After placing the three books in his arms on the table, Shiina immediately picked up the one on top and held it out to Aoyama with both hands.
The cover was very plain. It looked like a work from a long time ago.
"An author of hardboiled fiction? You and Suzune probably have something in common, Shiina."
Cornell Woolrich was one of the founders of American hardboiled fiction.
Aoyama had seen Farewell, My Lovely in Horikita Suzune's room. Its author, Raymond Chandler, was also one of the genre's most prominent figures.
Sometimes, after he'd eaten his fill, he wouldn't leave Horikita's room right away. He'd read through some of the books on her desk.
"Horikita? Which author does she like?" Shiina asked, looking intrigued.
Finding a friend who shared her interest in books had to be wonderful.
"I've seen Raymond Chandler's books on her desk. The most recent one was Farewell, My Lovely."
"Oh, I was just about to recommend that one to Yamamura."
Smiling even more brightly, Shiina handed Rear Window to Aoyama, then immediately picked up one of the two books left on the table.
"Though the story is a little sad, I think it's a fascinating classic that's well worth reading."
"I'll give it a careful read, Shiina."
Seeing how happy Shiina looked, Yamamura was infected by her enthusiasm and smiled as she accepted the book Shiina handed her.
"Then let's get started." Shiina brought her hands together in front of her chest and quietly clapped. With a smile in her eyes, she picked up the third book.
"Let's get started."
Aoyama Shiki replied gently to Shiina and opened the book to its first page.
The Sudden Turn
After reading with Shiina that day, Aoyama had added another item to his Saturday plans. Along with the morning study session, he'd now be reading with her at the library in the afternoon.
Time passed, and the Midterm Exam soon arrived. It was over just as quickly.
All four first-year classes passed without incident.
"Your shoulders are getting more and more solid. You seem to be paying a lot of attention to physical training."
In the girls' dormitory, Horikita Suzune pressed both hands against Aoyama's shoulders, kneading them with all her might to work off her debt.
There had been two ways to handle this Midterm Exam: the whole class could work together to lower the average score, or they could buy past exam papers from second-year students.
The test had included three questions beyond the first-year curriculum, and even long after the exam, the teachers hadn't explained which questions had been wrong.
Looking into this oddity would reveal that the entrance exams for the second- and third-year students had been identical, as had the Midterm Exams that followed them.
Before the exam, Horikita Suzune had thought of the first approach. But given the state of Class D, she didn't have enough influence to persuade the good students to risk expulsion by deliberately getting low scores.
With only a week left before the exam, she'd had no choice but to ask Aoyama Shiki for help.
And he'd given her the second solution.
"Isn't there a saying that boys who run fast at the Sports Festival are popular?" Aoyama said contentedly, closing his eyes and enjoying the beautiful girl's shoulder massage.
"You'd be popular if you just changed that haughty attitude of yours."
"Heh. Then why don't you change yours?"
Two people who did whatever they wanted and looked down on everyone else.
Remembering the rumor from their first year that he and Horikita were a good match, Aoyama found it a little amusing.
"I don't want to be popular." Horikita Suzune increased the strength of her kneading a little. "The Sports Festival is in October, right? That's about three months away. If nothing unexpected happens, it'll be another contest between classes."
"You didn't seem to do anything for this Midterm Exam. Knowing you, I'd have thought you'd want to make a profit from it."
I wish I could have.
Aoyama knew his own limits. The school had the final say on the Midterm Exam, and trying to exploit loopholes carried risks.
If he sold answers to the weaker students and someone exposed him, the Midterm Exam questions might turn out to be different from the past papers, and he'd be screwed.
He could set up a written loophole in advance to avoid taking the blame, but he couldn't afford to ruin his reputation for honesty. Who would ask him for help after that?
"Didn't I already make a profit? A massage from the Student Council President's little sister, for three months, no less."
"...Sometimes I really want to punch you."
"But you don't have that right."
Unfazed, Aoyama pointed out Horikita Suzune's weaker position in their relationship.
Horikita Suzune seemed quite easygoing now, but that was only because she knew she was getting the better deal.
He wasn't her classmate or her friend, yet he was helping Class D. It was basically charity.
Ever since his first deal with Horikita Suzune, he'd been drilling into her the idea that you needed money to get things done.
"June is just around the corner. Every class will get a hundred Class Points for passing the Midterm Exam. It's about time Class D started building up its funds."
After enjoying Horikita Suzune's massage, Aoyama gave her a bit of information that wasn't particularly important.
Three hundred and fifty Class Points meant thirty-five thousand Personal Points.
He'd have to draw at least ten thousand.
"A reward of a hundred Class Points? That's good news."
Horikita Suzune nodded lightly, understanding what Aoyama meant.
His charity would probably end in June. After that, there'd be no more working off debts.
June 1.
The first-year students in their classrooms all waited eagerly for their homeroom teachers to arrive.
It wasn't that they were eager to see their Class Points change. When they woke up that morning, the Personal Points on their Personal Terminals hadn't changed at all.
