The exam finally began.
While the questions were tougher than the quizzes, they were still within the realm of what had been covered in the textbooks. Even the math wasn't too challenging for Hikigaya.
He was confident he'd score at least 90 points.
He had no choice but to pay attention in math class, or else Haruno would keep calling him to answer questions. The other students also seemed relaxed. After all, they'd gotten their hands on last year's answers. If they still failed the exam, they might as well jump off a cliff.
However, something unexpected happened during the English portion of the exam.
Horikita, Ayanokouji, Ike, Yamauchi, and Kushida—who had formed a study group—gathered around Sudo. He'd fallen asleep while reviewing last night and hadn't even looked at the English test paper.
"What an idiot…"
Hikigaya only glanced at him before looking away. Whether Sudo dropped out or not was none of his concern.
Strangely, Matsushita, who sat at the desk next to him, seemed to be cramming during the break, her brow furrowed with frustration. It was as if she was facing the hardest challenge of her life.
"Hey, Matsushita," Hikigaya asked, his curiosity piqued.
"Are you seriously planning to go all out this time?"
"Yeah, I'm aiming to improve, bit by bit... eh?!"
Matsushita started to respond but suddenly seemed flustered. She quickly backtracked, waving her hands defensively. "No, no! What are you talking about, Hikigaya-kun? I've never slacked off!"
"…Right."
Hikigaya could tell she was trying to hide something, but he didn't press the issue. It wasn't his business anyway.
"Well, uh…" he began awkwardly, scratching his head.
"If it's not too much trouble, maybe you could ease up a little on the English test. But if it's a problem, just forget I asked."
"Huh? Why would you—"
Matsushita's question was cut short as the school bell rang, signaling the end of the break.
Hikigaya sighed and waved it off.
"Never mind. It's nothing. Just forget I said anything."
Maybe it was fate, he mused. There wasn't much else to do about it.
---
The midterm exam took place on Friday, May 29th, but the results wouldn't be released until June 1st. This meant that the class points awarded for the exam would also be delayed until the next month. Class D's points for June would still be zero, leaving them in a tough spot for another month.
Not that Hikigaya was particularly concerned. After all, his finances were secure—thanks to the donation from Class C.
He had received a generous sum of 1.2 million personal points.
In May, Hikigaya had 897,000 points, and his expenses included 37,000 for daily living, 100,000 for two pinhole cameras, 50,000 for a handheld camera, and 30,000 for a voice recorder. He also paid 50,000 as compensation to Matsushita.
In total, he spent 257,000 points, leaving him with a balance of 630,000.
With this month's points added in, his account now held a total of 1.83 million personal points.
Hikigaya couldn't muster any special feelings. If things continued as they were, he would find himself in Class A within twenty months, with minimal effort. But the prospect didn't excite him.
Luxury wasn't something he craved; his interests were modest, perhaps extending to buying some comic books or novels. Collecting personal points was more about security than anything else.
After all, with 20 million points, he could switch classes or even nullify an expulsion once—something that might prove useful one day. Life was unpredictable, after all.
Lost in thought about the future, Hikigaya entered the classroom and immediately sensed the tension.
It was understandable.
Today was the day midterm results were to be announced, and despite having access to last year's exam papers, a single red score could mean expulsion. Anxiety filled the air.
Chabashira-sensei entered, her presence demanding attention as she took her place at the podium.
"Sensei," Hirata stood up, the tension clear in his voice, "I heard the test results are being announced today. When will that happen?"
"Don't worry, I'll announce them now," Chabashira replied, her tone carrying an ominous weight.
"After all, there might be formalities you won't have time for after school."
Formalities?
Hikigaya pondered her words. Was she talking about the distribution of personal points? That didn't seem right; the school usually handled that simultaneously. Then what did she mean?
"What… does this mean?" Hirata asked, a hint of unease creeping into his voice.
"Calm down. I'll announce the results now," Chabashira said as she pinned a large white sheet to the blackboard, revealing the names and scores of all the students.
Hikigaya scanned the list for his scores: 100 in Japanese, 88 in Math, 47 in English, 93 in Science, and 100 in Social Science.
His gaze lingered on his English score.
He knew he needed to work on that, but motivation in English class was something he struggled with. It was clear to him now—interest played a crucial role in learning.
"Yes! No red marks!"
Sudou suddenly exclaimed, breaking the silence as he jumped up in excitement.
Hikigaya glanced at Sudou's scores: four subjects hovering around 60, with the critical English score at 39. He should be safe.
"I'm sorry, Sudou, but you have a red mark in one subject," Chabashira-sensei said, her red pen cutting through his name on the sheet.
"Wha...?" Sudou's voice dropped, disbelief etched across his face.
"This has to be a joke, right? How do I have a red mark?!"
"You failed English."
"But the passing score is 32! I got 39!"
"Who told you the passing score for this exam was 32?"
Sudou's friends quickly jumped to his defense, backing up his claim.
"No, no, no, Sensei! You said that! Right, everyone?" Chi exclaimed.
"It doesn't matter what you say," Chabashira-sensei replied coolly. "The passing score for this midterm exam is 42, and you missed it by three points."
"Forty-two points?! I've never heard of such a thing!"
"Still don't get it? Let me explain the criteria for red marks at this school."
Chabashira-sensei turned to the board and began writing out basic equations, numbers like 84.8 ÷ 2 = 42.4, filling the space.
"The passing score is determined by dividing the average class score by two. This time, the scores were higher because many students wanted reward points. They studied harder, and as a result, the average score went up."
Hikigaya quickly grasped what had happened. His suggestion of rewarding points motivated the high achievers to score even better, pushing up the average and inadvertently raising the passing threshold.
There should have been a way to account for this...
"Hey, Hikigaya! This is all your fault for sticking your nose where it doesn't belong!"
Yamauchi shouted, storming over with anger written across his face.
"What?"
"The reward points! Because of you, those smart guys got higher scores, and now my friend's going to be expelled!"
Hikigaya didn't argue. He merely reaffirmed a thought in his mind: I hate this class, the most.