Class D at Zero

"What? How could our class points possibly drop to zero?!"

A shocked cry erupted in Class D.

Kanji Ike shot to his feet. The chair legs scraped across the floor with a piercing screech. His face flushed red, his eyes went wide, and he stared in disbelief at the number on the blackboard.

"What's so strange about that?"

Sae Chabashira swept a cold glance over him. She did not even turn around, merely tilting her head slightly.

Her gaze then passed over the entire class, from the front row to the back. Wherever it went, the rustling commotion quickly shrank into dead silence.

"Ninety-eight instances of tardiness and absences; three hundred and ninety-one instances of whispering during class and secretly playing on phones. You managed this many absurdities in just one month, and you still think you shouldn't have points deducted?"

Her tone was flat, but every word landed in the classroom like a stone, echoing dully.

Kanji Ike's lips moved a few times before he muttered without much conviction, "B-but isn't that way too much? Didn't we start with a thousand points?"

He had voiced everyone's thoughts. A thousand points, gone just like that.

A month ago, they had held what amounted to a fortune in personal points. Back then, every student in Class D had worn the dazed excitement of someone carried away by sudden wealth.

But now, reality struck like a heavy blow, landing squarely on their heads.

"Ms. Chabashira, could you tell us the specific standards for point deductions?" Yosuke Hirata raised his hand. His tone was calm but serious, like the only unmoving mast at the center of a storm. "Also, please teach us how we can raise our points again."

A mocking curve appeared on Sae Chabashira's lips.

"Heh, Hirata, do you really think that request is realistic? School rules do not permit me to disclose that. Like a company's personnel evaluations, whether the standards are made public depends on the company. It is not an obligation."

"You aren't completely ignorant of the rules, yet you cling to unrealistic fantasies. Did those hundred thousand personal points go to your heads, or did you truly think you had what it took to surpass A Class?"

On the blackboard, A Class's 940 points and Class D's 0 points formed a brutally stark contrast.

Suzune Horikita said nothing. Her back remained perfectly straight, and her hands were folded atop her desk, though her fingertips had gone white beyond her control. She knew the lost points were not her responsibility. Since school began, she had never been late, never lost focus in class, and had done everything required of her flawlessly.

But what did that matter? She was sitting in this classroom, in a class branded as defective. It was like a mark seared onto the pride she held so dear.

"Heh, so this is all you're capable of. But from another perspective, it may not be such a bad thing. You're already at zero, so there's nowhere lower to fall."

Ken Sudo abruptly kicked a desk leg. The deafening clang of metal rang out as several pens rolled onto the floor.

His face was full of rage, veins bulging on his neck. "So there's nothing we can do? Are we supposed to let people walk all over us from now on?"

"So even you care about your pride, Sudo." Chabashira's tone remained mocking.

"What a shame. Class D was a holding pen for the bottom-ranked students from the start. If you didn't want to be laughed at, why didn't you work hard from the beginning?"

"You woman..."

Ken Sudo surged to his feet, sending his chair crashing backward with a bang. His fists clenched until they cracked, his knuckles turned white, and the veins at his temples throbbed.

"How pathetic. You contributed nothing, yet you act like a victim. Sudo, do you think throwing punches solves problems?"

Sudo gritted his teeth, his temples pounding. The classroom was terrifyingly quiet, and everyone's eyes darted away.

Suzune Horikita raised her head, her gaze falling upon that glaring "0." Her lips pressed into a thin line.

"Enough. I never expected much from you in the first place."

Sae Chabashira picked up a stack of papers from the podium and slowly walked to the blackboard, where she posted the grade sheet.

After putting it up, she stepped back and examined it for a moment before casually adding, "By the way, anyone who fails the next midterm exam will be expelled."

The moment those words fell, Class D erupted again.

"Are you kidding me?! We'll be expelled if we fail?" Kanji Ike cried out in disbelief.

