This was with the questions being easy, too.
"Your average score on this quiz was 84. If this had been a formal exam, any student who scored below 42 would have been expelled." Mashima Tomoya said it in a remarkably calm tone, despite how chilling it was. "The school rules state that if you fail even one subject on the midterm or final exams, you'll be expelled. Fortunately, everyone passed."
Even the student who came in last had scored above 50, which was certainly worth praising.
So that was why they'd said the quizzes were just for reference. They were really warm-ups for the midterms and finals?
At the thought, Suzuki Toru turned his gaze toward Kamuro Masumi, who was sitting nearby.
As expected, the girl's face was stiff with shock. She sat perfectly still, as though some force had pinned her in place.
Perhaps noticing Suzuki Toru's gaze, she stiffly turned her head. Their eyes met for a moment.
Kamuro Masumi's lips moved slightly, but no sound came out. It was impossible to tell what she wanted to say.
"Being expelled is no big deal, Kamuro." Suzuki Toru quietly offered, trying to be considerate. "I believe in your ability to study. I'm sure you'll have no trouble."
Kamuro Masumi wanted to cover her face. Why had she said something like that back then?!
Chapter 44: Each Class's Reaction
"Oh, my, I'll announce the quiz results from earlier now, and then explain what's in store for you..."
Before she could finish, the teacher at the lectern suddenly covered her mouth and bent forward as if she were about to throw up.
"Ugh, she reeks of alcohol!" Shiranami Chihiro, sitting in the front row, let out a girl's wail and covered her nose.
"It's fine, it'll pass soon." The teacher onstage said as she shook her head, trying to steady her swaying body. She continued muttering to herself.
It was Hoshinomiya Chie, Class B's homeroom teacher.
The students in Class B were pretty much used to her. They often saw her hungover, and she was so frivolous that she hardly seemed like a proper teacher.
Usually, Ichinose Honami would step in at a time like this and ask if she should sober up.
But...
Kanzaki Ryuji glanced in another direction. A certain girl sat at her desk without moving.
Ichinose Honami had been acting strangely lately. Though she still pretended everything was fine, she sometimes let a troubled expression show.
What had happened?
"All right, here are your scores. Let's see..." Hoshinomiya Chie posted the results on the blackboard, then drew a line with a red pen. She nodded with satisfaction. "Everyone below this line failed the quiz. If you fail the midterm or final, you'll be expelled right away!"
Most of the students exchanged bewildered looks. After a while, Shiranami Chihiro cautiously asked, "Um, Hoshinomiya-sensei, there aren't any names below the line?"
That was right. There was nothing beneath the red line Hoshinomiya Chie had drawn.
"It's simple. Nobody failed." Hoshinomiya Chie looked at Shiranami Chihiro as if she were an idiot.
Shiranami Chihiro flushed, but she didn't dare say anything. Instead, she began to worry. Her rank wasn't very high, and she was a little close to the line.
"What's the standard for failing?" Ichinose Honami raised her hand and asked, as she usually did.
Hoshinomiya Chie yawned and answered vaguely, "You take your average score and divide it by two. The result is the passing mark. The average on this quiz was 82, so the passing mark is 41. Anything below that is a failure..."
As she spoke, her expression suddenly changed. She immediately ran out of the classroom, sprinting all the way.
The students in Class B knew perfectly well what she was going to do.
As soon as Hoshinomiya Chie left, all kinds of chatter broke out in the classroom.
They had to prepare for the class competition and avoid failing an exam and getting expelled. To be honest, quite a few of them felt uneasy.
"Class A has so many Class Points! They're over a hundred ahead of us!"
The class meeting also revealed the Class Points that day. Every student could see the first-year rankings posted on the other side of the blackboard.
"Come to think of it, the classes below us are way too stupid. How did they end up with zero points?"
"But it's scary that you can be expelled for failing an exam."
"What if the midterm is really hard?"
The students in Class B chattered among themselves, but Kanzaki Ryuji's attention remained fixed on Ichinose Honami. The leader he had faith in didn't seem as enthusiastic as she used to be.
Just then, Shiranami Chihiro glanced at Ichinose Honami with unease.
As if she'd finally come back to herself, Ichinose Honami suddenly smiled. She took a deep breath, then stood up and said, "Everyone, I don't think anyone will fail the midterm at this point. How about we all study together and aim to raise our average score?"
"Wait, Ichinose, are you going to tutor us?"
"Of course!"
"I'm in!"
Before long, at least a dozen students had answered Ichinose Honami.
Ichinose Honami hesitated. How was she supposed to tutor so many people?
"Let me join, too." Kanzaki Ryuji spoke up.
Ichinose Honami stared at him in surprise. He'd been quiet ever since the start of the school year, so she hadn't expected him to become more active lately.
"Thanks. I look forward to working with you, Kanzaki."
Kanzaki Ryuji's grades were excellent, too, and not much worse than hers. With his help, things would probably be a lot easier.
That was what she thought, but her heart still felt heavy. Could she continue to bear everyone's trust?
