The Calm of Everyday Life Can Sometimes Hide Undercurrents (2)

When we arrived, there were still hardly any students in the classroom.

Ichinose sat quietly at her desk, seemingly lost in thought.

"Morning, Ichinose."

She looked up and saw me standing in front of her.

"Good morning, Hajima-kun."

"Did you eat breakfast today?"

"Um... I didn't really have an appetite today, so..."

"Shiranami told me you haven't eaten breakfast properly for several days."

"You can't just skip breakfast, you know."

"I'll eat next time... Don't be mad."

"How could I not be mad when you're not taking care of yourself?"

After I scolded her, Ichinose drooped her head, looking a little dejected.

"Even if you don't have an appetite, try to eat a little. Otherwise, everyone will worry."

I handed her the breakfast everyone had prepared for her.

She seemed a little surprised...

"Huh!? This is... for me?"

Tetsuya poked his head out from behind me and nodded in agreement.

Shiranami Chihiro threw herself into Ichinose's arms.

"Honami-chan, you have to take care of yourself. I'm so, so worried about you..."

"Thank you..."

As she gently stroked Shiranami Chihiro's back, her hand curled into a fist.

The morning classes were nearly over. I twirled my pen idly, waiting for the bell to ring.

Tetsuya, on the other hand, seemed restless.

Half the day had passed, and Ryota still hadn't come to class.

If he hadn't replied to our messages that morning, he might simply have still been asleep. But with him gone for nearly the entire morning, that possibility was completely ruled out.

The moment the bell rang, Yui Ninomiya hurried over to us.

"Why hasn't Beppu-kun come in yet...?"

She asked anxiously.

"I sent him a message, but Ryota hasn't replied..."

"Have you tried contacting him?"

At Tetsuya's question, her eyes dimmed at once.

"I... I don't have his contact information..."

"Why don't we ask Teacher Hoshinomiya? A student like Beppu, who takes the rules seriously, probably wouldn't just skip class. Maybe Teacher Hoshinomiya will have some clues."

Shiranami Chihiro, who sat behind Ichinose, offered a suggestion.

We made our way against the flow of students toward the staff room.

When we reached the door, I knocked and then pushed it open.

Only Teacher Hoshinomiya was still at her desk inside.

She seemed to be dealing with something, so we waited off to the side.

She didn't seem surprised when she learned why we had come.

"Beppu? He asked me for two days of sick leave. As his teacher, I'm pretty worried about him too. If you hear anything about how he's doing, let me know, okay?"

That was all Teacher Hoshinomiya had to tell us.

Now it seemed we had no choice but to wait patiently.

Ichinose was swamped helping the students who were hovering around the passing line, while Shiranami Chihiro helped out wherever she could.

Tetsuya and Yui Ninomiya listened intently to the review and took notes.

I sat in a corner, feeling a little lonely.

A breeze from outside lifted the corner of a test paper.

Karuizawa returned her test to me much sooner than I'd expected.

Though, naturally, she still complained about it.

To be honest, I wasn't very good at teaching people.

As for studying, I figured it was enough to store everything I needed clearly and take it out when necessary.

With that logic, all I had to do in any subject was figure out which parts I hadn't mastered, and the rest was easy to handle.

I graded her paper while offering my own feedback.

Come to think of it, there were a few interesting things about this midterm exam.

Rather than studying hard and preparing for the test, another way of answering the questions seemed to be emerging.

Ryuen Kakeru. I hadn't gotten his name wrong, had I?

As the ruler of Class C, he controlled the class through cruel and ruthless methods.

Oh, right. He was also the long-haired guy I'd seen at the Palette, taunting an upperclassman.

I'd heard he had arranged for students to approach upperclassmen and test some of his theories.

He was making quite a show of himself, even attracting the attention of Katsuragi Kouhei from Class A, who had gone to Ryuen Kakeru himself to find out what was going on.

Katsuragi Kouhei was the one who stood toe-to-toe with Sakayanagi Arisu, controlling half of Class A.

Since his style leaned conservative, relatively more students followed him.

It seemed they were preparing to work together, but Ryuen Kakeru still needed to confirm the details.

His idea was fairly reasonable. After all, the gap in academic ability couldn't be closed in the short term.

And the school would never hold an unfair exam.

So probing from every angle was bound to yield something.

If Ryuen Kakeru really had found another way to solve the problem, would he, as the one who came up with it, really be willing to let others share the benefits?

Besides, the gap between Classes A and C wouldn't shrink just because they worked together.

As the lower-ranked class, would they really let someone else stay on top forever?

I thought again of the boy sitting alone at the Palette, his chin propped up gloomily.

Though the sea looked calm, undercurrents stirred beneath the surface.

The tension had risen so quickly that it sparked my curiosity.

I was a little excited...

Just what kind of waves would the first-years stir up?