Hey, You Don't Want to Be Expelled Either, Do You?

Inside the square classroom.

Chabashira Sae stood at the podium, looking at the speechless students with a cold expression.

The hint of amusement she often wore had vanished, replaced by a grave seriousness. A trace of regret now furrowed her brow.

Class D. He was Class D after all.

A pile of discarded scraps could never be assembled into a complete object.

For a moment, she found it almost amusing that she had ever entertained hopes of this class improving.

Where had such an unrealistic delusion come from?

Her gaze unconsciously drifted to Ayanokoji, sitting at the end of the row and looking as though he couldn't care less. The next moment, everything suddenly became clear to her.

She had almost forgotten.

The biggest defective item in this class was Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.

Rain began to fall silently.

Gray tones blanketed all of Advanced Nurturing High School.

Class D's classroom was steeped in an oppressive atmosphere.

"W-why? Didn't they say everyone passed? Why is someone still getting expelled?"

"Yeah, did they get something wrong?"

"I've had enough. What kind of lousy school is this? They'll get a one-hundred-percent employment rate by driving everyone out first, won't they?"

"..."

It was a long while before the students finally came to terms with the harsh reality and began to question the decision.

They really could be expelled.

"Teacher, could you tell us the specific reason? I don't want to lose a classmate for no reason."

Hirata Yosuke spoke earnestly to the teacher at the podium.

"Exactly. They're saying it was cheating or something..."

Kushida had wanted to chime in and back him up, but as soon as she started speaking, her confidence faltered.

It was true that their actions didn't quite amount to outright cheating, but they had still skirted the edges of the rules. They had no grounds to question the school's ruling.

She glanced at the student about to be expelled.

Ike sat with his mouth slightly agape. At some point, his expression had gone blank, and he stared at his name on the blackboard, unable to say a word.

"Ike Kanji used his phone to cheat during the midterm exams. According to school regulations, unless there are special circumstances, using a phone during an exam is considered cheating. Anyone caught cheating is expelled, without exception."

"Well? Do any of you object to the school's decision?"

Chabashira's icy voice rang in their ears. Everyone's eyes widened slightly, and the guilt on their faces gave way to a measure of confusion.

Some looked toward the silent Ike in puzzlement. Others secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Only Hirata continued to plead with a serious expression.

"There must have been some kind of mistake..."

"Teacher, please check again. Ike would never..."

But the moment he saw Ike's reaction, Hirata began to doubt his own assumption.

The boy with the side-parted bangs sat motionless at his desk, head bowed and hands trembling slightly. His expression suggested he was questioning everything.

He might be expelled today.

As he thought back to the exam, his fists gradually clenched.

For some reason, his phone had kept vibrating, completely disrupting his train of thought!

The answers he'd stayed up late memorizing the night before had slipped from his mind one by one with every vibration.

Who was it, at a time like that?

The teacher wasn't here now. It should be fine to take a quick look and then silence the phone, right?

His growing irritation had clouded his judgment and made him forget the cameras were there.

And so, the moment he took out his phone in secret, the camera behind him caught it all and sent the footage to the school staff. It had all seemed to fall into place so naturally...

"Ike..." Hirata looked at the once-lively, mischievous boy, now silent and withdrawn, his heart heavy with conflicting emotions.

"Ike Kanji, go back and pack your things. Come to the office this afternoon to complete the withdrawal procedures."

Chabashira left them with a cold reminder, then walked out of the classroom one step at a time. As she left, she glanced toward the corner once more, as if she still held on to a sliver of hope.

The bell rang, and the students gathered around.

"Ike, is it true? Did you cheat during the exam?"

"Kanji, why did you use your phone?"

"Could there have been some kind of misunderstanding? We had—"

Perhaps the mood had gotten to him, or perhaps it was something else, but Ike found their words grating. Their questions didn't seem to come from concern at all. They sounded more like curiosity, mixed with the hypocrisy of someone comforting an eliminated teammate for the cameras after making it through themselves.

He simply packed up his things and left the classroom in silence, his head lowered the entire time.

"Did he really cheat? There was no need for that."

"Seriously, what was he thinking? He could've solved it if he'd just spent a bit more time..."

"Stop talking nonsense! There's no way Ike would... Tch."

Sudo was worked up, but he soon realized he had no reason to be angry at the others. He pursed his lips, swallowed his anger, and headed out of the classroom.

Ayanokoji, who had been sitting in the back row and watching in silence the entire time, followed without a sound.

No one even noticed.

A secluded corner of the school building.

Ike leaned against the wall, a tear tracing a line down the corner of his eye.

He couldn't accept it. He really couldn't.

But the moment their homeroom teacher, Chabashira, announced the reason for his expulsion, he knew there was no point in trying to explain himself.

He was one of the worst students in the whole school. The cameras had caught him taking out his phone during the exam, and then he'd scored well above the danger line. Any explanation he gave would only sound like an excuse—a second hand pushing him toward the abyss of expulsion.

Keeping quiet might have been his best option for now.

After a brief wave of sadness, he gradually came to terms with reality.

As he wondered how to go back and make a cool exit, a gloomy-looking boy came walking toward him.

"Ayanokoji... What are you doing here?"

"Wait, how did you know I was hiding here?"

Heh, your bro Ayanokoji knows everything.

Ayanokoji didn't answer his question directly.

With his drooping eyelids hanging low, he spoke slowly to the boy in front of him:

"Ike, you don't want to graduate from this school so soon either, do you?"