"I'm Horikita Manabu, the student council president. I'm sorry to interrupt the first-years' midterm exams, but there's something I need to announce first." As Horikita Manabu spoke, many students in the class wondered what it was about. Ayanokoji, however, seemed to sense something and glanced toward Kitahara.
The same went for that "little angel." But from what I knew, Ayanokoji hadn't shared in the "credit" that was about to come her way. It seemed she wasn't going to win over the whole class this time...
"An investigation by the Student Council has confirmed that a student from Class 2-D sold this midterm exam paper to a first-year student without permission. The student will be punished with a deduction of 500,000 Private Points and 100 Class Points."
"Since this is the first offense for the first-year student, she will receive a warning. If she does it again, she will be expelled."
As Horikita Manabu's words rang out again, everyone in the class looked toward Kushida Kikyo, their eyes full of concern.
Kushida Kikyo sat frozen in her seat as she took in the news. She hadn't expected things to turn out completely differently from what she'd anticipated. She knew the school had found out about it, so there was no way they would use the original exam paper. That meant what she'd done wouldn't earn her any gratitude from her classmates. They might even blame her. As that thought crossed her mind, Kushida Kikyo glared at Ayanokoji, her eyes hard.
No wonder you told me to say I bought the exam paper myself. You'd already planned a way out. And here I thought you were actually trying to help me. Looks like you and Horikita are cut from the same cloth. You should both be expelled.
Ayanokoji's expression didn't change as he noticed Kushida's gaze. He already knew that, from this point on, his plan had failed. He might have to deal with Kushida's retaliation next, but for now, the biggest problem was figuring out who had brought all this about.
With that in mind, Ayanokoji turned his eyes toward Kitahara, trying to spot a flaw in him.
"So does that mean all the answers I memorized are useless?" Sudo's words finally brought the class around.
The announcement came over the speakers again, and Horikita Manabu's voice followed. A few people still looked toward the front with hopeful, even desperate expressions, but most had already figured out how things would end.
"Because the exam paper was leaked, the school has no replacement..." Horikita Manabu paused. A few people's hopes lifted a little. Watching them, Kitahara couldn't help exclaiming, "President, you're a master at managing people's emotions. Every little thing you do is just perfect."
"But Yanagihara from Class A promptly provided the school with a copy of the exam paper, which passed the school's review. The exam will proceed as scheduled, and Yanagihara from Class A will be rewarded with eight million Private Points."
"That concludes the announcement. Homeroom teachers, please promptly organize your students and begin the exam."
Kitahara fell silent at those words. He hadn't expected the school to reward Yanagihara with so many points. He'd estimated she'd get, at most, around five million. It was hard not to wonder whether Chairman Yanagihara had slipped his daughter a little extra pocket money.
But Kitahara quickly came around. He and Yanagihara were splitting the money fifty-fifty. If she got more, didn't that mean he'd make a bigger profit too? Sure enough, it paid to team up with Yanagihara.
"How could this happen? How am I supposed to pass this exam now?"
"Yeah. Kushida, how did they find out?"
"I didn't study for this exam at all. I trusted you, Kushida!"
"Am I going to get expelled?" The students around them all started clamoring. They were the very same people who'd praised her earlier. Watching them, Kitahara could only sigh. "See? There's no way to carry this team. Maybe Class B's atmosphere suits me better. I'll leave this mess to Ayanokoji and Horikita to deal with."
Kushida Kikyo, the subject of everyone's discussion, stood up with tear-filled eyes. "Everyone, I really don't know how they found out. It was my mistake that I couldn't help you." As she spoke, Kushida Kikyo wiped away her tears.
But the students in Class D didn't continue to blame her. Instead, they said, "It must be that second-year student's fault. If it weren't for him, Kushida wouldn't have been found out."
"That's right. It must be his fault," the students around them chimed in.
Kitahara was speechless all over again at the sudden change. He hadn't expected Kushida Kikyo to have trained them into this kind of crowd. Did they really have no standards at all? If that second-year student found out, he'd probably cry himself to sleep in the bathroom.
As the class grew louder, Chabashira-sensei, standing at the front of the room, finally spoke. "Everyone, return to your seats and get ready for the exam."
The exam itself went smoothly, but unlike in the original story, the students were anything but confident. They spent the whole time scratching their heads in the exam hall. I wondered how many people would be expelled this time. Would Sudo be the only one facing this crisis, like in the original story?
Yanagihara's exam paper was fairly easy, but for those guys... all I could say was goodbye. Heh. In the original story, they could use 100,000 points to make up for being one point short. But now, even I had no idea how many points they'd fall short by.
After the exam ended, the atmosphere in the class grew strangely heavy. Everyone worried they might be the "lucky one." By the time the results were due to be announced, their nerves were starting to fray. The unknown was often the most agonizing part; only when they learned the result could they finally relax.
With the whole class on edge, Chabashira-sensei slowly walked in and stood at the front. Looking at them, she suddenly smiled. "It seems I underestimated you. You really do keep surprising me. You've shown me just how badly a class can do. You're not only the worst class in history; I doubt anyone will ever surpass you."
No one dared respond to Chabashira-sensei's taunts. Seeing that, she continued, "Though our time together was brief, this is where it ends."
"Sudo, Yamauchi, and Ike, get your things ready. After school this afternoon, come to my office to complete the expulsion procedures."
The students reacted in two completely different ways. Those who hadn't been expelled let out a quiet sigh of relief, while the three who were about to be expelled sat frozen in place.
"How could this happen? Why am I being expelled?" Ike shouted.