"Mr. Mashima, no Personal Points have been deposited today."
"Surely they didn't take all nine hundred and something away?"
With an expression as stern as Katsuragi's, Totsuka shouted the moment Mashima appeared in the classroom doorway. His savings were nearly gone.
In April, he'd been to Keyaki Mall as often as most students.
He'd also spent most of the more than ninety thousand points issued in May paying Katsuragi back.
"There's been a dispute. The Class Points for every class except Class A have yet to be finalized."
"After discussing it, the school decided to delay this distribution until the Student Council has resolved the dispute between Classes B, C, and D."
Mashima's expression barely changed as he went to the front of the room and explained why their Personal Points hadn't arrived.
His words also revealed that the dispute involved Classes B, C, and D.
"Mr. Mashima, I have a question."
While the Class A students murmured among themselves, some complaining and others sounding resigned, Katsuragi stood up from his seat.
"Since this concerns changes to Class Points, shouldn't the teachers be the ones to handle it?"
"The Student Council is made up of students, as the name implies. Doesn't that mean they're acting as both judge and competitor?"
"Doesn't the Student Council have too much power?"
Both judge and competitor. It was a fitting comparison.
But that was the Student Council.
It handled what the teachers could handle, and it handled even more when they couldn't.
Act first, report later—with the school's permission.
Aoyama's lips curled as he remembered something amusing.
If it didn't have much power, would he have joined the Student Council just for fun? Wasn't spending every day close to pretty girls worth it?
"I've explained several times that teachers aren't allowed to get involved in disputes between students. The school granting the Student Council this much authority is perfectly reasonable."
"Don't forget, Katsuragi, any student can join the Student Council—as long as they have what it takes."
Mashima answered Katsuragi calmly, showing not the slightest impatience.
Since the rules were the same for everyone, there was no question of fairness.
"Then why not let Aoyama handle this? He could dock some extra Class Points from the other classes. That'd be a rare chance for him to contribute to his class."
Katsuragi silently sat down, and an ill-timed voice suddenly spoke up from the classroom.
Machida, were you looking to get beaten up?
As soon as Aoyama heard his name, he looked toward the source of the voice.
The owner of the light brown hair was Machida Koji, the student he'd dressed down before and one of the students supporting Sakayanagi as their leader.
"The Student Council also has the power to expel students. You'd better hope you don't end up in my hands, Machida."
In front of the whole class, Aoyama's first words were a threat.
"I was only teasing. I'll use my position for personal gain to protect you."
Machida looked at Mr. Mashima with an ugly expression, but before he could speak, Aoyama added that.
The smile on his face looked anything but sincere.
"As long as the violation of school rules isn't too serious, I don't think the Student Council can expel students at will."
"Don't worry, Machida."
Sakayanagi Arisu smiled calmly as she spoke up to rescue Machida.
Aoyama only gave a sly smile, then turned his gaze away from the classroom and looked out the window.
Whether or not someone had violated the school rules wasn't up to him to decide.
Besides, there were Special Exams. If Machida kept pushing his luck, Aoyama wouldn't hold back.
The Student Council Meeting
The Student Council meeting room.
The students from the two classes involved in the dispute, along with their teachers, were already seated.
The Student Council President's chair at the center of the long table was occupied, too.
"We'll now hold a mutual examination of the parties involved in the violent incident that took place on May 30."
"I, Kamuro, the Student Council Secretary, will preside over the meeting."
Kamuro stood beside the Student Council President's chair, her expression stern. After speaking, she stepped back and stood just behind the chair's side.
There had been two altercations on May 30: one between Class 1-C and Class 1-B, and another between Class 1-C and Class 1-D.
Horikita Manabu, the Student Council President, had taken the case involving his younger sister's Class 1-C and Class 1-D. He'd handed the other case to Aoyama.
"No wonder he's the number-one handsome guy in the rankings. He's even more handsome up close. Just my type."
"Please watch your image, Ms. Chie."
The one who had opened by teasing the Student Council Vice President, Aoyama, was Hoshinomiya Chie, the Class B homeroom teacher. Though she was approaching thirty, she looked like a naive, bubbly college student.
Her wavy brown hair, a little like a natural perm, fell to her shoulders. The curves beneath her slender waist were also the right size for a woman her age.
In short, she was young, attractive, and lively.
The one who had told Hoshinomiya to watch her image was Ichinose Honami, Class B's leader.
Though she was a student, she had an even better figure than the teacher more than ten years her senior.
Her delicate features beneath her side-swept bangs looked like those of an idol, and she radiated an inviting warmth.
"Please refrain from making remarks unrelated to the agenda."
Kamuro shot the mischievous Hoshinomiya a brief glare, then gave the two sides a short summary of the incident as the Student Council had received it.
May 31—that is, yesterday.
Kanzaki Ryuji of Class 1-B and Ryuen Kakeru of Class 1-C had fought in a secluded part of the school with no security cameras. A girl from Class 1-C, Yabuna Nanami, had also been there.
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