The Approaching Midterm Exam

People love weekends.

Because the weekend belongs to you alone.

It's a feeling of freedom.

It's not that you have to do something on the weekend.

On the contrary, the reason it feels free is precisely because you can do nothing on the weekend.

And compared to possessing freedom, the Friday that rushes toward freedom seems to me far more delightful than having it.

Today is the first Friday of May. Over the course of one week, Class 1-B has experienced many things.

They learned about Class Points, carefully planned and allocated Personal Points under Ichinose's leadership, and understood that the essence of this school is to enforce meritocracy...

Precisely because events came one after another, everyone was inevitably oppressed by a sense of urgency.

Taking a moment to relax over the weekend seems like a good choice.

As they head into two days of vacation, the class is buzzing with excited discussions about their plans.

For me, the most important thing this weekend is returning books to the library.

Should I find two clubs that interest me and visit them?

Suddenly, the bell rings...

We welcome the last class of the day.

Chie Hoshinomiya's homeroom lesson.

Ever since the curtain rose on meritocracy, Hoshinomiya has never again appeared in the classroom as the scatterbrained figure she once was.

Having seen her form in the first month, compared to now, she's like a different person.

In other words, campus life has truly begun now.

Hoshinomiya walked up to the podium expressionlessly, first scanning the classroom.

Then she took a poster out of the file folder she was holding.

It was similar to the one from last time when Class Points were announced.

"Oh my, why are you all so serious? It's Friday today!"

"In other words, after this class, you can rest~"

"Why are you all looking so gloomy? That won't do. Everyone is a rising sun—be more positive!!"

Suddenly switching back to cute mode, I couldn't help but click my tongue.

"Teacher Hoshinomiya, is there another big announcement to make?"

Shibata stood up with a grave expression and asked.

"Oh my, it's just some quiz results. Everyone doesn't need to be so nervous."

Hearing this, most of the students breathed a sigh of relief.

If it were something about Class Points and Personal Points again, that would probably stir everyone's emotions the most.

Hoshinomiya suddenly spoke gently:

"Hey, I mean these are everyone's quiz scores... that doesn't mean the main topic I want to discuss is the quiz."

The originally relaxed atmosphere couldn't help but take on a hint of heaviness.

"At the end of this month, we will have the first-year midterm exam. The purpose of the exam is to explore the students' learning ability and aptitude. The content will not exceed what has been taught."

"Those are the basics. Next, I'll talk about the key points, so please listen carefully. Especially those who ranked at the bottom of this quiz, be sure to listen clearly. If your midterm exam score does not reach half of the class average, it will be considered a failure, and the result is: expulsion."

"What!?"

"Ex... expulsion!??"

"What the hell...? It's just a midterm."

As soon as Teacher Hoshinomiya finished speaking, the class erupted into commotion.

"Everyone! How about we wait until Teacher Hoshinomiya finishes speaking before discussing?"

Ichinose stood up on her own, temporarily calming the discussion.

Once it was completely quiet, Hoshinomiya also posted the quiz results on the blackboard.

Behind each name was their respective score.

The class average was close to 72 points. And the next moment, Teacher Hoshinomiya picked up an oil-based marker from the desk and split the table in two at the 36-point mark.

"Congratulations, everyone~ A considerable number of you still have a solid foundation and a serious attitude toward learning. Of course, Teacher isn't saying that those who didn't reach it didn't put in effort. However, if this quiz were the midterm exam, three students might have to say goodbye to our school."

"No way..."

"Teacher Hoshinomiya isn't lying, is she?"

"This is expulsion, you know..."

Ryota Beppu: 91

Ichinose Honami 90

Ryuji Kanzaki 83

Hajime Kashima 72

Chihiro Shiramami 67

Sou Shibata 64

Yui Ninomiya 42

Tetsuya Hamaguchi 39

Leaving aside the two at the top who take class seriously.

Yui Ninomiya and Tetsuya Hamaguchi are barely scraping by the passing line, but I think the students floating near the passing threshold are more dangerous.

Because classmates in this range have a considerable chance of becoming part of the failing group.

Rather than worrying about barely passing, they should be more concerned about falling into the failing group.

In other words, this is a game where not trying means elimination.

And the three members of the failing group are:

Kozue Minamikata (female), Makoto Sumida (male), Norihito Watanabe (male).

Looking back, Kozue Minamikata's face was somewhat pale, while Makoto Sumida was staring fixedly at his own score.

If this were a midterm exam, they would be saying goodbye to this school and class.

Becoming the first batch of students eliminated by the school.

"Let me emphasize again, the exam content mainly targets the students' academic ability and judgment, and won't exceed the scope of what's been taught. The higher the overall scores, the more it relates to the Class Points and Personal Points you're pursuing. And failing students will be expelled. That is all."

Even though the weekend's dawn was about to arrive, the entire Class B remained in silence.

Even when Teacher Hoshinomiya asked if there were any questions, not a single person stood up.

After all, this was simply a test of student learning—write the correct answers and get points, write wrong answers and get none.

The fact that there was no chaotic backlash against the school was somewhat surprising to me.

But perhaps more than blaming the school for setting up this reward-and-punishment system, what was more disheartening was one's own lack of ability.

As the first exam that could change Class Points, all classes seemed to be ready and waiting.

Well then, everyone, welcome to the classroom of the meritocracy.