7 Chapter 7 - Hard Times

---Notice---

Just wanted to say thanks for the support and advice, I'm sorry about the mistakes last chapter I didn't proofread because I was in a rush to upload but I did proofread this one so it should be good (I hope). I am not sure how long I can upload daily (as writing takes a while), but I should be good for the foreseeable future. Now, if you do enjoy the story **please let me know what you think with comments, reviews, and, of course I'll take powerstones!!!**

--------------------------------

"Success is not final; failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts." ~Winston Churchill

-May 1st-

 "Alright, let's begin the morning homeroom. Before that, does anyone have any questions?" Chabashira asked, looking at the class with a stern expression.

 "Why didn't we get any points, Chabashira sensei? I checked with everyone in the class, and only Eru got some points from the school, and that was just 10,000 points. We definitely deserve more than that." Hondo complained, raising his voice, and quickly, students began to agree with him.

 I opened a candy to enjoy the spectacle that was about to happen. After learning that Kushida had not received her points, I deduced that the 10,000 points I received were not a regular allowance. "It's astounding to see such morons wandering around freely," Chabashira said, massaging her temples. "Calm down; I will clarify everything to you, dimwits." She said, and the class quieted down. "Points were allocated to everyone as they should have been. You already had Eru explain the school's point system to you, so you should have been able to infer the significance of the zero points in your account. You received zero points because you have behaved like zero-point students."

 The class erupted into chaos at this, "What are you talking about, Chabashira sensei!? I get it if you said we didn't deserve the 100,000 point bonus, but we surely earned some points. This is bullshit." Hondo shouted, losing his temper. 

 Chabashira sighed again and answered, "63 absences and tardies, 294 incidents of cell phone usage during class, and countless cases of students sleeping in class. Do you really think this kind of behavior deserves point allocation? Even after Eru explained everything to you on the first day, you all failed miserably. It doesn't matter what you think is a good performance; even if these incidents were caused by a minority of you, the whole class has to face the consequences. There are no exceptions."

 But Chabashira sensei, isn't that unfair? Why should we suffer because of a few bad apples in our class? Shouldn't our good performances also count for something?" Shinohara protested, sounding upset and frustrated.

 "It is astonishing how you fools still don't get it," Chabashira said, clearly annoyed. "You are Class D," she said, and the class nodded. "Your objective should be to reach Class A, and there are various ways to do that, but the most common way is to work as a class. Your good performances don't matter in this case; you were only doing what students of a class are supposed to do. When you enrolled in this school, we assumed your value to be 100,000 points per student at your maximum potential as a CLASS. Now look at your absences and your class incidents. Those numbers reflect your class's performance, so as you previously prospered as a class, now as a class you will learn the consequences of failure, take note of the consequences the actions of the few can have." Chabashira concludes.

 "But, Chabashira sensei, why did Eru get 10,000 points then?" Hondo questioned, breaking the silence.

"Eru received 10,000 points from the school for his remarkable insight into the school system. Consider it a bonus. While rewards are usually announced as incentives, it couldn't be done in this case, as that would expose the information that the points are given for discovering. You could have all gotten a reward as well if you had cooperated and utilized the information that Eru had shared with you, but it seems that is too much to ask from Class D."

The mood of Class D was gloomy, and some students glared at the ones who caused the class the most trouble. I mostly ignored them and stayed squatted on my chair, savoring my sweets. I wondered if my habit of eating candy during class affected our points? But I hoped not; otherwise, we might never reach Class A.

The homeroom bell rang and Chabashira announced, "Let's move on to the other matter now." She unfolded a poster and pinned it on the whiteboard. It showed the class points of each class: Class A had 940, Class B had 650, Class C had 490, and Class D had 0. It was reasonable to assume that 1000 class points were equivalent to 100,000 private points, so 1000 times 100. '

"Have you guys realized why you're in Class D yet?" Chabashira asks everyone as she scans the room.

Most of the students were perplexed, wondering if there was a logic behind their class assignment. They seemed to believe that being in Class D was not a problem and that there was no distinction between Class A, B, C, and D.

I was surprised by the ignorance of Class D. "You never figured it out? It doesn't take a genius to figure it out. When we enrolled in this school, we were already sorted into our classes: A, B, C, and D. Did you never observe the other classes to find out the reason for the order? If you investigated the members of Class A, you would immediately realize how superior they are to Class D. Even if you look at Class B or C, you would easily recognize how composed and cooperative they are compared to our class. Do you think the school would arbitrarily assign students to classes randomly, given how meticulous it has shown to be? No, Class A was placed there because the school sees them as having the highest potential, and Class D is Class D because we are seen as having the lowest." I explained to the class.

Sudo retorted, "Maybe, but wouldn't it be more logical to just assign students to a class randomly?"

Instead of answering Sudo's question directly, I pose another question to him, "Do you think it is rational to jeopardize the prospects of a highly qualified Class A candidates by randomly assigning them to a class that is beyond their help? From this perspective alone, it is obvious that Class D is the lowest of the low." I remark as I bite into my candy.

"Indeed, Eru is correct," Chabashira declared, eliciting gasps from the majority of the students. As I shifted my gaze, I specifically locked my eyes on Horikita; she was baffled, which was to be expected given her solitary and stubborn nature.