He whipped around toward the grade sheet, his eyes frantically searching for his own name.

On the grade sheet, seven names from Class D hung alone beneath the passing line. Kanji Ike and Ken Sudo were among them, marked in red like two resounding slaps across the face.

"What's there to make such a fuss about? As expected, this class is packed with idiots."

Rokusuke Koenji leisurely filed his nails. He had not looked up once from beginning to end, and his voice drifted lightly through the room.

"Huh? Koenji, you've got the nerve to call others idiots? Aren't you one too?" Kanji Ike snapped like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

"Please open your eyes and take a proper look."

Kanji Ike's gaze swept to the upper portion of the grade sheet, and his entire body froze. His mouth hung open, his Adam's apple bobbed, but no sound came out. After a long moment, he finally squeezed out, "Wha... You're ranked that high?!"

He was completely dumbfounded. Rokusuke Koenji—the man who napped every day in class, checked himself in the mirror after class, and always spoke with an air of superiority—was actually that good.

"I thought he was one of us..." Haruki Yamauchi muttered quietly, his expression like he had just swallowed a live fly.

Watching the classroom descend into chaos, Sae Chabashira spoke slowly. "I assume you came here for higher education or employment prospects. Unfortunately, neither has anything to do with you now."

"Even the midterm exam ahead will be a challenge. I'll wish you luck, at least. I hope not too many of you get expelled."

With that, she turned and left the classroom. The door closed behind her with a soft click, yet it felt as heavy as a stone slab pressing down on everyone's chest.

"Damn it, what kind of joke is this?!" Someone angrily slammed a fist onto a desk, producing a dull impact.

More people remained silent, staring at the grade sheet as though it were a notice announcing their imminent execution.

"Everyone, calm down first." Yosuke Hirata stepped to the front of the classroom.

"Complaining now won't help. We should think of a solution together. We're in the same class, all in the same boat."

"Hey, the points are already at zero. How are we supposed to keep trying? When you get down to it, aren't you the ones at fault?!" Someone suddenly stood and pointed toward Kanji Ike and Haruki Yamauchi, their voice sharp. "If you hadn't been slacking off during class, our points wouldn't have been deducted to nothing! Now the rest of us have to suffer along with you!"

"Hah, what does that have to do with us?" Kanji Ike shot back indignantly, his face even redder than before.

"It wasn't just us playing on our phones. I saw it with my own eyes! Those sitting in the back, those by the walls—who hasn't done it?"

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

"I saw it all! Why are you pretending to be so righteous now?"

The smell of gunpowder in the classroom grew thicker. Accusations, excuses, desk slams, and chair legs scraping against the floor blended into a single uproar.

Some dredged up old grievances, some rushed to clear themselves of blame, and some buried their heads in their arms on their desks, their shoulders trembling faintly.

"Have you made enough of a scene?"

Suzune Horikita's voice was not loud. She closed her eyes briefly, then slowly rose to her feet, her long black hair sliding over her shoulders with the movement.

"Will infighting solve anything? Instead of wasting your time shifting blame onto each other, you should open your textbooks. The expulsion list has not been finalized, and there is still a chance to make up for things in the midterm exam. If you cannot even understand that, then you truly deserve to remain in Class D."

The classroom fell quiet for several seconds. Open mouths slowly closed, and raised hands gradually lowered.

Kanji Ike sat down resentfully. His lips moved, but he did not dare make another sound. Sudo turned his face toward the window, his shoulders still tense.

Yosuke Hirata cast Horikita a grateful look. Taking a deep breath, he picked up where she left off. "Horikita is right. We should tally the subjects we're failing and arrange study sessions. Even if we improve a little each day, that's better than sitting around waiting to die."

Some sighed, some tugged at their hair, and some buried their faces in the crooks of their arms. But at least no one argued anymore. The only sounds left in the classroom were the soft rustle of turning pages and the occasional suppressed gasp.