After-School Tutoring

A blank paper, zero points, and a solitary name beneath the red line.

Miyama Saku stared at his textbook, but his thoughts had already drifted far away.

The whispers in the classroom gradually died down, though a few gazes still occasionally fell on his back, carrying curiosity, confusion, or a subtle sense of superiority.

He could feel them without turning around.

Hoshinomiya Chie began teaching from the podium, her voice as lazy as ever.

Miyama Saku even suspected that this homeroom teacher had deliberately said "don't worry about it" in such a breezy tone just to see who would make a fuss.

"Hey." Himeno Yuki's lowered voice came from the seat behind him.

"Your textbook is upside down."

Miyama Saku glanced down. It was not upside down.

"Just kidding."

"But you haven't turned a single page. Don't tell me you can't understand the textbook?"

"I was thinking."

"About what? How to write your name on the next test?"

"Next time, I should write something on the test paper." Miyama Saku answered casually, then realized that might sound strange to others and added,

"I mean, I'll write more seriously."

Himeno Yuki did not respond. Miyama Saku could feel her gaze linger on the back of his head for a moment before withdrawing.

During the break, Ichinose Honami came over from the front row and placed a notebook on his desk.

Miyama Saku looked up at her.

"These are the notes I organized. They cover the question types from the last quiz and the key points from class. You can use them."

Miyama Saku wanted to refuse, but Ichinose's eyes made him swallow the words.

It was a pure kind of concern, without the slightest hint of charity.

"Thanks." He accepted it after all.

"Make good use of it, okay?"

Then she turned and went to help another student who had barely passed the line with their questions.

"Ichinose is really nice."

Himeno Yuki leaned forward from the seat behind him.

"But she's a busy person. How are you planning to thank her?"

Miyama Saku put the notebook into his bag. "Do better on the next test, so she won't have to worry?"

"Oh?" Himeno Yuki came around to his side, bracing both hands on his desk as she tilted her head at him. "What about me? I took on the job of tutoring you. How are you planning to thank me?"

"You said it yourself, tutoring. But so far, aside from asking whether I could understand the textbook, you haven't taught me anything."

"That's because we haven't started yet." Himeno Yuki blinked. "After school, library. How about it?"

Miyama Saku looked at her face, trying to determine whether the invitation was serious.

"Sure," he said.

Himeno Yuki smiled, straightened up, and returned to her seat as lightly as a cat.

During lunch break, Miyama Saku did not go to the cafeteria.

He walked down the corridor to the vending machines, randomly bought a can of black coffee, then leaned against the window and watched the shadows of trees in the courtyard.

"Is that someone from Class D?" Someone passed by nearby, speaking in a low voice. "I heard their class didn't get a single Private Point this month, and their Class Points were deducted all the way to zero. The teachers were stunned."

"A zero-point class. The school has probably given up on them already."

Miyama Saku did not turn around. He thought of the "zero" on the blackboard and the expressions on the faces of the Class B students as they snickered. It was easy to take pleasure in someone else's misfortune, especially when that "zero" had nothing to do with you.

But what if, one day, his own class fell to where Class D was?

That possibility was not impossible. Class B had 760 points in the first month, but who could say whether they might lose hundreds of points in the second month because of a collective violation or a special examination like the one in the first month?

After the final afternoon class ended, Miyama Saku packed his bag. When he stood up, he found Himeno Yuki already waiting for him at the door.

She had a light-blue shoulder bag slung over her shoulder and was looking down at her terminal. When she saw him approach, she looked up and said, "Let's go. The library."

The library was around the corner at the end of the corridor. Since they had arrived early, there were not many people yet. The teachers had said that failing the midterms or finals would result in expulsion, so the library would probably be packed before long.

Himeno Yuki chose a square table by the window, took several books and a set of practice sheets from her bag, and arranged them neatly, as though she had prepared in advance.

"Let's make this clear first, I'm not the gentle type like Ichinose." She opened a page and tapped it with the tip of her pen. "I'll give you questions and find problems for you. You solve them, and if you get them wrong, I'll explain."

Miyama Saku sat down and twirled his pen. "Fine."

Himeno Yuki wrote down a math problem on the paper and pushed it in front of him. Miyama Saku swept his eyes over it, and his mind automatically began breaking it apart. His pen moved across the page, quickly writing out the process and the answer.

"So you can write after all?" Himeno Yuki asked.

Miyama Saku put down his pen. "I told you before, it wasn't that I couldn't. I just didn't write."

"So you really thought the quiz didn't matter?"

"It wasn't that it didn't matter." Miyama Saku thought for a moment. "At first, I just didn't think a single quiz could represent anything. But now, it seems that at this school, test results directly determine certain things."

"Like getting expelled for failing."

Miyama Saku nodded. "So I'll take them seriously from now on."

One of them gave questions while the other solved them, occasionally pausing to argue over the method for a particular problem.

Himeno Yuki's questions did not follow conventional patterns. Some even went beyond the scope of this semester's material. Miyama Saku did not notice at first, but later realized that she seemed to be testing his limits.

The library clock chimed softly, and the sky outside the window began to darken.

"That's about enough." Himeno Yuki put away her pen and folded the practice sheets into her bag. "Your foundation is much better than I expected. You could even say..."

She did not finish the sentence, merely giving him a meaningful look.

Miyama Saku stood, finished the black coffee he had bought before coming to the library, and tossed the can into the recycling bin beside him. "Thanks for the tutoring."

"Did I even help with anything? It felt like you were the one doing all the writing." Himeno Yuki walked beside him out of the library. "But if you still get zero points on the next test, I'll be embarrassed."

"You won't have to. Although I don't really care about getting expelled, I don't have any plans for it right now," Miyama Saku said.

They reached the entrance of the academic building and were about to go their separate ways when a familiar voice called from behind them. "Miyama! Wait!"

It was Ichinose Honami. Having just finished tutoring the other students in her class, she jogged over to them with a paper bag in her hand.

She looked at Himeno Yuki, then at Miyama Saku, and a relieved expression appeared on her face. "Did you just finish studying?"

"Yeah." Himeno Yuki nodded.

"That's good." Ichinose handed the paper bag to Miyama Saku. "The cafeteria made an extra serving of bread today. You can have it."

Miyama Saku took it and looked inside. "Why give it to me?"

Ichinose seemed stumped and seriously thought about it. "Because I got the feeling you didn't go eat lunch today?"

Himeno Yuki let out a soft laugh and turned her face aside.

Holding the paper bag, Miyama Saku suddenly found the undisguised kindness from this top student somewhat dazzling.

"Thanks," he said again, feeling that he had used that word too many times today.

"No need to thank me." Ichinose smiled in satisfaction. Her smile was so pure that it made one forget there could be any scheming or intrigue in this school.

"Let's both do our best on the next test."

She waved and headed in another direction. Himeno Yuki remained where she was, both hands tucked into her jacket pockets, her voice drifting over. "Is Ichinose like that with everyone?"

"Probably." Miyama Saku opened the paper bag. Inside were three pineapple buns.

"Isn't it a little late to eat now?" Himeno Yuki asked, gazing at the darkening sky in the distance.

Miyama Saku took a bite of the bread, and sweetness spread through his mouth. "What's wrong with eating when you're hungry?"

Himeno Yuki chuckled, turned around, and waved at him with her back facing him. "See you tomorrow, bottom student."

"See you tomorrow, tutor."

He stood there, watching Himeno Yuki's figure gradually melt into the twilight.

A cool breeze blew past. He looked down at his hand and suddenly wondered whether getting zero points had really been a little too much.