After last week's swimming class, this week brought track and field.
After following the teacher through the warm-up exercises, they jogged another twelve hundred meters.
Takahashi Ren felt a little like he was dying.
During swimming last week, he had put it down to being rusty. Only after today's run did he confirm that he really was out of shape.
It was probably because he hadn't exercised in so long.
Come to think of it, his middle school PE teacher had often been "unwell," so he had barely had any proper PE lessons.
It looked like he needed to take a little better care of this body.
"You two are such weaklings." Toba Shigeru stood in front of them, grinning.
Takahashi Ren was already too tired to talk.
Ishida braced his hands on his knees, bent over, and panted. "You're not... much... better."
Even gasping for breath, he had to get that retort out. Who knew where that stubborn streak came from?
"It seems almost everyone has very poor stamina," the teacher said leisurely.
Takahashi Ren glanced around. A whole crowd had collapsed onto the ground, with only a handful still standing.
They rested for a while.
"Next up are the boys' and girls' fifty-meter races. First place gets three thousand points, and last place gets remedial lessons. Brace yourselves," the teacher said.
"You've got to be kidding..."
Groans immediately rose from the students.
Apart from Sakayanagi, everyone participated: nineteen boys and twenty girls, each divided into four groups.
Takahashi Ren was in the third group.
While the first two groups ran, he watched closely. Fortunately, most of them weren't very fast.
"Go for it, Takahashi." Toba Shigeru, who was in the second group, had already finished with a time of 7.7 seconds.
Takahashi Ren took a deep breath and sprinted forward with all his might.
Exactly nine seconds, fourth in his group. Only 0.2 seconds faster than fifth place.
Ishida, in the last group, clocked in at 8.6 seconds.
Hayato Kito comfortably claimed the first-place reward.
Once the boys' races ended, it was the girls' turn.
Takahashi Ren wasn't particularly interested, so he simply retreated behind the crowd and let his mind wander.
The final bell rang, bringing the day's classes to a close.
The classroom filled with the rustle of students packing up, and some had already stood, ready to leave.
"Everyone, could I have a little of your time?"
Leaning on her cane, Sakayanagi slowly stood up.
The noise in the classroom abruptly stopped. The students paused what they were doing, their eyes following her as she walked toward the lectern, one step at a time.
"Thank you, everyone."
"I'm sure you all still have some doubts about the enormous number of points the school has given us, and you've probably noticed the free areas around campus as well. Therefore, I suspect the number of points deposited each month will change."
"Do you mean the school is testing us, Classmate Sakayanagi?" Sanada Kosei asked carefully. "But Mr. Mashima never mentioned that."
"That may also be part of the assessment. The school scores us based on our observations of our surroundings and the actions we take. Since the teacher hasn't explicitly said anything, we simply need to do our part as students."
"Then why didn't you say something sooner..." Totsuka Yahiko blurted out, then realized his tone had been a little harsh. "Sorry."
"Everyone has been doing very well," Sakayanagi said calmly. "Also, I learned from Mr. Mashima that Class A has a special privilege. For that very reason, you must keep everything I just said a secret from the other classes."
This way, even if someone accidentally let it slip, Class A would already have a head start of half a month.
Not only that, half a month was also enough for those who had been overspending to feel the consequences and start learning to save their points.
Sakayanagi must have known about all this long ago. But she had probably chosen today to tell them precisely because she had considered those two things.
Impressive, Takahashi Ren marveled inwardly. Sakayanagi really had played this move beautifully.
"Do you think Classes A, B, C, and D will be competing against one another, Classmate Sakayanagi?" Tamiya Emi asked.
"We can't say for certain yet. But it would be best to be ready to respond at any time."
The students nodded in agreement. A circle of people soon gathered around Sakayanagi.
Takahashi Ren looked away and glanced toward the other end of the classroom, where he found Toba Shigeru and Ishida talking quietly.
He walked over.
Ishida noticed him and asked, "Takahashi, do you think what Sakayanagi said holds up?"
"It makes a lot of sense."
"Yeah, she's not just smart, she's petite and cute. Most importantly, she's gorgeous. She's practically perfect." Toba Shigeru looked utterly infatuated.
There he goes again.
Takahashi Ren and Ishida exchanged a knowing look.
"Takahashi, how many points do you have left? I've only got sixty-odd thousand."
"Around eighty-one thousand."
"How do you still have that much?"
"Three meals a day, daily necessities, and the occasional snack or drink. Isn't that perfectly normal?" Takahashi Ren said matter-of-factly.
Ishida choked on his words, then muttered, "You really do make me want to punch you sometimes."
"Do I?"
"What are you talking about?" Toba Shigeru seemed to have recovered from his "lovesickness" and leaned over to ask.
Seeing this, Takahashi Ren took the opportunity to get to the point. "Are you free this Saturday evening? The light music club is performing at the Dreambox Restaurant. You could come watch."
"No problem."
"Wouldn't miss it." Toba Shigeru patted his chest.
Since Ishida had club activities that day, Takahashi Ren and Toba Shigeru headed back to the dorms together after school.
Along the way, they chatted about all sorts of random things.
A familiar face sat on a bench a short distance from the path. It was that woman.
She seemed to be waiting for someone.
"Takahashi Ren, wait a moment."
"What is it, Morishita?" Takahashi Ren stopped, a little surprised.
"Come over here. I want to talk to you alone."
Hey, don't suddenly say things people could get the wrong idea about.
Sure enough, Toba Shigeru was already waggling his eyebrows beside him.
Feeling helpless, Takahashi Ren signaled for him to go ahead before asking, "What did you want to say?"
"I come from a musical family."
"What do you mean?"
"You actually failed to invite me to your performance." Morishita sounded as though she were listing a criminal charge.
"How did you know about the performance?"
"I happened to walk past and overheard."
"Okay. I just thought we didn't know each other that well yet. You're welcome to come if you want."
"In that case." Ai Morishita planted her hands on her hips. "I hereby grant you special permission to call me by my full name. Now we're close."
"Should I say thank you?" Takahashi Ren had a little trouble following her logic.
"Also, as punishment for daring to leave me out," she went on to declare without consulting him, "I will judge your performance strictly. Don't make any mistakes."
With that, she left.
Takahashi Ren watched her walk away and shook his head.
I really can't figure out what she's thinking.
He continued on. Toba Shigeru stood waiting a short distance away, his face full of nosy curiosity.
"Come clean. How long has this been going on?"
"How long has what been going on? We just had a quick chat. Don't get the wrong idea."
"Really? I don't believe you."
"Then don't."
"Wow, you're no fun at all." Toba Shigeru curled his lip. He had wanted to tease Takahashi Ren, but hadn't expected the guy to refuse to take the bait.
"So what did you talk about?"
"She said she wanted to watch Saturday's performance and complained that I hadn't invited her."
"That's it?" Toba Shigeru sounded distinctly disappointed.
Without dwelling on it much, the two soon moved on to what they would have for dinner.
Right, what's for dinner tonight?
Faced with this age-old question, Takahashi Ren had actually made up his mind long ago.
Before you continue