The bell announcing the start of classes on May 1 rang. Teacher Hoshinomiya held a poster in her hands, but unlike usual, she wore no cheerful smile. Instead, she looked rather serious.
She unfolded the poster and pinned it to the blackboard.
First-Year Class Points Summary:
Class 1-A: 960 pt
Class 1-B: 630 pt
Class 1-C: 490 pt
Class 1-D: 0 pt
The atmosphere seemed rather oppressive. Even the students who had wanted to ask questions didn't dare speak up yet. They sat quietly, waiting for Teacher Hoshinomiya to address them.
Early that morning, the chat room had been filled with Tetsuya's anguished wailing.
He had thought there was a mistake only on his points statement, but Ryota and I had also received the same number of points.
"You must all be wondering why nobody's stepped forward to ask a question, right?"
"Teacher Hoshinomiya, there seems to be a mistake with the Personal Points deposited this month."
After hesitating for a moment, Tetsuya Hamaguchi finally stood up and asked.
Apparently surprised, Hoshinomiya narrowed her eyes and asked in return:
"Yes? What's the mistake?"
"The amount is wrong. We were supposed to get 100,000 Personal Points..."
Hoshinomiya didn't respond. She simply turned away from the seats and looked at the poster.
Following her gaze, the words "Class 1-B: 630 pt" seemed to stand out, as if they'd been printed in heavier ink.
"Was there really a mistake?"
Teacher Hoshinomiya asked pointedly.
Tetsuya was at a loss for words. He looked at the poster on the wall again, then sat down, crestfallen.
I glanced at Ichinose, who was sitting beside me, and saw that she was simply watching the poster in silence.
"I have no objections to the Personal Points we received, but I'm confused about these Class Points."
Sou Shibata asked.
He wasn't the only one. Every student in the room was curious about the so-called Class Points, which were shrouded in mystery.
It also seemed that the Personal Points deposited into our accounts were determined by them.
"We have limited time for morning study, so I'll give you a brief explanation first."
"First of all, welcome to this school, where the strong thrive."
"You all know that our school is backed by the government, so our treatment and facilities are among the very best."
"But if you don't demonstrate an ability to match them, everything will be taken away from you."
"Of course, that includes the so-called 100 percent advancement rate."
Ryota, who had been scribbling on a piece of paper, suddenly looked up and fixed his eyes on Teacher Hoshinomiya.
"It'd be unfair if students in the lower classes could just coast along and count on graduating, hitching a ride all the way."
"Especially to the students who work hard and fight for Class A."
"When I say lower classes, I mean every class other than Class A. Don't get smug just because you're in Class B."
"I reminded you all at the start of the school year, didn't I? And Ichinose has been doing her duty as class representative and leading you all this past month."
"This year's Class B has lost more Class Points since the start of school than any class in the school's history."
"Of course, I'm not saying Ichinose has failed in her duties. It's just..."
She changed tack and glanced at me, either deliberately or not.
"Some people have gotten far too lazy."
I quietly put away the novel on my desk.
"About Class Points: First, they're a numerical measure of each class's overall ability and the sole standard for determining the class rankings. The class with the most Class Points is Class A."
"Second, they're also used to determine how many Personal Points students receive. Multiply the Class Points by 100, and that's how many Personal Points each student gets this month."
Laughter came from the corner of the room. I vaguely heard someone saying something like, "Isn't Class D done for?"
"Does anyone have any questions?"
Ichinose raised her hand.
"Teacher, you haven't explained how Class Points are deducted or added. Even if we know that graduating from Class A is our goal, we need to understand everything related to Class Points."
"Class Points affect every member of the class. Considering how many we lost in just one month, the Class B students haven't exactly been doing a good job."
"You didn't tell us that we'd lose Class Points over something like classroom discipline, either."
A complaint came from the back row.
"Do I really need to remind high school students about something like that?"
"Do you need me to remind you to use the narrow end of your chopsticks when you pick up food, too?"
"All right, that's it for homeroom. You can begin your morning study on your own."
Leaving us with those words, Teacher Hoshinomiya walked out of the classroom.
"Honestly, what a bizarre school. They even make students compete..."
"We're all just students, but it's the same old boring stuff—classroom discipline, test scores, and all that."
Tetsuya grumbled.
But Ryota remained seated, silent.
"What do you think, Ryota?"
"No matter how much we complain, we should still do our best to graduate from Class A."
"We're already so far behind..."
Ryota stared at the Class Points on the poster and sighed.
"It's not like we absolutely have to graduate from Class A. Even if..."
Before he could finish, I cut him off.
"That doesn't sound like the Tetsuya I know."
"It's not that I want to give up. We're all students at the same school, and I don't think Class A is necessarily better than us. Maybe even Class D, with zero Class Points, shouldn't be underestimated."
"There's no reason we absolutely have to graduate from Class A, but I still can't stand falling behind."
I could practically feel a blazing fire igniting inside Tetsuya. Even Ryota, sitting beside him, looked surprised.
The bell rang for first period.
Even though they were upset about losing so many Class Points, most students had put aside their usual laziness.
Even I sat up straight and opened my brand-new textbook.
As I listened to Chabashira-sensei explain history and followed along with the illustrations and text in the textbook—
Ah, I really thought this was boring.
Then I realized that, for a book, the textbook was rather large.
It seemed just big enough to cover the novel I'd borrowed.
I was about to pull the novel out of my desk when I noticed a pink sticky note on top of it.
"Pay attention! Stop reading novels!"
I glanced to the side. Ichinose was diligently writing down the key points from Chabashira-sensei's lecture on a sticky note.
Before you continue