On the morning homeroom two days after the midterms, a hint of tension hung in the classroom.
The reason was simple: today was the day the midterm results were announced.
Though they had past exam papers to study from, the atmosphere was only natural when failing meant expulsion.
As the tense air settled over the room, Chabashira-sensei entered and walked up to the podium.
At the same time, Hirata spoke up:
"Sensei, I heard you'd be announcing the results today. When exactly will that be?"
"Are you that worried about your grades? The good news is, I'm announcing them right now. If we waited until after school, there might not be enough time to take care of certain procedures."
By "procedures," she probably meant the procedures for awarding bonus points or arranging an expulsion.
"Um... what does that mean?"
"Don't panic, Hirata. I'll start announcing the results now."
As she spoke, Chabashira-sensei pinned a large sheet of paper covered in students' names and scores to the blackboard.
After checking my scores, I saw:
English 100
Japanese 100
Math 93
Science 85
Social Studies 100
I'd gotten perfect scores in English, Japanese, and social studies, so I was probably first in the year.
As for math... unfortunately, Horikita, Yukimura, and Koenji had all scored over 95, putting me fourth in the class. I probably wouldn't make the top three in the year.
And science... well, never mind.
At least I'd earned 90,000 points. That was good enough.
"To be honest, I'm surprised. I didn't expect you to score this highly."
After all, we'd had past exam papers.
Without them, several people probably would've been expelled.
"Haha! I didn't fail anything!"
Just as I was thinking that, Sudo suddenly stood up and shouted.
Looking at Sudo's results, he'd scored close to 60 in four of the five subjects, but only 41 in the crucial subject of English.
I remembered the passing mark being 31 or 32, so it looked like he'd passed.
"See, Sensei? When we really try, we can be pretty impressive!"
Ike put on a smug expression.
"Mm. I admit you really did work hard. However... you failed, Sudo."
As she spoke, Chabashira-sensei drew a red line through Sudo's name.
Huh? He'd failed?
"What? Are you kidding me? Why did I fail?!"
Sudo shouted.
He'd thought everything was fine just a moment ago, only to be told out of nowhere that he'd failed.
"Sudo, you failed English."
"Wasn't the passing mark 31? I got 41!"
"Who said the passing mark was 31?"
"No, Sensei definitely said that! Right, everyone?!"
Ike spoke up for Sudo, but was the passing mark not fixed? Did it change based on the class's results?
"Arguing won't change anything. The passing mark for this midterm was 43. You only missed it by a little."
"43?! Nobody told us that!"
"Then I'll explain how this school determines the passing mark."
As she spoke, Chabashira-sensei wrote a formula on the blackboard.
It read: 86.6 ÷ 2 = 43.3.
I see. So that was how it worked.
"The passing mark is set for each class. It's calculated by dividing the class average by two, and you have to score above that number. In past years, Class D's passing mark was around 30, but it seems a lot of students wanted bonus points this time."
Ah, I got it.
Since I'd proposed the bonus-point plan, the students who were good at studying had been highly motivated. On top of that, we'd had past exam papers.
It was only natural that the average would be more than 10 points higher than in previous years.
In fact, nearly 70 percent of the 40 students had scored over 90.
But if that was the case, would we still get the bonus points? If I were a teacher, I'd probably say, "It's only natural to get high scores when you have past exam papers. No bonus points for you."
"You've got to be kidding me... I'm getting expelled?"
"You were here for a short time, but you worked hard. You'll need to submit your withdrawal application after school. A parent or guardian has to accompany you, so I'll contact them."
As Sudo stood there, stunned, Chabashira-sensei spoke in a matter-of-fact tone.
Well, he'd brought this on himself by nodding off in class before the exam.
"The other students did well. You all passed without a doubt. Keep this up and do the same for finals."
"Sensei, is Sudo really going to be expelled? Isn't there any way to help him?"
Hirata was the first to speak up for Sudo.
As expected of the class leader.
Even though he knew full well that Sudo hated him.
"That's how it is. If you fail, you have to accept the consequences. Sudo will be expelled."
"...Could I see Sudo's test paper?"
"Just so we're clear, there was no mistake in grading it. But you can look if you want."
Chabashira-sensei handed Sudo's English test paper to Hirata.
Hirata immediately bent over to check the questions, but his expression soon turned grave.
"There really... wasn't any mistake in the grading."
"Now that you've accepted the result, homeroom is over. Sudo, come to the staff room after school. Also, tell the students who supported Hikigaya's proposal to earn bonus points that the points will be deposited promptly at midnight tomorrow. That's all."
After saying that, Chabashira-sensei left the classroom.
Well, earning 90,000 points was pretty good in its own right.
Just as I was thinking that—
"Hey, Hikigaya! What the hell is this?!"
Ike came storming over to me, furious.
"What are you talking about?"
"The bonus points! Since you came up with that idea, the students who were good at studying worked even harder, and that's what pushed up the average!"
"...So you're saying Sudo's expulsion is my fault?"
"Who else could it be?!"
No, wait. I was the mastermind? It was true that I'd played a part in raising the average.
But...
"That's pathetic."
Before I could argue back, Koenji, who sat beside me with one leg crossed over the other, spoke up.
Ike immediately glared at him.
"What do you mean by that, Koenji?!"
Koenji showed no fear in the face of Ike's roar, calmly running a hand through his hair.
"I mean exactly what I said. Although Hikigaya-kun deserves credit for raising the average, the real reason Red-Hair-kun is being expelled is his own lack of academic ability, isn't it? He knew he was at risk of expulsion, yet he slept in class. Blaming his own laziness on Hikigaya-kun is hardly fair. It's utterly pathetic."