Kanzaki Ryuji's eyes glinted. Apparently, he was the only one in the class who could see that something was off about Ichinose Honami.
All right, he'd find out what had caused Ichinose Honami to become like this.
Class C.
When their homeroom teacher, Sakagami Kazuma, explained the school's rules, the students in Class C barely reacted.
But when they heard they could be expelled for failing the midterm or final, they finally looked shaken.
"Why are you panicking? We've still got Kaneda and Shiina, don't we?" Ryuen Kakeru said lazily. "If you don't think you can pass, then study your asses off. That's common sense, isn't it?"
"Y-yeah, that's true, but I really don't have much confidence," Ishizaki Daichi said timidly. He'd been a delinquent himself until Ryuen Kakeru had pinned him to a desk and punched him several times on the first day of school.
Ryuen Kakeru shot him a cold look, and Ishizaki Daichi immediately fell silent.
"I'll take responsibility for helping everyone study. If you're not confident, you can come to me for help." A bespectacled boy spoke in a low voice.
He was the Kaneda Ryuen Kakeru had mentioned: Kaneda Satoru. His grades made him stand out in Class C, putting him among the top students.
"Pay more attention in class, too. If you get expelled, that'll be your own fault."
Ryuen Kakeru wasn't worried about the ordinary students. He was only directing those words at the delinquents in the class.
As a seasoned delinquent himself, he knew those guys had next to nothing to do with studying. Just showing up for class was already a big deal for them.
If he hadn't used violence to make them submit and at least obey the school rules on the surface, Class C wouldn't still have 550 Class Points today. They'd probably be about even with Class D.
Sakagami Kazuma watched the class without showing any reaction.
In fact, when he'd learned that Ryuen Kakeru had beaten up a classmate, he'd only been surprised for a moment.
Putting aside the fact that he was a delinquent, Sakagami Kazuma actually thought highly of Ryuen Kakeru. He'd picked up on the hidden meaning in Sakagami Kazuma's words on the first day of school, then acted immediately after classes ended.
He'd deliberately blocked the cameras, shut the doors and windows, and beaten up his own teammate.
Well, compared to the fighting, blocking the cameras hardly counted as a demerit.
When he ran into an opponent he couldn't beat, Ryuen Kakeru had patiently worn him down for an entire week. He even followed him to the bathroom, doggedly hounding him until the other guy surrendered.
He was a rare talent.
And Sakagami Kazuma could see the flames of ambition burning in his eyes. This guy was intensely interested in reaching Class A.
He'd even dared to make a promise to the entire class, and Sakagami Kazuma had been moved by it.
If he got the chance in the future, Sakagami Kazuma thought he'd help this student without hesitation.
Chapter 45: You're All Useless
"What? How could we possibly have zero points?!"
At the same time, an incredulous voice rang out in Class D.
"Is that really so hard to believe?" Chabashira Sae stared coldly at Kanji Ike, then looked at everyone in the class. "You were late or absent 98 times in total. You whispered to each other and played with your phones 391 times during class. You managed to do that much stupid stuff in a single month. Did you think you wouldn't lose points?"
Kanji Ike muttered, "But that's way too many points deducted. Didn't we have a thousand Class Points?"
Most of the students in Class D felt the same way. Watching their thousand Class Points turn directly into zero was terrifying.
At least leave us a little!
"Chabashira-sensei, please tell us the specific rules for point deductions," Hirata Yosuke asked, raising his hand as well. "If possible, please also tell us how we can earn more Class Points."
Chabashira Sae gave a faintly mocking smile.
"Heh. Hirata, do you really think that's possible? According to this school's rules, I'm not allowed to tell you. It's like personnel evaluations at a company. Whether to tell you is the company's choice, not an obligation."
She paused briefly, her gaze turning cold again.
"You know a lot of the school's rules, yet you still cling to a little hope. Did the hundred thousand Private Points make you lose your minds? Or do you think you're capable of surpassing Class A?"
On the blackboard, Class A's 940 points and Class D's zero stood out starkly.
Horikita Suzune remained silent, her expression growing darker. Though she knew that Class D losing all its Class Points had nothing to do with her, the number still cut deeply into her heart.
"Heh. Looks like this is all you're capable of. But that's fine. From another perspective, you can be late or absent as much as you like from now on. You're already at zero, after all."
At Chabashira Sae's taunt, Ken Sudō suddenly kicked the leg of his desk. He crossed his arms and said irritably, "So there's nothing we can do? Are we going to be mocked by everyone from now on?"
"Oh, so you care about your pride after all, Sudō." Chabashira Sae kept taunting him. "I'm sorry, but Class D is the last bastion for the bottom of the barrel. If you don't want to be mocked, why didn't you work hard in the first place?"
"You woman..." Ken Sudō nearly stood up, but remembered that she was a teacher and managed to hold himself back.
"All right, all right. I never expected anything from you anyway."
Chabashira Sae put up the quiz results and explained to Class D that failing an exam would get them expelled.
In an instant, the students in Class D all looked shocked.
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