Midterm Exam

Early in the morning, before the Class Meeting had even begun, every seat in the classroom was already taken. The students of Class D kept flipping through their textbooks, making the most of every minute to review.

As soon as Hirata heard from Kushida that the exam scope had changed, he informed the class. That was why the atmosphere in the classroom was so heavy.

Konoe called Horikita aside and said helplessly, "Horikita, now that we've all got that material, is there any point in continuing the Study Group?"

At the end of every class, one member of the Idiot Trio was assigned to review what they had just learned. They also had to go to the library at noon for tutoring, then stay in the classroom after school for more tutoring. Konoe couldn't help feeling worn out. Besides, there was only a week left before the exam, and the Idiot Trio didn't have enough time to learn anything new.

Horikita sighed and said coldly, "Are you saying you only study for exams?"

"...What else would I study for?"

"And the Midterm Exam isn't the only assessment coming up. If you help them pass this one without breaking a sweat, are you going to take responsibility for them in every trial from now on?"

"I get what you mean, but there's not enough time to start learning now, is there? So I have a suggestion: from now on, we should focus the Study Group entirely on the exam questions."

"What's the point of that? You might as well just hand them the papers now."

"Of course there's a point. You want them to learn how to handle assessments on their own, don't you? For the next week, we'll only teach them the questions that'll be on the Midterm Exam, and we won't give them the papers. After they pass the assessment, they'll think their own hard work paid off, and maybe they'll change a little after that. Besides, there isn't enough time to teach them as we normally would."

"...I don't think they'll change at all, but you're right that we're running out of time. To be safe, let's try your method for now. But what are you going to do about Hirata?"

"I'll have Hirata follow the same approach. I'll teach the students on his side, so I'll take a break from the Idiot Trio for now. Then, during the last three days before the exam, we'll use the papers we got to give them a few practice tests each day, just in case."

"Wait. You're not telling me all this just so you can slack off, are you...?"

Konoe cut her off at once. "I'm a good student who tutors my classmates every day at noon and after school. Give me a break, would you?"

"...Something about this feels off. Whatever. Let's do it your way." Horikita turned and went back to the classroom.

Konoe hurriedly pulled out his phone and immediately sent Ayanokoji the good news: the Idiot Trio's between-class study sessions were back on his shoulders. Then Konoe took a deep breath and felt a little more at ease.

"...What are you doing? Loitering around out here. The Class Meeting is about to start."

"...Good morning, Chabashira-sensei." Konoe greeted the person behind him, then hurried back into the classroom and took his seat.

Later, after school, Konoe found Hirata, sent him photos of the past exam questions, and told him to keep them secret. Then he rephrased what he'd said to Horikita that morning and explained it to him.

"...So I'm going to focus on the Idiot Trio from now on and step away from the Study Group for the class. You'll need to find a few reliable, hardworking students to carry on according to plan. Is that all right?"

"That's great. I didn't know what to do after hearing the exam scope had changed. Konoe, you've really helped me out."

"No, no. Kushida and the others found the questions, so thank them. I'll be going, then?"

It was Tuesday after school, three days before the Midterm Exam.

Hirata had already told the class that they'd be taking a practice test after school, so everyone sat quietly in the classroom. The penalty for failing was simply too severe.

As for the Idiot Trio, Ayanokoji and the others had convinced them to stay in the classroom too.

Kushida walked up to the front of the class with a stack of papers, ready to hand them out. Just then, someone stood up.

Blond-haired Kogenji slung his schoolbag over his shoulder and made to leave without saying a word.

Hirata stepped forward. "Could you wait a moment, Kogenji? We put together a practice test based on the exam scope. Would you like to give it a try? You can take it home if you want."

"Unfortunately, I don't need anything like that. I have a date to get to. I'm leaving."

Hirata couldn't do anything about it, so he returned to his seat and waited for the papers to make their way down from the front.

A little over ten minutes later, Konoe finished a paper, took a novel out of his bag, and waited patiently for the practice test to end.

An hour passed. The students who were good at studying finished one after another. Seeing that, Kushida said, "Anyone who's finished can come get an answer sheet from me. Check your work when you get home, and make sure you understand all the questions you got wrong!"

"What's the point? You could've given us the answers from the start. I wasted so much time thinking about them," Yamauchi said with his mouth wide open.

Ike mocked him. "Idiot. That would defeat the point of a practice test. What, Yamauchi, couldn't you solve them?"

"Of course I could solve questions that easy! You're the one who'd be laughed at if you failed the practice test, Ike."

"What did you say? Yamauchi, let's trade papers when we're done! Whoever gets the lower score buys the other a meal!"

"Sounds good to me!"

It seemed Horikita's lessons had been very effective. Both of them were confident about their scores.

The next three days passed in a flash, and the Midterm Exam began.

"Is everyone here?" Chabashira-sensei entered the classroom that morning with his trademark disdainful smile. "For you deadbeats, this is the first hurdle. Any questions?"

"We've all been studying seriously during this time. I don't think anyone will fail."

"You're confident, aren't you, Hirata?"

The other students were confident too. Chabashira arranged the exam papers neatly and handed them out.

"If no one fails either this exam or the final exam in July, I'll take you all on vacation over summer break."

"A vacation?"

"That's right. I'll let you live out a dream on an island surrounded by a blue sea."

Something that good? Though I'd rather stay at school... Konoe thought.

Before long, Konoe received his exam paper. As expected, the questions were exactly the same as the ones Kushida had gotten earlier. Only then did Konoe relax.

"What's going on!" Sudo suddenly shouted.

Chabashira looked at Sudo. "What is it, Sudo?"

"...No, it's nothing."

"The moment you receive your paper, the exam has begun. Any serious breach of discipline will result in an automatic zero. I'll let you off with a warning this time, Sudo."

"Sorry."

Konoe quietly looked around. Most of the students, like Sudo, seemed both surprised and delighted.

The first subject ended quickly. There were two more exams that morning, but everyone had gathered around Kushida.

"What's going on, Kushida?"

"Yeah, Kushida, you said your papers were just for practice. How could this...?"

Hirata stepped in to keep order. "Everyone, wait until the Midterm Exam is over before asking Kushida to explain. Focus on the next exam for now."

"That's right, I need to go back and review..." After hearing Hirata, the students returned to their seats.

When the final exam ended, everyone gathered around Kushida once more.

Kushida stood up, ready to deliver the explanation she had prepared in advance. "Sorry, everyone. I didn't explain clearly at first. The practice tests we took earlier were actually past exam papers."

"Past exam papers?"

"That's right. I didn't expect the questions to be exactly the same either. Sorry."

"There's no need to apologize, Kushida! If anything, I'm really grateful! Good thing I went home and figured out the questions I got wrong last time. I'm sure I passed this time... No, maybe I even got the highest score I've ever had!"

"Don't get so worked up, Ike. So you really never studied before, you idiot. My grades used to be excellent."

"How am I supposed to believe you used to get good grades, you idiot, Yamauchi?"

"What did you say!"

The two started horsing around again. Everyone was grateful to Kushida, but Horikita called her aside. After exchanging a glance, Konoe and Ayanokoji followed them out, curious about what was going on.