"You're saying it was just a coincidence?" Horikita Suzune's face practically screamed, Do you really think I believe that?
With no other choice, Chiba Yu told her everything that had happened, including his conversation with Hirata at the karaoke place.
"Then why didn't you tell us any of this?"
Faced with Horikita Suzune's question, Chiba Yu's mind went blank for a moment. He wanted to say, Come on, sis, do we even look like we're that close?
Even so, Chiba Yu didn't let his feelings show. Instead, he replied calmly, "Even if I'd told you then, would you have believed me?"
What he meant was that back then, he'd been a nobody in the class. If he'd shared his suspicions, he probably would've just made everyone laugh.
"But still..."
"Come on, Horikita. The most important thing right now is figuring out how to make sure no one in the class gets expelled after the next midterm, isn't it?"
To keep the conversation from turning back to him, Chiba Yu quickly changed the subject.
Hearing him say that, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka offered his own opinion. "If we want to earn any Class Points at all, we need everyone to change their attitude and get high scores on the next midterm. Is that what you mean?"
"Yeah." Chiba Yu nodded.
"By the way, what did you two get on that quiz?" Thinking about exams reminded Horikita Suzune of the two people beside her. Come to think of it, she hadn't paid any attention to their scores back then.
"I think my average was around 60," Chiba Yu said after recalling the scores Chabashira Sae had posted on the blackboard. He was pretty sure he remembered correctly.
"I think I got around 50," Ayanokoji Kiyotaka added.
Horikita Suzune didn't seem to approve. She immediately said sternly, "That still puts you both right on the edge of passing. You should try to score a little higher."
"That's easy to say, but we think we've already done our best," Ayanokoji Kiyotaka replied. He glanced at Chiba Yu, and the two of them nodded in unison.
"You two..."
"Hey, Chiba! Come over and join us!"
"Yeah, don't just sit there all the time. It's boring!"
Just as Horikita Suzune was about to say something else, Kanji Ike and the others, who were having a great time, called out excitedly from the other side. Their interruption cut her off, and her expression darkened at once.
The next second, Hirata also walked up to Chiba Yu and invited him with a warm, earnest smile. "Come join us, Chiba. Horikita and Ayanokoji, you should come too."
"I'll pass." As expected, Horikita Suzune turned Hirata down. Ayanokoji looked from Hirata to Horikita, then chose to stay right where he was, following Horikita's example.
Seeing the hopeful look in Hirata's eyes, Chiba Yu had no choice but to go with him and slowly step into the pool.
He'd barely gotten into the water when he noticed several people gathering around him.
"You're amazing, Chiba. You figured out the school's rules way ahead of time!"
"Yeah, you were keeping a low profile, weren't you?"
"Chiba, are your pecs real? They're huge. Did you work out before?"
Watching Chiba Yu get surrounded by a crowd of boys and girls, Ayanokoji couldn't help remarking from where he sat, "He sure is popular."
Hearing that, Horikita Suzune shot him a glance. "Are you jealous?"
Ayanokoji calmly replied, "Isn't this the kind of high school life and atmosphere everyone envies? To be honest, I started making friends for the same reason."
"It's a shame someone has the social skills of a brick."
Hearing Horikita's jab, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka coolly fired back, "You're no different."
While Ayanokoji Kiyotaka and Horikita were trading barbs, Hirata suddenly gathered everyone together with a serious expression.
"Everyone, I'd like you to listen carefully," Hirata said earnestly from the center of the group.
"We didn't earn any points today, and that's going to have a major impact on our future. None of you want to live on zero points until graduation, do you?"
"Absolutely not!" Karuizawa Kei chimed in, wholeheartedly agreeing with Hirata.
So this was the youthful side of her that only came out in front of the boy she liked. Whenever she dealt with Chiba Yu, she always looked at him with disdain.
"Right, so I hope we can all work together..."
"Hmph! Do what you want, but don't drag me into it!" With that, Sudo shoved Hirata aside and stormed out of the pool facility.
All that remained were Hirata, looking bewildered, and their classmates, watching from nearby.
Chiba Yu stood quietly beside Hirata and watched it all unfold without a word.
After a while, Chiba Yu finally went over and patted Hirata on the shoulder. "It's okay. We'll figure something out."
Hirata smiled wryly. "Yeah, I know. But you'll help me, won't you, Chiba?"
The hopeful look in Hirata's eyes was almost painful to see, but Chiba Yu gritted his teeth and agreed anyway.
"...I'll do what I can." He had no idea how much trouble those words would cause for his laid-back life in the future.
"Chiba, Chabashira-sensei wants us to go see her in the office together."
Just as Chiba Yu was getting ready to take a good nap, Hirata suddenly came over and told him.
"See us?" Chiba Yu asked, momentarily stunned.
"Hirata, do you think something happened?" Karuizawa Kei asked worriedly.
It was no wonder everyone was saying that. They'd just talked about expulsion that morning, and now someone was being called in. It was hard not to worry.
"Could it be about that quiz?" someone suggested.
"Hard to say. Maybe Chabashira-sensei wants to see Chiba because he failed the test?"
"But what does that have to do with Hirata?"
Hey, hey, had they already decided that I was the reason this was happening? And I passed the test this time, okay?
After silently grumbling to himself, Chiba Yu slowly stood up from his chair. "Anyway, let's go see what this is about."
"Good point."
But for some reason, as Chiba Yu left the classroom, he couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was about to happen, as if some monstrous beast had its sights set on him.
One more thing: before Chiba Yu and Hirata were summoned, the students called to the office had been Ayanokoji Kiyotaka and Horikita Suzune...