Study Session

"Uh, anyway... here you go."

"Ah, thanks."

"What do you mean, 'anyway'?"

Hoshino set down the instant coffee he'd made. Of the two people in front of him, Sato cupped her coffee in both hands and murmured her thanks, while Matsushita raised an eyebrow in displeasure.

"And another thing—why is it in a bowl?"

Matsushita looked with distaste at the bowls in her and Sato's hands. Hoshino had used the bowls he normally ate rice out of to make their coffee.

"Uh, in terms of size and shape, I don't think it's all that different from a coffee cup."

"It's totally different! I've never heard of anyone drinking coffee out of a bowl. And there isn't even a handle!"

Naturally, bowls didn't have handles, so Sato had no choice but to carefully hold hers with both hands.

People said that coffee was all about the atmosphere. The difference in atmosphere between holding a cup in one hand and cupping a bowl in both hands was enormous.

"I couldn't help it. I had no idea I'd be hosting so many people at once, so I ran out of cups..."

At that moment, apart from Hoshino himself and Sato and Matsushita, there were three other people in Hoshino's dorm room.

Two of them sat on Hoshino's bed. The one on the left was Sakura, her head lowered and her back hunched, with both hands resting on her tightly pressed-together knees. She looked extremely nervous. Beside her, Hasebe propped her chin on one hand and kicked her leg restlessly. Karuizawa sat with her arms crossed in the only chair in the room, lost in thought.

Sato and Matsushita knelt on cushions beside the low table. Hoshino didn't even have a cushion; he sat cross-legged on the floor.

The room, which was more than spacious enough for one person, was now packed with six.

"So, you're all here to hold some kind of... study session at my place?"

After hearing why Sato had come, Hoshino looked incredulous.

"Midterms are coming up soon, and according to Teacher Chabashira, anyone who fails will be expelled. I absolutely don't want that to happen!"

"So you gathered five people and brought them to my room?"

Hoshino's gaze swept over their faces in turn. Sakura kept her head lowered, and the others looked away with complicated expressions. Only Sato watched him with an excited look.

"It was my idea! Hoshino, your grades are super good, so I thought if you helped tutor us, we'd definitely be fine!"

Hoshino didn't understand why she looked like she expected praise. But that wasn't the main thing he wanted to point out.

"First, I have absolutely no experience tutoring anyone. Second, I have no interest in tutoring anyone. Third, even if we were going to hold a study session, it shouldn't be in my room, should it? As you can see, six people is a bit too crowded in here, and there aren't enough desks or chairs."

He paused, and when Sato looked ready to cut in, Hoshino raised a hand to stop her before she could speak.

"Let me finish. Fourth, it's eight o'clock at night. This really isn't a suitable time for a study session, nor is it a suitable time for a group of girls to show up unprepared in a boy's room."

"What, are you planning to attack us?"

Matsushita looked over at him coldly.

"That's a tempting offer, but I'm not confident I could take on all five of you. If you were willing to help me, Matsushita, that would be another matter."

"What kind of joke is that?"

"If you're not interested, never mind."

Hoshino shrugged.

"Then let's get this study session started."

"Huh? After all that, I thought you wouldn't agree, Hoshino."

"I thought about it, and if this study session helps improve your grades, that'll count as a contribution to Class D. But—"

He suddenly changed course.

"Since you've asked me to tutor you, you'll have to follow my instructions. I guarantee I can raise your scores by at least twenty points."

The girls fell silent for a moment. Matsushita spoke up, unconvinced. "You sure talk big..."

"I can sign an agreement with you. If I fail to keep my promise, each of you can ask me for one thing, whether it's points or something else. Anything I can do is fair game," Hoshino said firmly.

Sato seemed tempted. "Really?"

"Of course."

"Wait, Maya. This is a bet. If he succeeds, he'll definitely make some outrageous demand."

"If I succeed, each of you pays me 5,000 points as payment for the study session. That's not unreasonable, is it?"

Sato and Matsushita exchanged glances. In truth, those terms were already quite generous.

"Um..."

Sakura, who had barely made her presence felt until now, timidly raised a hand.

"Even if my score goes up by twenty points, I think I might still, still risk failing..."

"Oh, right. Same here..."

"Me too. I'm not so sure I'll be safe..."

After Sakura, Sato and Karuizawa spoke up as well. Hoshino's face darkened. He'd never paid attention to their grades before, so he hadn't imagined anyone could be doing this badly.

"Just to ask, what were your average scores on the last quiz?"

"T-twenty-nine..."

"Thirty-four."

"Forty."

The three of them gave their scores in turn. They were far lower than Hoshino had imagined.

If Sato and Karuizawa had poor grades, Hoshino could more or less accept that; neither of them looked like the type who enjoyed studying. But the quiet, well-behaved Sakura had the lowest score of all the girls there.

"..."

"Uu..."

Just from Hoshino staring at her, Sakura looked ready to cry. He could only sigh.

"Fine. I wasn't planning to criticize your grades. From here on, though, you have to follow my instructions when you study. Can you do that?"

"Yeah!"

Needless to say, Sato's response was louder than those of the other four combined.

"Wait here a moment."

Hoshino got up and went to his desk. He pulled a folder from a thick stack of papers, then handed out the sheets inside to Sakura and the others.

"These are practice problems I put together for each subject. Take one set each, finish them tonight, and hand them in to me tomorrow morning."

"That's... all?"

"I think this set of problems covers every possible test topic. As long as you master all of them, I'm sure you'll have no trouble with the midterms."

The girls looked at the worksheets in their hands, then at one another.

"Was I unclear about something?"

"No..."

"Then do you want to spend the night here? It might be a little tough, but it's not out of the question..."

"Yuck, you pervert!"

Matsushita shouted at him and was the first to stand. The others filed out of the room. Hoshino grinned as he walked them to the door.

"Sakura."

"Huh? Yes!"

Sakura hurriedly answered when he called her name out of the blue.

"You don't have to be so nervous. I can guarantee you'll pass the midterms. Trust me."

"O-okay."

Sakura replied softly and bowed her head to thank him. Hasebe tilted her head and stared at Hoshino for a while, but said nothing. She took Sakura by the arm and left.

Hoshino watched the girls until they reached the end of the hallway and took the elevator down. Just as he was about to return to his room, a voice came from nearby.

"Good evening."