Once class began, the swimming instructor came over.
The instructor looked like a true professional. His streamlined muscles did the title of sports teacher proud.
He glanced at the group standing off to the side, which made up almost half the class, and helplessly pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Everyone, in theory, you're allowed to sit out this class, but! It's still very important to learn how to swim!"
"But we'll let it slide this time. Starting next class, unless you have a good reason, I hope you'll all participate."
"For today, I'd like to get a sense of your skill levels. Here's what we'll do: after warming up, we'll have a competition. The boys and girls will compete separately, and the first-place winner in each group will get a special reward... Let me think... How about five thousand points?"
"But! The last-place boy and girl! You're staying behind for extra lessons! You'd better be ready!"
The students in Class D immediately split into two camps. Some cheered, confident they could win a prize, while others, aware of their own abilities, looked deeply troubled.
The loudest of them all was a student named Kanji Ike.
"Whoa! This is gonna be a breeze! Back in middle school, they called me the swift flying fish. Just watch me scoop up those five thousand points! I've almost spent all the points I got last month, too."
Yamauchi Haruki stepped over and patted Ike on the shoulder.
"Hundred thousand points? How'd you spend it all in half a month?"
Ike waved a hand, looking unconcerned.
"What's the big deal? We get these points every month anyway. Even if I spend them all, I'll be back to full health next month!"
Then he seemed to remember something.
"Hey, don't think I haven't noticed. That game console of yours wasn't cheap either, was it?"
"Heh heh heh."
Onizuka watched as the two slung their arms around each other's shoulders and laughed.
They really had no idea they were already standing on the edge of a cliff. People like them had already fallen without even realizing it. He couldn't wait to see the despair on their faces.
It seemed the teachers at this school had the authority to award points, too. Even the assistant teacher for a subject like swimming had at least five thousand points to hand out. Would the homeroom teacher have an even bigger allowance?
At that moment, far away in the faculty office, Sae Chabashira let out a violent sneeze...
Aside from the few students who genuinely couldn't swim and the girls who couldn't participate for personal reasons, almost everyone took part: ten girls and seventeen boys.
Whether it was because there were fewer girls or because it would better motivate the boys, the instructor had the girls compete first.
In almost an instant, the spots at the front beside the pool were packed with boys, all cheering the girls on excitedly.
The only boys still standing on the outskirts were Onizuka Tsukasa, Koenji Rokusuke, and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.
Onizuka looked up at the well-proportioned muscles on the two boys. They must have been built through long-term, professional training-not the kind that was all show and no substance.
"Hey, Koenji, Ayanokoji, how about a competition?"
Ayanokoji looked confused. "Aren't we about to compete already?"
Koenji burst into hearty laughter. "Ayanokoji Boy, Onizuka Boy means we should have a little wager between us."
Then he looked over at Onizuka. "I don't mind competing against you two. You're both so beautiful, after all. But I'm the most beautiful of all! Ahahahaha!"
Once he'd reached an agreement with one of them, Onizuka turned to Ayanokoji, who was standing nearby. "What about you? Made up your mind?"
After thinking for a moment, Ayanokoji slowly took two steps back and waved his hand.
"I'll pass. I'm actually not very good at swimming."
Koenji Rokusuke glanced at him. "How dull, Ayanokoji Boy."
Onizuka didn't press him. Instead, he discussed the wager with Koenji. "How about seventy thousand points?"
"How beautiful, Onizuka Boy. But my points are already a little over budget lately. Let's make it twenty thousand."
Onizuka looked at him a little longer. "No problem."
The girls' competition had ended by then. The winner was a girl named Onodera from the Swimming Club, who pocketed the five thousand points.
Koenji Rokusuke and Onizuka Tsukasa went straight to the instructor and signed a contract for a twenty-thousand-point wager in his presence.
Since there were more boys, they were split into three groups of five. The two of them, meanwhile, became a separate fourth group.
The first three groups finished quickly, and Onizuka finally learned the name of the red-haired hothead: Ken Sudō.
Was it any surprise? He was a muscle-bound idiot who had no brains to match. He completed the course in just twenty-five seconds.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, meanwhile, took a little over thirty-six seconds, placing him right in the middle of the boys.
Heh. He probably hadn't even used half his strength, had he? Onizuka couldn't wait to see him go all out.
At last, it was time for the showdown between Onizuka and Koenji.
After the swimming instructor introduced them, the students in the class learned about their wager: twenty thousand points.
At first, no one seemed particularly surprised. They simply hadn't realized how important points were.
But as soon as the instructor gave the signal and the two entered the water at the same time, everyone's excitement was instantly stirred.
The two surged through the pool at incredible speed, swimming freestyle. They raced neck and neck, and the competition was fierce.
In the end, they touched the far end of the pool almost simultaneously.
Just then, the instructor came over from the control room and looked at the two in the pool.
"Uh... Both students were very fast, but we still have to decide the winner. Koenji Rokusuke's time was 22.57 seconds, while Onizuka Tsukasa's time was..."
"22.33 seconds!"
(Incidentally, the men's freestyle world record was 21.95 seconds.)
He cleared his throat, looked toward the two competitors, and continued, "Would either of you be interested in joining the Swimming Club?"
"The point rewards are pretty good. What do you think? Give it some consideration." He handed each of them a towel and waited for their response.
But both of them declined the instructor's invitation at the same time.
The instructor didn't press the matter. After Onizuka collected the forty-five thousand points he was owed, he left, muttering things like, "What a waste."
Koenji Rokusuke walked over to Onizuka.
"Maybe you were more beautiful than me today, Onizuka Boy. Ahahahaha!"
Onizuka had thought Koenji had come over to say something important, so he rubbed his forehead. As expected, he still couldn't get used to the way this guy's mind worked.
In a corner that neither of them noticed, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka watched the two of them with a cold, unblinking gaze.