Sudo on the Verge of Expulsion

"Nagumo, I still don't quite understand. You're sucking up to that Yorozuya just to do Horikita-senpai a favor?"

Kojima Hayato couldn't understand why he'd been toyed with by a junior like a fly for several rounds. What was the point?

"Heh, let's say that's it. But the Yorozuya wasn't wrong about one thing: even if we sold the midterm answers to someone else, we'd only have a few extra points in our pockets. And if some third-year decided to sell them first, we wouldn't even make that much."

"Giving them a little something up front is also my way of doing Horikita-senpai a favor. Whether that Yorozuya is really a smokescreen he put forward or not, it can't hurt to build a connection first."

Kojima Hayato nodded thoughtfully. In just another year, the second-years would rule the school. By then, that Yorozuya... wouldn't amount to anything.

"Then... that first-year girl from before, you..."

"Hm? Oh, you mean her. Heh, I just can't stand Horikita-senpai's rigid way of thinking. He's capable, but just like the old fogeys running this school, he doesn't understand that only young people can build a better future for it. And I'm more than willing to do just that."

Meanwhile, in Class 1-D.

"Sensei, weren't you supposed to announce the exam results today? When will that be?"

A trace of a cold smile crossed Chabashira Sae's lips.

"You don't need to be so impatient, do you? An exam of that difficulty should have been a piece of cake for you, right?"

"But..."

Chabashira waved a hand to show that she wasn't finished.

"All right, I'll announce them now. If I wait until after school, we might not have enough time to complete all the necessary procedures."

Shinjo glanced discreetly at Sudo, who looked extremely nervous. If his guess was right, something unexpected had happened.

Chabashira pinned the sheet of paper to the blackboard with a magnet, just as she had last time. A rare smile appeared on her face.

"I have to say, I'm impressed. More than twenty of you got perfect scores in math, Japanese, and social studies! And you did very well in the other subjects, too."

The figures spoke for themselves. Seeing row after row of perfect scores, the students immediately burst into cheers.

But that wasn't the point. The important thing was that Sudo had scored around 60 in four of his five subjects, while his English score was 39.

"All right!"

Sudo jumped up and shouted. Thirty-nine was far higher than his previous score of 14, but he clearly hadn't calculated the minimum passing score.

Chabashira Sae picked up the red pen beside her and drew a line through Sudo's name.

"What a shame, Sudo. You were so close."

Even she was puzzled. He'd gotten the answers a whole week in advance, so how had he still scored so poorly?

Had he gotten overconfident and put off studying until the day before the exam, even with the questions in hand?

"What?! Wait! What's going on?!"

"Have you forgotten? I warned you this time that anyone scoring below half the class average would also fail. The class average was 79.6, so the cutoff is 79.6 divided by two, which is 39.8."

"That means you were 0.8 points below the cutoff. So close..."

Sudo looked as if he'd eaten something filthy. His features twisted, cold sweat beaded across his forehead, and his body trembled as he struggled to believe his ears.

"So you're being expelled, Sudo!"

"Wait, Sensei!"

Hirata couldn't sit still any longer. He hurried to his feet and called out to Chabashira-sensei.

"Hirata. Is there something you want to say?"

"I... I want to say that Sudo has worked so hard, and everyone can see that he really wants to stay here. So, could you... give him one more chance?!"

"Don't be ridiculous!"

Chabashira Sae's expression suddenly darkened. She slammed her hand down on the lectern.

"These are the school rules! Rules cannot be broken! What do you think Sudo is? Do you think the school will make an exception for him just because he worked hard?! Let me tell you, there are countless people at this school who work harder than you do! But reality has never given them a chance to regret their choices!"

"But..."

"And besides... Sudo, did you really work that hard? If you did, why did you still fail after getting the answers a whole week in advance?!"

Even Hirata didn't know what to say. This time, he had no leg to stand on. But he still couldn't accept a classmate being expelled! Even knowing he was being unreasonable, he couldn't accept it!

"No way... I... I'm being expelled?"

Sudo was stunned. At last, the cruel reality had shattered him.

"Though your time here was short, there's still time to say goodbye to your friends. After school, you're to submit your withdrawal request. Your guardian will need to accompany you. I'll contact them."

Chabashira Sae pronounced Sudo's fate as if it were nothing.

"Wait!"

"What are you trying to do now, Hirata?"

"C-could I see Sudo's exam paper?"

It was the best idea he could come up with. He could only pray for a miracle.

"Looking at it won't help. I guarantee there are no grading mistakes. But it doesn't matter. Go ahead and look."

As if she'd been prepared for this, Chabashira tossed Hirata the only exam paper she had with her, hoping to make him give up.

He took it and carefully went through every question. After checking several times, he found nothing questionable and no grading errors. Powerless, he sank into his chair.

"Looks like you understand now. That concludes homeroom."

In truth, only a few people would be sad to see Sudo on the verge of expulsion, such as the Idiot Duo. Sudo was one of the few friends they had.

And Hirata, who sincerely regarded everyone as a companion.

But most of the others would have been glad to see Sudo leave as soon as possible.

After all, how could anyone like someone who was crude, often caused trouble for the class, wasn't very bright, and was always hanging around with the people at the very bottom?

Chabashira watched the students below the lectern with a cool gaze. But what she truly cared about was Shinjo, who had shown no change in expression from beginning to end and had made no attempt to speak.

You'll do what an ordinary student council member would do. So at a moment like this, you don't intend to save the world? If Yamauchi were the one being expelled, I'd do it without hesitation. But Sudo...

"Shinjo."