A Brand-New June

After the midterm exams came a brand-new June.

Early in the morning, Shinjo hadn't even made it into the classroom when he heard the noisy commotion inside.

"Who says Class D is no good? Class D is fantastic! At the very least, no other class can match our spirit."

Naturally, the topic they were discussing was Class Points.

After reaping what they'd sown in April, the students of Class D had suffered through a miserable May.

Especially those who were already short on money and still liked to spend it lavishly.

I'm talking about you, Kei Karuizawa!

If Shinjo hadn't proactively lent her some living expenses, and if she hadn't occasionally received commissions that paid fairly well, she might have resorted to using her gyaru status to bully other classmates again.

And now, in June, everyone had clearly taken out their phones first thing in the morning to wait for their points to be deposited.

However, as the seconds ticked by, the points still didn't show up.

"If we get zero points again this month, I'm really going to be eating dirt!"

"Exactly... Couldn't the school give us a few Class Points for being so well-behaved and studying so hard last month?!"

Just as everyone was chattering noisily, Sae Chabashira walked in on her high heels, their "click, click, click" echoing through the room.

She seemed to be in a pretty good mood at the start of the new month. At least she was smiling as she spoke to the class.

"Good morning, everyone."

"Sae! Are we not getting any personal points this month either?!"

But Ike had no interest in exchanging pleasantries with her. He immediately blurted out his question.

"Is that why you've been making such a racket first thing in the morning?"

"Well, we really did work ourselves to the bone this month! We even passed the midterm exams with flying colors. Are our Class Points still going to be zero? That would be way too much!"

On that point, Chabashira had to admit she was impressed with these kids. If they really put their minds to it, they could do it after all!

Be good students, or work hard at their studies.

"Don't rush. I saw all the effort and resourcefulness you showed this month, and of course, the school did too. So please be patient."

Hearing Teacher Chabashira say that, everyone quickly fell silent and waited for her to continue.

Chabashira calmly pinned a sheet of white paper to the blackboard. The class points were as follows:

Class A: 1004 points.

Class B: 752 points.

Class C: 588 points.

Class D: 87 points.

Clearly, every class had received a certain number of points, while Class A still sat far above the rest, having even surpassed its original 1000 points.

But everyone's attention was now fixed on the bottom line.

"Huh?! 87 points! 87 points! We have points!!!"

"You're celebrating a little too soon, aren't you? Look carefully. The other classes have all gained close to 100 points too, so the gap is still just as big."

"In other words, you can consider your 87 points a reward from the school for passing the midterm exams. Keep up the good work."

Even so, getting points was still good news!

87 Class Points worked out to 8700 personal points.

"Huh? Wait! If we already have Class Points, why haven't our personal points been deposited yet?!"

"There was a bit of a problem this time, so the first-year students' points will be issued later. You'll have to wait a little longer."

"What?! What kind of answer is that?! If that's the case, the school should at least compensate us with some points, shouldn't it?"

Learning that the delay was the school's fault, the students of Class D immediately joined forces and demanded compensation.

But how could that happen?

What was the school? A miserly old rooster!

It was already good enough that it wasn't looking for ways to dock the students' points. And they still expected compensation?

The afternoon club activity period arrived, and everyone's points still hadn't been issued.

"Hey, Katsuya..."

A voice so sweet it made him cringe sounded beside Shinjo. With the intention of teasing her a little, Shinjo replied almost without thinking:

"What is it, my dear Kei?"

!!!!!

Karuizawa seemed not to have expected Shinjo to call her that in front of everyone. Her face flushed bright red, and she hurriedly stepped forward to cover his mouth, afraid he might say something even more embarrassing. Little did she know, the gesture only made them look more intimate.

"Y-y-y-you! You!"

"Okay, okay! I surrender!"

After spending so much time together, Shinjo had come to understand the girl's personality pretty well.

Sometimes she would inexplicably get bold, but as soon as a third person was around, she would unexpectedly turn timid.

His diagnosis: a pure-hearted virgin who could dish it out but not take it—tough on the outside, weak on the inside!

"What is it?"

"Have you gotten any commissions I could do lately? I'm really short on points... I'll only get 8700 this month, and that'll be gone in no time."

When it came to spending money, Karuizawa's attitude was unexpectedly similar to Shinjo's.

Both knew the money was important and that saving their personal points might let them put it to better use, but when they came across something they liked, they would absolutely buy it.

As Shinjo put it: Let future me suffer. At least present me and me a little while from now are happy!

"Well... I don't know what kind of commissions will come in. If there's anything like processing documents or stamping forms, I'll pass it on to you."

"By the way, do you have enough points to get by right now?"

"Yeah. After all, I get my food and drinks from the club now."

At that, Karuizawa admired Shinjo even more. Apart from the Cooking Club, what other club could let its members eat and drink for free every day?

(Cooking Club: We can't eat for free every day either!)

"Speaking of that, actually, I..."

"Ring, ring~"

Before Shinjo could finish speaking, his phone rang in his pocket.

He answered the call.

"Hello, this is Shinjo."

"Shinjo! Um, are you free right now?"

It was Sudo. He sounded rather panicked.

"I'm about to start club activities. You..."

"Forget club activities for now! Shinjo! Um... could you come to our secret base first?"

Sudo sounded quite grave. Something big must have happened—and it was most likely something bad for him. Otherwise, he wouldn't be this timid.

"Uh, all right."