After several days of preparation, the midterm exams arrived right on schedule.
In Chiba Yu's eyes, the exams weren't difficult as long as you'd paid even a little attention in class. More importantly, after Ayanokoji and Kushida got hold of copies of past exams, they'd raised the whole class's scores to a terrifying level.
You could say that this time, even Class B or Class A would probably fall a little short compared to their class.
So when Chabashira Sae posted everyone's grades on the blackboard, the class erupted into loud cheers.
While everyone was swept up in the excitement, Karuizawa Kei turned to Chiba Yu and exclaimed in surprise, "You got 80 in every subject. Did you really hold back your scores again?!"
"I just thought this score was safer than 60..."
Chiba Yu stopped halfway through his sentence when he noticed Karuizawa staring at him like he was some kind of monster. It made him feel a little uncomfortable.
"Hey, don't tell me you really can get full marks in every subject? That's ridiculous!"
"...If I said I couldn't, would you believe me?"
Karuizawa immediately shook her head. Chiba Yu shrugged. "See? Since that's what you think, there's not much point in asking what I think."
"But that's different!"
"How is it different? Anyway, why are you so interested in my grades?"
"Uh... I was just asking because I had nothing else to do. Is that so wrong?"
What a troublesome woman. He had no idea how Ayanokoji would eventually notice Karuizawa's potential. For now, Chiba Yu just found her annoying.
He couldn't even imagine how pitiful her future boyfriend would be if Karuizawa got one. All he could do was pray for the poor guy in advance.
"I get the feeling you're thinking something really rude," Karuizawa said, furrowing her brow. She felt like someone was talking behind her back, and strongly suspected that the "annoying" guy right in front of her was the culprit.
"But—"
With a bang, Chabashira Sae smacked the blackboard, instantly drawing the entire class's attention.
Then she used a red pen to circle Sudo's name. "You failed, Sudo. So, according to the rules, you'll be expelled."
Bang!
"What are you talking about? Why did I fail?!" Sudo jumped up in a panic, staring at Chabashira at the front of the classroom in disbelief.
Chabashira then explained that the passing mark for the midterms was 40, while Sudo had scored only 39. He'd missed passing by just one point, but according to school rules, even if you fell short by only one point, you had to accept expulsion.
"Ah... He had the answers in hand and still failed. Is he just carefree, or is he actually stupid?"
Sitting in his seat, Chiba Yu mused lazily, without the slightest sense of urgency or regret over his classmate's impending expulsion.
With the entire class watching, Chabashira told Sudo to come to her office later to handle the expulsion procedures, then gathered her things and left the classroom.
Hirata and Kushida stood up to plead with Chabashira and ask if there was any way to fix things, but it was no use. In the end, they could only sit back down, dejected.
After Chabashira left, the entire class fell silent. Sudo stood at the classroom door, looking utterly lost, as though all the life had drained out of him.
If only he'd thought of that before.
Watching in silence, Chiba Yu couldn't help thinking that Sudo had refused Horikita's tutoring, and now that he was about to be expelled, he regretted what he'd done. Humans really were foolish creatures.
Only after going through something for real could you truly understand how foolish your actions had been back then—including... his own.
"Do you all really think this is okay? If this goes on, Sudo really will be expelled!"
The response was a series of cold, evasive looks from the class. Everyone thought Sudo's expulsion was a foregone conclusion. Some even sincerely believed that his leaving would do the class more good than harm.
So, in that moment, almost no one spoke up for Sudo apart from Kushida and Hirata.
As Chiba Yu watched the farce with indifference, a sudden sense of foreboding washed over him. He instinctively glanced around.
His gaze finally settled on the person seated diagonally to his upper left.
Hirata was looking at him with an almost pleading expression. Everything he said seemed to boil down to one thing: was there any way to save Sudo?
"Haah..." Chiba Yu sighed and shook his head to show that he couldn't help. He hoped Hirata would understand that he was just an ordinary student, with neither the ability nor the need to do something beyond his means for Sudo.
Tap!
Then Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, seated two places to Chiba Yu's left, stood up. Even under everyone's gaze, he showed no sign of panic.
"I'm going to the bathroom."
Leaving those words behind, Ayanokoji calmly walked out of the classroom under the gaze of the entire class.
Then, while the class watched in bewilderment, Horikita Suzune followed him out.
"Is there really nothing we can do?" Hirata walked over to Chiba Yu, looking miserable as he gave a bitter smile. But Chiba Yu only glanced at him coldly and shook his head.
"Don't think too highly of me, Hirata. We're just ordinary students, after all. We can't fight the rules of the entire school."
Hirata's face fell. He knew it was wishful thinking, but he still didn't want to give up.
"I've never understood this. Isn't Sudo the one who brought this on himself?" Chiba Yu glanced at Sudo, who was still standing there looking lost, and continued without mercy.
"If he'd followed Horikita's advice and studied, then at least taken a little time to memorize the answers Kushida gave him before the exam, he wouldn't have ended up like this."
Chiba Yu's words carried clearly to Sudo. Already dejected and emotionally unstable, he instantly flared up in anger and glared viciously at Chiba Yu.
Ah... He couldn't even handle a few words without losing his temper. No wonder everyone saw Sudo as a troublemaker right up until the sports festival. He'd even been used as a pawn by Ryuen several times. It wasn't without reason.
"What do you mean by that, you jerk?!"
"Sudo!"
"Sudo, calm down. I don't think Chiba meant it that way. He just..."
Seeing things take a turn for the worse, Kushida and Hirata hurried to calm Sudo down. But Chiba Yu acted as if he hadn't noticed and kept speaking.
"Am I wrong? You ignored instructions and did whatever you wanted, and even at the very last moment, you still wanted to cause trouble for the class. Honestly, right up to the end, you were acting like a clown, Sudo."