"What exactly is it, Horikita?"
The two of them talked in an empty corridor. Konoe had only meant to watch from a distance, but Ayanokoji had pulled him into a nearby patch of shadow. They could hear everything from there without being spotted.
I see, people coming from the classroom wouldn't notice us here... I've learned something! Konoe thought admiringly.
"There's something I want to confirm with you."
"Something you want to confirm?"
"If you're going to keep helping me for the sake of the class, then I have to confirm this."
Horikita met Kushida's smiling gaze and said, "You hate me, don't you?"
Konoe's eyelid twitched, while Ayanokoji sighed.
"Why would you think that?"
"Because that's what I can sense. That's the only answer I can give to your question. Am I wrong?"
"Haha, you really are something, Horikita." Kushida's smile didn't falter; not even her expression changed. "That's right. I hate you more than anyone."
Konoe had thought Kushida would put on an act, but he hadn't expected her to say it to Horikita's face.
Kushida smiled. "Do you want to know why?"
"No. There's no need. I only needed to confirm that fact. It seems I'll still be able to interact with you without restraint from now on." Even after being told to her face that she was hated, Horikita remained unmoved.
As Konoe listened to them, a thought occurred to him: What would've happened if Kushida had pretended to be friendly and tried to befriend Horikita again just now...?
Just as Kushida was leaving, someone else came looking for Horikita.
"So this is where you were, Horikita."
At the sound of the voice, the two men, who had been about to leave their hiding place, silently returned to their original spots.
"Sudo, is something the matter? Did you do okay on the exam?"
"Of... Of course I did! Besides, you taught me all of it, Horikita. I could pass even without practice questions." Sudo stammered, nothing like his usual self. "So I came to thank you, Horikita! Though just saying thanks isn't nearly enough..."
"You don't need to thank me. I've already told you before: I taught you so I could help myself, and you studied for your own sake."
"Even so..."
Horikita sighed helplessly. "I'll accept your thanks. If there's nothing else, I'm going back."
A few seconds passed. When Sudo fell silent, Horikita returned to the classroom to pack her bag. Only then did Konoe and Ayanokoji emerge from the shadows and head toward Sudo.
"Hey, Sudo... Wait, what are you doing?"
Sudo looked anxiously at the two approaching them and pressed his right hand against his chest. "Th-This is bad... I think... I've fallen for Horikita!"
"Huh?"
"What's wrong? Is that so strange?" Sudo asked, unable to help himself.
"Is that so? It's just, she did make fun of your dream before, so I thought..." Konoe trailed off.
"She came to apologize to me in private later, about the basketball thing."
Konoe was surprised. "What?"
"Yeah. Her tone and attitude were still cold, but she was really sincere. And Horikita's helped me a lot this time, too..."
Konoe exchanged a glance with Ayanokoji.
"Of course, you and Ayanokoji helped me a lot, too. Thanks!"
Sudo happily stepped forward, put an arm around each of their shoulders, and walked with them toward the classroom.
Monday came around again, and Chabashira-sensei entered the classroom. The students were waiting for their midterm results, and most of them looked confident.
"Sensei, I heard you're announcing the exam results today. When will you do it?"
"Hirata, you don't need to be so excited, do you? An exam like that should've been easy for you."
"When will you announce them?"
"You should be pleased. I'm announcing them now."
Chabashira pinned a sheet of paper listing the students' names and scores to the blackboard.
"Honestly, I'm very impressed with you. You managed to get such good results. You ranked at the top in every subject, which means quite a few of you got full marks in each one."
By the time the English scores, the last ones, were announced, even the lowest score was only 50. Since the passing mark was calculated as half the average score, everyone in Class D had passed, no matter what.
"Yeah!"
Sudo stood up and shouted. Ike and Yamauchi also stood up happily to celebrate.
Konoe closed his eyes and let out a deep breath.
"Sensei, you saw that, right? When we put our minds to it, we can take things seriously!" Ike said smugly.
"That's right. I'll give you credit for your efforts this time. Konoe, come to the Teacher's Office after school."
"Huh? Konoe only got 60 points? And the scores are exactly the same in every subject..."
"Really. Was Pingping sick during the exam or something?"
"It must be because he worked so hard tutoring us. Konoe got full marks on the last Mini-test."
Konoe looked at his ranking, second from the bottom. Ayanokoji was in last place, with 50 in every subject.
The average is... 85.4. So the passing mark is 42.7?
Horikita had gotten full marks in every subject. When Konoe glanced at her, she looked back at him.
Before you continue