"Quiet down, all of you."
As soon as Teacher Chabashira entered the room, she shouted at everyone in Class D.
"Saeda, you're in such a bad mood. Is it that time of the month?"
Teacher Chabashira ignored Yamauchi's taunt. After scanning the room, she said:
"It's the end of the month, so we're having a quiz today. Pass the papers back."
"What? A test? You never told us about this!"
"Yeah, teacher, you didn't give us any notice!"
Listening to the students' complaints, Teacher Chabashira chuckled.
"This quiz is only for future reference and won't be reflected on your report cards. Of course, cheating is forbidden!"
After getting his test paper, Takahashi gave it a quick look. It had five subjects, with four questions per subject, for a total of twenty questions. Each question was worth five points, for a total of one hundred. He glanced over the questions. They were a piece of cake.
Before half the allotted time had passed, Takahashi had already answered every question. He put down his pen, stretched out both hands, then closed his eyes and shook his head as he thought:
I didn't notice that the last three questions were on a completely different level from the rest. But to me, they're all the same. Heh.
Teacher Chabashira noticed Takahashi's movements and fixed her gaze on him. He noticed her watching, too. Resting his cheek on one hand, he lifted his head slightly, winked at her, then smiled. Teacher Chabashira eventually looked away, bringing the exchange to an end.
"Takahashi, want to go out after school?"
Takahashi put down his phone and looked up at Ike.
"Sorry, I have something to do after school."
"What is it? I'll let you in on a secret—Little Kushida's coming, too. Going out with a cute girl like her would be a real treat. Are you sure you don't want to come?"
"I'd really like to, but unfortunately, I do have something important to take care of after school."
"All right, then. Looks like it'll just be me, Sudo, Yamauchi, Ayanokouji, and Little Kushida."
"Have fun."
After Ike walked away, Takahashi turned his phone back on. The screen showed a chat with Shiina, where they'd arranged to meet at the library to discuss their thoughts on mystery novels.
After school, Takahashi hurried to the library. Shiina was already waiting there, with a copy of The Hell of Brains on the table. They smiled at each other and launched into an enthusiastic discussion. Shiina offered a unique interpretation: the protagonist had been dreaming from the very beginning, and everything that happened was an illusion. Takahashi was impressed.
After they finished discussing the book, Shiina said she planned to stay at the library and look at some other mystery novels. If she found one she liked, she'd recommend it to Takahashi.
Takahashi then left the library by himself.
As soon as he reached the vending machines, someone came up beside him. Takahashi glanced over and saw Hasebe Haruka, a girl from his class. She was very cute and was considered one of the cutest girls in Class D by Ike, Yamauchi, and the others. They often fantasized about her as their girlfriend.
Takahashi looked away. He wasn't like Ike and Yamauchi, who lost their heads whenever they saw a pretty girl.
Besides, the Takahashi family was a distinguished clan. According to its records, their ancestors were descendants of Emperor Xian of Han in China, so their family had a superior bloodline to the people of Japan. The current prime minister was also a member of the Takahashi family. Having grown up surrounded by outstanding, beautiful girls, Takahashi didn't feel particularly drawn to Hasebe just because she was pretty. He only wanted to buy his drink and hurry back to his dorm to read another mystery novel, The Black Death Hall Murder Case.
But although Takahashi didn't speak, Hasebe was the first to start a conversation.
"I think your name is Takahashi Shinma, right?"
Takahashi slowly turned toward her, smiling.
"Ha ha, I thought Hasebe would've forgotten an utterly ordinary person like me from our class." (In his mind: This is so awkward. I was just about to head back to my dorm, drink something, read a book, and enjoy the breeze coming in through the window. What?)
"You're not at all ordinary, Takahashi. You're a really good swimmer. I watched you from the spectator section."
After chatting for quite a while, the two sat at opposite ends of a bench, sipping their drinks and talking about amusing things happening in class. Hasebe told Takahashi that the girls often talked about him. He'd ranked second on their list of the most handsome boys, just behind the sunny Hirata Yosuke. She added that if Takahashi hadn't been so aloof and unapproachable at the start of the school year, he might have taken first place.
After saying goodbye to Hasebe, Takahashi bought another drink and headed back. As he walked, he thought:
At the start of the school year, I was so focused on figuring out the school rules, wandering around campus, and mapping out the school in 3D in my head that I really neglected to talk with my classmates. I should make more of an effort to chat with them from now on.
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