almost everyone scored below 60. Ignoring Sudou's magnificent score of 14 points, the lowest score was Ike's 24. The average score was 65.
Sae: If this test had been recorded, seven of you would have to leave the school. The good thing is that it wasn't, right?
Ike: F-Fail? What do you mean?
Sae: Haven't I explained it? If you get a failing grade on a midterm or final exam in any subject, you have to leave the school. In this test, it would be everyone who scored below 32. Wow, you guys are really dumb and stupid.
- Whaaaaaat!?
The seven people who failed, or in other words, Ike and his group, let out a surprised voice.
On the paper, there was a red line separating the rest of the class and the seven individuals, the highest of which was Kikuchi with a score of 31 points. In other words