Special Exam 1

While Etsuka and the others were still puzzled, Sakayanagi shifted her cane to block Hashimoto Masayoshi's path.

"Hashimoto, go sit with Ichinose."

"Hm? I'm going?"

Sakayanagi nodded. "I suddenly feel like talking to Horikita."

Listening to them from nearby, Ichinose finally understood and let out a sigh of relief.

So the other girl had changed her mind at the last minute. Hashimoto Masayoshi had been about to sit beside Horikita Etsuka, but now Sakayanagi Arisu would be taking that seat instead.

And so, Hashimoto Masayoshi sat beside Ichinose. As soon as he sat down, he waved hello. "Hi, Ichinose. Fancy seeing you again."

Ichinose waved back. "Hello, Hashimoto."

Kamuro Masumi sat down beside Kanzaki. She sat up straight and didn't seem interested in chatting with him.

At last, Sakayanagi slowly took the seat beside Etsuka.

Horikita Etsuka caught a scent of leather, like...

The sort of smell you get after spending too long in an office?

It wasn't unpleasant at all. If anything, it had a certain air of authority. Strangely enough, that scent also carried a hint of a young girl's freshness.

Hmm... how curious.

Sakayanagi smiled and gave a slight nod in greeting.

Etsuka returned the greeting.

Just then, Hoshinomiya walked in through the doorway wearing a business suit. She sat up straight and held an art textbook in her hand.

This was a side of her Class B had never seen before, so the moment she entered, the students let out a chorus of surprised exclamations.

Hoshinomiya smiled and greeted the students below, waving as she introduced herself. "Hello, students from Classes A and B! I'm Hoshinomiya Chie, your art teacher for this lesson."

Hearing Class B's surprised cries, Sakayanagi spoke as casually as if they were chatting about the weather.

"Your Class B homeroom teacher really is beautiful. Has she never shown this side of herself in front of you before?"

"No, she hasn't. That's why our class is so surprised. Hoshinomiya-sensei has kept this side of herself well hidden."

"Having a homeroom teacher like that must be quite interesting. There's a hidden surprise every day, isn't there?" Sakayanagi said lightly, watching Hoshinomiya teach at the front of the room.

"I suppose so," Horikita Etsuka replied.

Sakayanagi let out a quiet sigh.

"Alas, our homeroom teacher is nothing like that. He's a real stick-in-the-mud."

"As long as he's capable, that's all that matters. Class A is Class A, after all," Etsuka said with an underlying meaning.

"Oh? Is that what you think, Horikita?" Sakayanagi sat with her legs together, resting her arms on them and cupping her chin in her hands as she continued, "Just like with this Special Exam: as long as you're capable, that's enough. Is that right?"

As she spoke, she regarded Horikita Etsuka with a meaningful look.

Horikita Etsuka showed no sign of alarm. He met her gaze in reply. "I suppose so." Then he rubbed his arm, pretending to feel cold.

"By the way, Class B isn't going to be completely crushed by Class A, is it? Just thinking about it is terrifying. If your class decides to use a few tricks..."

In an instant, Horikita Etsuka had sent the topic Sakayanagi had steered the conversation toward flying off into the distance.

Horikita Etsuka had noticed that the petite girl in front of him liked to control the pace of the conversation, and that she always looked utterly confident of victory.

Sakayanagi's expression didn't change at all when she heard what Horikita Etsuka said. She picked up the test paper on the desk.

"Hoshinomiya-sensei just asked each pair of desk mates to make a craft together. Are you interested?"

"Of course. Maybe we can try making something impressive."

Out on the field, Classes C and D were having their physical education lesson.

The boys from Classes C and D raced around the basketball court.

"Come on, Hirata!"

"Hirata, be careful! Don't get hurt!" The group led by Karuizawa Kei cheered loudly for Hirata.

"Go, Sudo!" Kanji Ike shouted, determined not to be outdone as he cheered on his best buddy.

Damn it! Those girls are drowning out my voice, the brats!

Nearby, Yamauchi Haruki held a bag of chips, watching the game and snacking out of boredom. He couldn't help muttering, "Honestly, why are they holding a basketball game during mixed PE? Wouldn't it be more fun to play some kind of game with the girls from Class C?"

The players on the court were drenched in sweat.

"Quick, pass it to me!" Sudo clapped his hands, signaling for Miyake Akito, who had gotten the ball in the distance, to pass it over.

Miyake Akito saw Class C players closing in from both sides and behind. Gritting his teeth, he jumped and hurled the ball toward Sudo.

"Sudo! Catch it!"

"Don't worry! I've got this—" Sudo didn't get to finish. A sudden, sharp pain shot through his foot.

The ball whizzed past Sudo, and Ishizaki Daichi caught it behind him. He followed with a jump shot, sending it cleanly through the hoop.

He planted his hands on his hips and said mockingly, "Heh. You're not so great after all, Sudo. I thought you were a muscle-bound idiot, but turns out you're an idiot with neither brains nor brawn."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Sudo pointed at his foot and shouted, "Someone stepped on my foot just now! That's a foul!"

"Teacher! I'm reporting a foul!" Sudo called to the PE teacher, as if he'd finally figured out what to do.

"What's going on?" The PE teacher walked over with a stern expression.

As if he'd found a lifeline, Sudo pointed to his foot. "Someone deliberately stepped on me while I was receiving the pass."

"Is that so?" The PE teacher looked troubled.

Just before, while he'd been watching the court, someone had come over for a drink and blocked his view. He hadn't seen a thing.

Ryuen waved a hand. "Teacher, take a look at Sudo's shoe. It's completely clean. Honestly, he'll say anything to frame us. How can someone like that even be allowed in school?"

The PE teacher instinctively looked at Sudo's shoe. Sudo's face lit up, and he hurriedly looked down at it too.

That's right. If there was a shoeprint on the top, Class C would definitely get a warning, wouldn't they?

But suddenly, Sudo froze.

To his surprise, the shoe was spotless. At least, there wasn't a single footprint on the top.

"Th-this can't be right! I definitely felt someone step on my foot just now!" Sudo protested loudly, feeling terribly wronged.

As the saying went, only the person who wronged you knew how wronged you felt.

But Ryuen didn't care.

"You saw it too, Teacher. There's no shoeprint on his shoe. We were all on the court, so someone would've left a print. That can only mean he got jealous when we scored and made up an excuse to report us."

"Hmph." The PE teacher's expression changed. He hated students who spouted nonsense, and Sudo looked like a delinquent, which he hated even more.

"Stop saying useless things. If you keep spouting nonsense, you're out of the game."

After saying that, the PE teacher walked off the court with his hands behind his back and went back to drinking water.

"Damn it!" Sudo clenched his fists, as if he were about to explode at any moment.

Just then, a hand suddenly rested on Sudo's shoulder. Sudo turned around and saw Ayanokoji, his expression calm.

Ayanokoji leaned close and murmured a few words in Sudo's ear.

At first, Sudo looked puzzled. Then, as if he'd thought of something, he forgot all about his grievance. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly, though his head still shook like a rattle drum, as if he were vehemently refusing.