Sudo Expelled, but the Curtain Has Yet to Fall

Chabashira Sae looked at him coldly, her gaze like that of someone observing a petulant clown.

She explained in a measured, unhurried tone, "The passing grade for this school is not a fixed 60 points."

Her voice was like a cold, mechanical recording, "It is based on fifty percent of the grade's average for that subject, rounded to the nearest whole number."

She pointed to the numbers on the classroom whiteboard: "For this midterm exam, the grade-wide average was 79.6 points.

Divided by two, that is 39.8 points. After rounding, the passing line is—40 points."

Her gaze fell back onto the pale face of Ken Sudo, each word landing like a judge delivering a verdict:

"And your total score is 39 points. Exactly one point below the passing line."

"39 points... 40 points..." Ken Sudo seemed unable to grasp the meaning of these numbers, merely repeating them mechanically.

The panic and anger on his face were quickly swallowed by a massive wave of terror; his hands and feet began to tremble uncontrollably, and fine beads of cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

"How could this be... I memorized the answers... how could I be off by one point... impossible... this is impossible..."

He spoke incoherently, as if his entire world were collapsing before his eyes.

Chabashira Sae's tone remained devoid of any ripples, carrying a hint of detached indifference:

"Although my time with you has been short, thank you for your hard work.

After school, I will be in the office with your expulsion notice."

"Ex... expulsion notice?" Ken Sudo's mind went blank, with only those two words echoing frantically.

Expelled? Because of a one-point difference? Even after he had memorized the answers, he was still one point short?

A sense of immense absurdity and despair drowned him completely; he opened his mouth, but could not produce a sound.

He simply stood there, his face ashen, like an empty shell from which the soul had been extracted.

"Teacher!"

Hirata Yosuke in the front row could no longer sit still; he stood up immediately, his face filled with urgency and disbelief.

He bowed deeply toward Chabashira Sae, his voice trembling with agitation: "Teacher! May I ask... is there really no way to remedy this?

Sudo-kun... he might have just made a momentary mistake, or... could there be an error in the grading?

Can you... can you give him another chance? Even a make-up exam would do!"

He had always upheld the belief of uniting the class and never giving up on anyone.

Seeing Ken Sudo in such a devastated state, his heart was filled with unbearable anxiety.

"If you fail the exam, there is nothing more to discuss."

Chabashira Sae's tone was absolute, leaving no room for negotiation, "Rules are rules; there are no make-up exams, and no second chances."

"But, Teacher!"

At this moment, Kikyo Kushida also stood up, her eyes already slightly red, her hands pressed against the desk, her voice filled with reluctance and pleading.

"Just because of this 0.2-point difference, the one point after rounding... Sudo-kun has to be expelled?

This... this is too cruel! Can't we think of another way? Or..."

"School rules are school rules and must be followed."

Chabashira Sae cut her off, her cold gaze sweeping over Kikyo Kushida.

It also swept over the other students in the room who wore expressions of reluctance or hesitation, "Give up the struggle; the homeroom meeting ends here."

Her gaze finally swept over the back of the classroom, lingering for an almost imperceptible instant on a figure sitting by the window.

Then, she withdrew her gaze, looked at no one else, turned around, and the sound of her heels clicking against the floor was crisp and resolute.

Step by step, she walked toward the classroom door, pulled it open, and left without looking back.

"Click."

The door was pulled shut, temporarily sealing the suffocating atmosphere of despair inside the classroom.

After Chabashira Sae left, the classroom fell into a deathly silence.

It was heavier and more oppressive than the silence while waiting for the results just moments ago.

One could only hear the ragged, chaotic breathing of Ken Sudo, and the faint, distant sounds of the outside world—the bustle of other classes.

Kikyo Kushida stood where she was, looking at the direction in which Chabashira Sae had left, then turned back to look at the stunned Ken Sudo.

She then looked at the surrounding classmates, who were mostly silent, heads bowed to avoid her gaze.

She took a deep breath, trying to keep her voice from trembling, and with a final shred of urgency and pleading, she broke the unsettling silence:

"Everyone... do you really think... this is okay?"

Her voice sounded exceptionally clear, even jarring, in the quiet classroom.

"If things go on like this... Sudo-kun... he is really going to be expelled!

Are we just... going to watch it happen? We are a class!"

Her gaze swept over Yosuke Hirata, over Kei Karuizawa, over Kanji Ike and Haruki Yamauchi, over Suzune Horikita and Kiyotaka Ayanokoji, and finally, it even drifted toward Lin Mu, who seemed unconcerned in the back row.

However, the only response she received was an even deeper silence.

The students of Class D looked at one another, their faces filled with complex emotions.

There was sympathy, helplessness, relief, as well as confusion and bewilderment.

They certainly did not want to see a classmate expelled, especially over such an "unjust" single point.

But... Sae Chabashira's attitude was so resolute, and the school's rules were written in black and white; what could they possibly do? Protest?

They didn't even have any class points; what leverage did they have to protest? Plead? Did Sae Chabashira look like the type of person who would soften her heart?

Yosuke Hirata's brows were tightly locked, his hands clenched into fists on his knees; he was clearly thinking desperately, but for the moment, he had no clue what to do.

Suzune Horikita kept a cold face, her eyes even carrying a hint of indifference that suggested she thought it was "self-inflicted."

Kiyotaka Ayanokoji kept his head lowered as usual, his expression unreadable. Kanji Ike and Haruki Yamauchi hunched their shoulders, not daring to make a sound.

No one spoke. No one knew what to do.

They could only remain silent.

They let the cold shadow known as "expulsion," like a rising tide, slowly submerge Ken Sudo as he stood dazed beside his desk.

It also permeated every corner of the classroom, causing the fire of hope that had just been ignited by their "decent exam results" to be completely extinguished in a cold pool of despair.

Lin Mu leaned back in his seat, biting down on the hard core of the last piece of lollipop in his mouth, feeling the sweetness vanish completely from the tip of his tongue.

He watched the tragedy unfold before him calmly, observing everyone's reactions, his heart devoid of ripples; he even found it a bit boring.

As expected.

He had already "seen" this outcome, or rather, that "answer key" was less of a life-saving straw and more of a sieve for weeding people out.

Those who could fall below the passing line even while copying from an answer key were perhaps never meant to be part of the plan at this "merit-based" school from the very beginning.

Ken Sudo's expulsion seemed to be a foregone conclusion.

But... was it really?

Lin Mu's gaze swept, seemingly unintentionally, over the boy not far away who was still keeping his head down, devoid of any presence—Kiyotaka Ayanokoji.

He remembered that in the fragments of his precognition, regarding the turmoil of this midterm exam, there seemed to be some... minor aftershocks?

Forget it, it had nothing to do with him anyway.

He only needed to ensure his own score remained far above the grade average.

As for the rest, he would just wait and see.

After all, the show might not have reached its final curtain call just yet.

(Event period: May 1st to May 5th)