Koenji calmly voiced what I'd been thinking.
Ike was instantly at a loss for words.
It was true that Sudo's failure was connected to my proposal to award bonus points, but the root cause was Sudo's own laziness.
Still, what surprised me was...
"I didn't expect you to take my side."
I'd thought this narcissist wouldn't take anyone's side, but here he was speaking up for me.
"I simply can't tolerate ugliness. Besides, thanks to you, my wallet's gotten fatter."
Koenji had scored over 95 in every subject, with a perfect score in at least one. It wouldn't be surprising if he'd ranked first overall.
He must've earned at least 150,000 points.
Anyway, since Ike had been shut down by Koenji, I figured that was the end of it.
After getting ready for the first lesson, I was about to leave the classroom when I realized I had ten minutes to spare. I decided to go buy a can of coffee from the vending machine.
When I came out of the restroom, I saw Horikita hurrying toward the stairs.
Was she going to buy something, too?
Curious, I followed her downstairs at a leisurely pace.
It looked like she was meeting up with Sakanayanagi, so I slowed down.
But when I reached the first floor—
(What are they up to?)
Ayanokoji and Horikita were confronting Chabashira-sensei, the air thick with tension.
I was about to sneak away when Chabashira-sensei gave me an intrigued look.
"Oh? The candidate savior has arrived."
Ayanokoji remained expressionless, while Horikita narrowed her eyes and beckoned me over.
I really didn't want to, but I knew I wouldn't get anywhere by refusing, so I sighed and walked down the stairs.
Horikita even bossed Ayanokoji around. Getting dragged into this by her would be a pain.
"What is it? I still need to buy a drink, so keep it short."
"How many points do you have right now?"
"Huh?... A little over 1.1 million. Why do you ask?"
"Then please pay 100,000 points."
"For what? Why should I pay 100,000 points?"
"For Sudo's grades."
"Ah, I see. You're planning to buy Sudo's score with points."
"Chabashira-sensei, how many points per mark?"
"100,000 points per mark. In other words, Sudo needs 200,000 points to avoid expulsion."
"That's extortion. But the two of you can only put together 100,000, so you came to ask me for points, right... And then what?"
"Then what? What do you mean?"
"I mean exactly what I said. Why should I pay 100,000 points for Sudo? What's in it for me?"
"If someone gets expelled, it could negatively affect the class in ways we can't see. That would make it even harder for us to move up a class, so we should avoid having anyone expelled."
"That would just prevent the class as a whole from taking a hit. It doesn't benefit me personally. Even if our Class Points dropped to zero, I could live off my personal points. I don't care whether we move up or not."
Only Class A received special support for employment and further education. It was practically impossible for the whole class to reach Class A.
If I really wanted to get into Class A, moving up individually would be faster.
"Besides, why should I pay points for free to help someone I don't care about? The only people I'd help for free are the ones I care about."
I only paid points without calculating the benefits when it was for myself or someone I genuinely cared about.
Sudo wasn't one of those people. Unless I got something in return, I wouldn't pay a thing.
"...Then I'll reveal the truth."
"What truth?"
"That you could've stopped Sudo from being expelled, but chose to stand by and do nothing."
So that was her move.
It was true that if she revealed it, people like Ike and Yamauchi would probably come after me.
But that threat had one fatal flaw.
"Go ahead. But most of the class won't be angry. They'll probably be glad you did."
Sudo was probably the most disliked person in the class.
He was the worst offender when it came to tardiness and skipping class, the biggest chatterbox and napper during lessons, and he'd repeatedly trampled on the goodwill of Hirata, the class's golden boy, shouting at him.
Even if Horikita revealed it, at most a few people would give me a hard time. More than twenty others probably wouldn't care.
As for anyone who came looking for trouble, I could take care of them by reporting them the moment they laid a hand on me.
"..."
She hadn't expected me not to care about the secret getting out.
Horikita fell silent, apparently out of options.
I thought the conversation was over, but then Ayanokoji suddenly spoke up:
"Then how about this? Instead of paying the teacher 100,000 points for Sudo, why not lend Horikita 100,000? If I remember correctly, Horikita got perfect scores in every subject except English, so she should earn 120,000 bonus points. She could pay you back right away."
I see.
If I could get the money back tomorrow, I didn't mind.
Still, Ayanokoji was a real schemer.
If they used this plan to put together 200,000 points for the teacher and save Sudo from expulsion, Ayanokoji would contribute 50,000 and Horikita 150,000.
Just look at Horikita glaring at him right now.
But she had no other choice, so she couldn't complain.
"...Pay me back 120,000 points, with interest. Then I'll lend it to you."
"You have a million points, yet you're still this stingy..."
"Say what you like. I hate doing things that don't benefit me. Make up your mind already."
At that, Horikita glared at me and held out her terminal.
It seemed she'd decided to borrow from me.
She could've just abandoned Sudo.
Still, I wouldn't mind making some points.
"Deal. Then, Chabashira-sensei, when you hand out the reward points, transfer Horikita's share to my account."
"Very well. I promise to transfer the points to Hikigaya's terminal."
"Thanks..."
I took out my terminal too and transferred 100,000 points to Horikita.
"Done. I'm leaving."
With that, I left to buy a drink. The whole thing had been pretty infuriating, but I'd made a net profit of 110,000 points in a single day, so I couldn't complain.
When I returned with a can of coffee from the vending machine, the three of them were nowhere to be seen in the first-floor hallway. Back in the classroom, I saw Sudo looking overjoyed. It seemed he'd avoided expulsion.
Anyway, the midterm exams were over. Maybe things could go back to normal now...
Before you continue