May 22.
Midterm exams.
Class A was full of laughter.
Class B was calm and unruffled.
Class C was anxious and restless.
Class D was dead silent.
"I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die…"
"Why wasn't any of what I reviewed on the test at all—?!"
"I'm done for. I'm really getting expelled this time…"
"Hey, San-san, do you remember what the passing line was for the last quiz?"
"…Thirty-two points."
"How much do you think you got this time?"
"…Forty? I'm not sure. There was too much stuff I hadn't reviewed, so I just wrote random things."
"H-Hey, Ken, what do we do?! Are we screwed?!" Ike Kanji clung to Sudō Ken's arm and wailed like a dying ghost. "We're—we're all getting expelled!"
Looking at Ike crying while holding onto him, Sudō was surprisingly not very irritated.
During the time he'd forced himself to calm down and study, his temperament had been smoothed out quite a bit.
After all, no matter how anxious you were, if you didn't know something, you just didn't know it.
"If we pass, we won't get expelled, right?" he said.
"The problem is we won't pass!" Ike's face twisted in despair. "It's all Chabashira Sae's fault for dragging us down! If she hadn't given us the wrong test scope, the stuff I memorized at the end would've been useful!"
"…We should still be able to pass, I think." Sudō didn't really resonate with Ike's anger. He turned to Yamauchi Haruki. "Haruki, how do you feel about it?"
"…So-so?" Yamauchi lay sprawled on his desk, looking completely burnt out. "Man, I don't want to think about exams at all anymore. I just want to play for a few days."
"Finally, Hirata won't be controlling me anymore!" He raised a fist like he'd just won a victory.
Ike froze.
"Huh?"
This wasn't what he'd imagined.
Weren't these two supposed to be his bros?
Weren't they supposed to be dangerous slackers like him who never studied?
Why did they look completely unconcerned about passing?
…Don't tell me they actually studied seriously at those study meetings?
A terrifying thought surfaced in Ike's mind.
So… I was the only one pretending to study just to deal with Hirata's nagging?
Ike suddenly felt a chill in his heart.
But he couldn't question them.
After all, Sudō really had tried to persuade him to study, and Yamauchi had been lectured together with him.
But still—bro, seriously?!
I thought you were just saying it for show!
Can we redo this? Can we try again? Next time, next time I'll definitely work hard!
"…By the way, after the exams, we'll get points next month, right?" someone suddenly said.
The gloomy atmosphere was quickly swept away, replaced by fantasies about next month's income.
"I wanna buy stuff!"
"I wanna eat good food!"
"I wanna pay back my debts…"
"Ah."
With someone's quiet remark, the air froze again.
Because most people in Class D still owed money, more or less, to classmates who hadn't spent recklessly.
Even if they got a hundred class points next month, that was only ten thousand personal points per person.
For two whole months of expenses, that wasn't just a drop in the bucket—it was basically useless.
"It-It's okay, I know everyone's having a hard time. The money you borrowed… even if you pay it back in a few more months, that's fine."
Forcing a smile, the class's biggest creditor—who had even borrowed from students in other classes for the girls—Kushida Kikyo took the initiative to speak.
"As for students from other classes… I'll find a way to persuade them."
Worst case, she'd just go borrow from that idiot Asakusa Tōru. He definitely had tens of thousands of points.
Better to owe him favors than to owe lots of different people.
And as for interest…
She'd already been "cuddling" with him—what interest was there to talk about?!
"Phew, that's a relief." Karuizawa Kei smiled and patted her chest. "As expected, Kikyo's the best."
Other girls chimed in:
"Yeah, I should've borrowed from Kikyo from the start. I borrowed a few thousand from Manabe in Class C, and she started reminding me to pay back right after the exam. So annoying."
"Huh? Why borrow from Class C? You should go to Ichinose in Class A. If you tell her how miserable you are, she'll lend you points."
"Really? Last time I went, there was a guy next to her. As soon as I mentioned borrowing money, he gave me some kind of loan contract. It was super scary."
"Oh, that was Asakusa Tōru from Class A. He's like that, not gentle at all… but honestly, I kind of like that cold type."
"Cold type… are you serious?"
"Don't worry about it. He won't date me anyway, so I can imagine whatever I want~"
"True. Let's just think about how to spend next month's money."
And so, the classroom returned to its noisy chatter.
But this time, the gloomy mood from the exams quickly dissipated.
After all, the exams were over. Worrying was pointless now. What they should feel was the liberating relief of being done.
"You really didn't say anything, huh."
At some point, Horikita Suzune had come up beside her and spoke softly.
Without looking up, Kushida replied calmly, "That was decided from the start."
"Besides, if everyone reviewed the wrong things, it's the same as everyone reviewing."
Since the passing line was tied to the average score, if everyone's score dropped, the line would drop too.
If someone still failed after that, she had nothing to say.
They deserved to be expelled.
"Hey, Kikyo, wanna go to the shopping center later?" a girl suddenly invited her.
Kushida smiled apologetically. "Sorry, I don't have any money to go shopping right now."
"Let's go together next month."
"Eh—just browsing doesn't cost money." Even so, the girl gave up on inviting her.
After all, they still owed Kushida money. If they saw something they really wanted and bought it in front of her, it would feel awkward.
"Then see you tomorrow."
"Mm, see you tomorrow."
Smiling and nodding, Kushida tidied her desk and stood up.
At that moment, Horikita—who had gone silent while others were talking—spoke again.
"Where are you going?"
With a smile, Kushida raised her index finger to her lips.
"Secret."
Enjoyed these chapters? Access advanced chapters and exclusive content by visiting my Patreon. https://patreon.com/WillOFD129?