The End of the Ordinary

The swimming class ended in a clamor.

Because half of the girls chose to observe, there was no way to obtain definitive data, and the betting pool on the girls' bust sizes managed by Ike and the others had to be called off. Hoshino also took back the 3,000 points he had wagered.

Hoshino actually felt it was a bit of a pity. From his observations on the first and second floors, his judgment had been spot on.

If the bet hadn't been voided, he would have swept the entire pot. That would have been a tidy sum.

However, that would have also brought Sakura into the spotlight for the rest of the boys. Perhaps trading the right to keep this hidden treasure of a girl all to himself for a few points was a bad deal.

It happened so suddenly, I didn't think it through. I should have just followed the crowd and picked Kushida.

Hoshino reflected in his heart.

The gym teacher followed through on the agreement, awarding 5,000 points each to the boys' winner, Sudo, and the girls' winner, Onodera.

Upon receiving the reward, Sudo clenched his fists and swung them violently into the air, roaring "Yosh!" so loudly that even the girls on the second floor were startled, and Sakura's terrified expression looked as if she were about to cry.

Hasebe whispered with a look of disdain, "What a sports idiot."

Hoshino couldn't help but wonder if Sudo's excitement was purely because of the victory itself, or more because of the 5,000-point reward. As far as he knew, Sudo had already spent all his points for the month and was even in debt. Although the month was about to turn and points would be distributed again, the last two days must have been hard to endure.

Having this 5,000-point influx would likely be a huge help to Sudo's dire financial situation.

At this moment, even Hoshino didn't expect that just two days later, looking back, this casual thought of his would seem so ironic.

The first of May was an overcast morning.

During the morning homeroom, Teacher Chabashira walked into the classroom as the bell rang, just as she always did.

She scanned the classroom, a look of satisfaction appearing on her face.

"Everyone is here today. Even Sudo isn't late. That's a rarity."

A burst of laughter erupted in the classroom.

"Now, let's begin the morning meeting. The theme for today's meeting is to answer questions."

Teacher Chabashira paused for a moment, her gaze sweeping across the class once more.

"I thought you would be chattering away. You've exceeded my expectations again, or are you just too slow to realize there's a problem?"

Hearing her cold words, many students couldn't sit still. But Hirata raised his hand before anyone else could.

"Excuse me, Teacher, what kind of questions are we answering, specifically?"

"Any kind of question is fine. I will answer within reasonable limits."

"Then—may I ask about the school points?"

"Of course."

"Today is the first. We were told that points would be deposited on the first of every month, but our points haven't changed today. May I ask what is going on?"

Seeing Teacher Chabashira's expression, Hoshino immediately understood that this was the question she had been waiting for.

"I said at the start of the school year that unless there are special circumstances, points are deposited on the first of every month. That is the school's rule."

"But, the points haven't... has some special circumstance occurred?"

"Not at all. The points have undoubtedly been deposited into your accounts."

Teacher Chabashira wore a smile, but her eyes were sharp, completely different from her usual lazy demeanor.

"But..."

"After such a hint, you still don't understand? You really are a group of foolish students."

Teacher Chabashira said this with a severity she had never shown before.

"They have been deposited, yet the point balance hasn't changed. That means the points deposited were zero. Am I wrong, Teacher?"

Hoshino finally couldn't hold back and spoke the reality aloud. Hearing his words, some students let out sighs of sudden realization.

They're only figuring it out now? Hoshino was speechless at their slowness and stupidity.

"Why? Weren't we told that 100,000 points would be deposited every month?"

"The teacher never said that. We were only told that '100,000 points have been deposited' and that 'points will be deposited on the first of every month'."

There was a trap in that description. Teacher Chabashira had used her words to lead the students into the misunderstanding of "100,000 points every month."

"Teacher! Please tell us the reason why the points weren't issued, otherwise, we can't accept this."

"Lateness, absences, totaling ninety-eight times. Private conversations in class or the use of mobile phones occurred three hundred and ninety-one times. And that is only a portion of your violations. The result is that in just one month, Class D's points have been reduced to zero. How truly congratulatory."

"B-but, we didn't know that would lead to point deductions..."

"Don't talk nonsense, Hirata. Following classroom discipline is something that has been emphasized since elementary school. As high school students, can you not even manage such a small thing?"

After being told that by the teacher, even Hirata could only shut his mouth in frustration, unable to find words to argue back.

"At least, at least please tell us the criteria for the evaluation—"

"I cannot, Kushida. In a real company, they wouldn't list every single detail of the assessment metrics to their employees. The things you are thinking of are not taken for granted in society. That is why you are all still too green."

"Ugh..."

"Look on the bright side. In this school, the dorms are free to use, and the cafeterias and shops provide free food and goods. Even if you are penniless, you can still continue to live," Teacher Chabashira said mockingly.

"Are we supposed to keep living without any points? That's too miserable, I refuse!"

"Miserable, perhaps. But this is far from enough."

As if to crush the students in one fell swoop, Teacher Chabashira wore a cruel smile as she pulled two rolled-up sheets of white paper from her bag, unfurled them, and secured them to the blackboard with magnets. The sheet on the left listed the names of every student in the class, with a number following each name. The sheet on the right displayed the names of Class A through Class D, each also followed by a number.

The students stared blankly at the contents of the two sheets. With a sneer, Teacher Chabashira pointed to them and began her introduction.

"The sheet on the left shows the results of the quiz from two days ago."

That was the time Teacher Chabashira had suddenly announced a quiz during class, specifically emphasizing that "the quiz results will have no negative impact." The difficulty of that test had been very low; most of the questions were significantly simpler than the entrance exam, with only the final few questions posing any real challenge.

"Seeing these results, even I am surprised. Although I had already prepared myself to a certain extent, you really do manage to exceed my expectations time and time again."

Teacher Chabashira said sarcastically. It was no wonder she felt that way; even Hoshino had been stunned when he saw the grade sheet.

Only seven people had scored eighty points or higher. Most students' scores were distributed between fifty and seventy. There were also eight people who scored below forty. The lowest score, Sudo, was a mere fourteen.

What was concerning was that a striking red line had been drawn on the paper just below the forty-point mark.

"This is the failing line. In this quiz, there were seven people who failed by scoring below thirty-two. You are truly lucky; if this had been an official exam, you would have been expelled."

Perhaps it was the word "expelled" that stung their ears, but the reaction in the classroom this time was particularly intense.

"What do you mean by expulsion? We've never heard of such a thing!"

"Don't make such a racket, Ike. Did I not mention it? In this school, students who fail the midterm or final exams are forcibly expelled."

"That's... that's super bad..."

In this quiz, Ike had scored twenty-four points, the second-lowest in the class. Meanwhile, Sudo, who was in last place, had a face ashen with dread. He must have realized the crisis of his own expulsion.