Expulsion

The moment Chabashira Sae pushed open the door to Class D's classroom, the low murmur of discussion instantly vanished, the air seemingly freezing.

All eyes snapped to her, filled with suppressed tension and silent questions.

She walked steadily towards the podium, the sound of her high heels clicking on the floor exceptionally clear in the overly quiet room.

She scanned each young face in the audience, a flicker of imperceptible disappointment crossing her mind—especially when her gaze landed on a certain figure she had been secretly observing.

She had hinted at the crucial rules so many times, even hoping the person she favored would make a move at this critical juncture, but the result was... no reaction.

Could these three years, like countless times before, be another futile struggle in the quagmire of Class D?

This disappointment left no trace on her face; Chabashira Sae maintained her usual, slightly weary, indifferent expression.

She gently placed the materials in her hand on the lectern, her movements unhurried.

Below the podium, the students' thoughts varied.

Many inwardly resented Chabashira-sensei for only revealing the change in the exam scope in the final days, catching them off guard with severely insufficient study time.

A lot of them felt uncertain, fearing they had failed the exam. Especially those who had been hovering around the passing line in the last quiz were now fidgeting, their faces etched with panic.

One impatient boy finally couldn't hold back, his voice clearly strained, "Sensei, we heard the exam scores will be announced today... when will that be?" The question, like a pebble tossed into calm water, instantly drew everyone's attention.

Chabashira Sae looked up at the questioner, her tone flat and even, "Don't worry, we'll announce them now." She paused, her gaze sweeping across the class, and added, "If we announce them after school, we won't have time to handle the various procedures."

This statement, like an invisible hand, instantly tightened the already taut nerves, sending many students' hearts into their throats.

The hot-tempered Sudo Ken was like a powder keg, leaning forward slightly, his fists clenched under his desk, just waiting for the moment the scores were announced to ignite the fuse.

Chabashira Sae clearly had no intention of playing coy.

She turned and crisciously taped a large sheet of white paper, detailing all the students' names and scores for each subject, to the center of the blackboard.

The paper made a slight rustling sound as it unfurled, but it exploded like thunder in the classroom.

Dozens of eyes instantly glued themselves to it, eagerly searching for their names and the numbers that would decide their fate.

After a brief moment of dead silence, a scream with a sobbing voice broke the quiet, "Just one point short! It's all the teacher's fault! Why didn't you tell us about changing the exam scope earlier!" Yamauchi Haruki suddenly stood up, pointing at his glaringly low score in one subject on the white paper, his face pale, his voice trembling with agitation, "I don't want to be expelled! I don't!"

Not far from him, a girl looked at her score, tears silently rolling down her cheeks. She covered her face with her hands, her suppressed sobs intermittent, clearly on the verge of collapse.

"Bang—!" With a loud bang, Sudo Ken fiercely kicked his desk leg, causing the stationery on the tabletop to jump.

His eyes were bloodshot, glaring at the blackboard, he growled, "Why is it like this? I worked so hard!"

Hirata Yosuke, the class leader, took a deep breath and stood up.

He looked at Chabashira Sae on the podium, his voice steady but carrying an undeniable doubt, "Sensei, you only informed us of the exam scope change at the last moment. This is completely unfair to us. Is there... really no way to remedy this now?"

Hirata's standing up seemed to light the fuse.

Other students also began to speak out, their voices filled with unease and resentment.

It was someone else being expelled this time; who knew if it would be them next? They couldn't let their homeroom teacher "casually" decide their fate like this!

The questioning voices grew like a snowball, and students whose scores were also below their estimated "passing line" now clung to this as a last resort, joining the chorus of condemnation, attempting to change their potential outcomes with collective strength.

Facing the furious crowd, Chabashira Sae merely raised her chin slightly, her eyes still calm and unwavering.

"Don't rush," her voice wasn't loud, but it clearly cut through the noise. Having seen too many storms, this scene was just a minor one for her.

Hearing these words, which seemed to hint at a turn of events, the classroom indeed quieted down rapidly.

Everyone held their breath, staring nervously at Chabashira Sae, awaiting her next words.

Chabashira Sae calmly picked up a conspicuous red pen from the lectern.

Her gaze swept over the list, and finally, the tip of the pen landed, drawing a glaring red line only on Sudo Ken's name.

"Sensei... what does this mean?" Sudo Ken's voice held a barely perceptible tremor and immense confusion.

He had clearly seen Yamauchi, Ike, and one or two others with precarious scores, yet only his name was marked with the red line for expulsion.

The fate that should have been shared with "companions" now left him alone. This sudden sense of "uniqueness" stirred a subtle, indescribable feeling in his heart, a mixture of absurdity and the stifled frustration of being singled out.

Chabashira Sae put down the red pen, turned to face the entire class, her tone devoid of emotion, "The passing line for this school is calculated as half of the class average for that subject." She raised her hand, her fingertip lightly tapping the score sheet on the blackboard, "In this midterm exam, the average score for certain subjects... was unexpectedly lower than last time. Therefore, the passing line naturally lowered accordingly."

Her gaze finally settled on Sudo Ken, her words clear and cold, "So, Sudo Ken, only your English score is below the adjusted passing line."

The classroom fell into dead silence.

The previous clamor and questioning seemed to have never existed.

The truth, like a basin of cold water, extinguished all unrealistic hopes.

Sudo Ken opened his mouth, but in the end, nothing came out.

He slumped back into his chair, gripping his hair with both hands, his knuckles turning white.

Regret coiled around him like a poisonous vine—if only he had spent more time on English, if only he had pushed a little harder in the last few days... At this moment, these "if onlys" transformed into heavy fists, smashing into his heart.

The first to break the silence was, once again, Hirata Yosuke.

Even though Sudo Ken had spoken harshly to him, treating him rudely and disrespectfully, Hirata's face still showed genuine concern, "Se-Sensei. Is Sudo-kun... really going to be expelled? Is there really... no remedial plan?"

Chabashira Sae's answer was decisive, leaving no room for negotiation: "This is the fact. If you fail the exam, it's over. Sudo Ken, you're expelled."

Horikita Suzune, sitting in the back row, subconsciously raised her hand, as if wanting to say something, but her lips moved a few times before she finally lowered it helplessly.

She furrowed her brow, looking at Sudo Ken with a complex expression.

If he had failed by one or two points, she might have been able to argue about loopholes in the rules, but Sudo's English score... the gap wasn't small; it was a chasm that no remedial measure could bridge.

A deep sense of powerlessness gripped her.

"Sudo, come to the teacher's office after school. That's all." Chabashira Sae announced the final decision crisply, without looking at anyone else. She picked up the materials from the podium and left the classroom directly.

The door closed softly behind her, shutting out the complex and unspeakable atmosphere within Class D.

Horikita Suzune could only watch as the figure representing authority and final judgment disappeared outside the door, silently screaming in her heart, "I can't do anything!" A profound sense of frustration spread through her.

Paradoxically, amidst this heavy silence, a hidden, unspeakable collective emotion was quietly spreading.

For most students in Class D, Sudo Ken, who was always causing trouble, short-tempered, and prone to violence, was actually being expelled... The air in the classroom seemed to have become... a little lighter because of it.

This thought made them feel a bit ashamed, yet they couldn't deny the real, palpable sense of relief.