Stereotypical Prejudice

Suzune Horikita and Sudo erupted into a fierce argument, and the worst part was that neither of them thought they were in the wrong.

From Horikita's perspective, the reason their class had fallen behind the others was that it had a bunch of rule-breaking, lazy good-for-nothings in it.

And now she had to spend her precious time helping them pass their exams. They should have been grateful, but instead they didn't appreciate it at all!

Worst of all, someone as proud as she was had been judged by the school to be just like them—to be on the same level as those good-for-nothings.

From Sudo's perspective, there wasn't much more to say. His terrible personality had earned him criticism and scorn from others for as long as he could remember, and he'd gradually developed a fear of strangers and an inability to trust anyone.

He knew he wasn't smart, but he couldn't help feeling that she'd called him out in front of everyone just to attack him!

And that ice-cold Horikita had dared to attack his most precious dream! That was absolutely unforgivable!!

The cold war lasted for several days. But perhaps because neither of them had many friends, nobody stepped in to try to make peace.

At a time like this, a man named Ayanokoji stepped forward!

"Horikita, have you ever considered what would happen if someone dropped out, given how severely this school punishes the class for tardiness and skipping class?"

"Well..."

"And besides, no matter how you look at it, you went too far that day..."

The one who tied the knot had to untie it. Compared to Sudo, who didn't seem to have a brain in his head, Suzune Horikita was much more reasonable.

So if Horikita took the initiative and apologized, the macho Sudo probably wouldn't hold a grudge... right?

Meanwhile, after half a month of burning the midnight oil, Karuizawa had made tremendous progress with Shinjo's help!

"Not bad, Kei. At this rate, you'll have a solid grasp of everything you're studying now in less than six months!"

It was hard to tell whether Shinjo was teasing her or genuinely congratulating her, but Karuizawa couldn't shake the feeling he was insulting her.

"Six months..."

"That's already pretty good. At least if you took a test now, you'd definitely score higher than last time. So the midterms and stuff should be a piece of cake!"

At that, Karuizawa tossed her pen onto the desk and stretched happily. All those sleepless nights had paid off—she'd practically studied herself to exhaustion.

"Thanks, Katsuya. I couldn't have done it without you."

"That's right. But your hard work mattered just as much."

"Uh... I thought you were going to say, 'It's all thanks to your own hard work.'"

Shinjo pointed to the dark circles under both their eyes, earned from staying up late.

"It's all thanks to your own hard work."

After several days of intense studying, Karuizawa didn't want to do anything but rest, and Shinjo finally had some free time to himself for a change.

Before he knew it, he'd found himself in the library again, thinking he'd pick out a novel or magazine to unwind with.

As soon as he reached the upper floor, he spotted a gray figure nearby, standing on tiptoe and trying to reach a large, dusty book on a high shelf.

"Is this the one you want?"

It was no trouble at all. Shinjo reached up, took it down, and handed it to the quiet-looking girl.

"Oh, thank you."

A true bookish girl, she took the copy of The Moonstone in both hands, hugged it to her chest, and bowed to Shinjo in thanks.

How elegant. So very elegant!

"You're welcome. I wouldn't have guessed that a cute girl like you would be into detective novels."

"Yes... I like a little bit of everything."

Then she noticed the white-covered novel in Shinjo's hand.

"Hey, do you like Keigo Higashino's Journey Under the Midnight Sun, too?"

"I've been a fan of his for ages..."

There was nothing wrong with what he'd said, considering the author had written nearly a hundred novels and was incredibly prolific.

"Really?! I love Keigo Higashino, too. Which of his famous works is your favorite?"

"Uh... I..."

A moment ago, the girl before him had been as calm and graceful as a peony. Now she was lively and animated, as if someone had given her a shot of adrenaline. Her sudden enthusiasm and gregariousness left Shinjo, who was pretending to be a cultured person, at a loss.

She seemed to realize she'd gotten a little too excited. Her face flushed, and she took two steps back.

"Ah! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! I got carried away. I never thought I'd meet someone here who shared my interests, so I forgot myself."

"Heh, it's all right. I understand how you feel. I may not look it, but I get really excited when I meet someone who shares my interests, too!"

(Especially when people are fighting over limited-edition desserts! "Put down my donut, you bastard!")

"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Katsuya Shinjo from Class 1-D. Nice to meet you."

The girl froze for a moment when she heard that. Lately, Ryuen had been going around mentioning names like Shinjo and Ayanokoji all the time.

That Shinjo... Could this be the very same classmate standing in front of her?

"My name is Hiyori Shiina. I'm in Class 1-C."

As if he'd heard something unbelievable, Shinjo's pupils instantly shrank and his eyes widened:

"C... Class C..."

'How could there be such a cute, bookish girl in Class C?! Wait... I think I've fallen into the trap of stereotypes again.'

Shinjo had met his fair share of Class C students—not too few, but not too many, either. Yet every single one of them had either acted like they had a chip on their shoulder or been a hulking brute.

So in his stereotypical view, Class C was supposed to be a bunch of delinquents.

Shiina's eyes shifted. So the classmate in front of her was Shinjo. Could he be afraid of everyone in Class C because he was scared of Ryuen?

[Oh no, please don't! I finally found someone who shares my interests...]

"Shinjo... Is there... something wrong with Class C?"

"Huh? Uh, no. I just... I was surprised, that's all."

"Is that so...? I thought that after you found out I was in Class C, you wouldn't want to get to know me."

As she spoke, a hint of sadness and sorrow flickered in Shiina's eyes.

There had been a time when she hadn't known how to hide what she felt. She'd eagerly told her friends about the books and authors she liked.

But girls that age simply weren't interested in those things.

After being rejected again and again, she gradually lost the courage and desire to reach out to others. In the end, she simply shut herself away in the library or wherever she could find books, cutting herself off from the world.

"That's not it. Some of the students in Class C seem hard to approach, but I feel like you're different, Shiina... What's that saying again? Ah, people who like reading can't be bad people! Right?"

"People who like reading can't be bad people... Oh! Do you really think so, Shinjo?!"

Clearly, Shinjo's attempt to comfort her had touched Shiina's innocent heart.