Chabashira silenced the class with a stern voice. She held a stack of papers in her hand. "These are the results of the test you took yesterday. Except for a few top students, most of you scored below 60%. Sudo's remarkable 14% was the lowest, followed by Ike's 24%. The average score on this test was 66%. If you fail a test in this school, you will be expelled immediately. On this test, that would have been seven of you who scored under 33%." As Chabashira announced this, the class erupted into a panic.

As Chabashira reached the bottom of the chalkboard, writing the grades of the students, Koenji spoke with a smirk. "This class really is full of idiots," he said. She wrote his name and a 90 next to it, the highest score in the class, neck by neck with Horikita.

Or at least that was what he thought. The students glared at Koenji with contempt as he uttered those words. But as Chabashira continued to write the grades on the board, he audibly clenched his teeth in irritation. She wrote the last name and score: Eru Lawliet, 100.

 Chabashira spoke with a smirk, "You should all remember that this school's alumni are all successful, and many of you might graduate and live a fulfilling life. But with your current performance, that is unlikely. If you want to achieve your dreams, you have no choice but to reach Class A," she said. "Otherwise, this school won't guarantee anything for you. If you all end up graduating from Class D, I wouldn't be surprised to see you homeless on the streets, so don't be surprised if I laugh at you then; after all, I've warned." 

The class was in a state of chaos. Some students were crying and breaking down, unable to accept the reality. One of my classmates noticed me as I calmly ate my candy, "What about you, Eru? Aren't you angry too? You got a perfect score on that test. Don't you feel resentful?" Yukimura asked me. His voice was tense, and his eyes were sharp. I received some curious glances from the others. Even Chabashira looked intrigued by my answer.

"I'm not angry or resentful, Yukimura," I say, drawing some attention. "The school has not interfered with my interest. On the contrary, I find this school quite amusing. Trivial matters such as college, work, or even homelessness have no negative impact on my interest, so I have no reason to be resentful." The room becomes quiet. It seems that I become more of an outcast with each passing day.

"What do you mean the school doesn't affect your interest, Eru Chan?" Kushida asked me, turning towards me.

"I'm different from most of you who face challenges out of necessity. I find challenges, puzzles, and general enigmas enjoyable. In fact, I would say that the school would have been going against my interest if I had been placed in Class A, Class B, or even Class C. I would have done everything in my power to get to Class D, as so far it seems to have the most intriguing enigmas and challenges." I say, staring at Kushida in the eyes.

Chabashira declared as she left the room, "I've done enough for today. Do your best not to get expelled with the midterm coming up in three weeks." She said it with a smirk.

Before the class could resume their chatter, I followed Chabashira out of the classroom. "Chabashira sensei, can we have a conversation in your office?" I asked her. I spoke in a low and monotone voice.

She sighed, "You're here to claim it already? You're quite impatient, aren't you?" She said, but kept walking. "Hoshinomiya told me that you know about 'the test.' We teachers saw the recordings of her office. How did you reach that conclusion?" She asked me, sounding curious. It seemed that they hadn't realized that I used Hoshinomiya as a litmus test, or at least they weren't sure. For now, it was better to keep it that way.

"I deduced it from the the swimming lessons and the PE teacher's words. I shared my hypothesis with Horikita, Ayanokoji, and Kushida, as you witnessed in the recording. We decided to try and learn more about it by asking another teacher since the PE teacher gave us that clue during swimming lessons." I say, speaking confidently.

"Is that so? We'll have to check the cameras to verify that. And make sure he didn't reveal too much if it's true." She said, glancing at my shoulders to see if I would react. But I didn't flinch, as I had only lied about facts that were not confirmable. "But why did you tell Sakagami that you were looking for Hoshinomiya specifically and not me? Wouldn't it make more sense to discuss such matters with your own teacher?" Chabashira asked, doubting my words.

"You're not the most approachable teacher, Chabashira sensei. And your generous bust makes it hard to concentrate on the conversation. I was concerned that Ayanokoji would be distracted, and as a result, Horikita may have felt insecure about her own chest if we had discussed the matter with you," I say aloud in the teacher's lounge, making Chabashira flinch as we reach her office.

"I see, well, then you came here for your 400,000 points, right?" Chabashira said, taking out her phone.

***

 The school day ended without much incident, except for one thing. Hitata had asked me to stay after school to discuss the Class D situation with some of our classmates. He was standing at the front of the class now, ready to begin the discussion.

The students were scrambling to borrow points from each other. I had no intention of lending any points to anyone. I needed them for cake, ice cream, and other sweets. I made that clear to anyone who approached me for points.

A voice from the loudspeaker announced, "Ayanokoji, report to the teachers' lounge. Chabashira sensei is waiting for you." Ayanokoji got up after a moment of hesitation. I decided to follow him. I was curious about what Chabashira sensei wanted from him.

"What are you doing?" Ayanokoji asked me as I followed him out of the classroom. He looked at me with his usual blank expression.

"I'm following you, of course. I'm curious about why Chabashira sensei summoned you to her office. It might be something insignificant, but it's intriguing when the most ordinary and bland person in our class is called to the office. Why not anyone else, right?" I say to Ayanokoji, but he doesn't seem to mind me tagging along. Does he really not know the reason for this call? If he was trying to conceal something, he wouldn't want me to go there. Am I wasting my time?

We reached the lounge and saw Chabashira waiting for us. "Good, you're here," she said, looking at Ayanokoji. "I didn't call you, so what are you doing here?" she asked me, annoyed.

 "I have a question regarding one of the questions on the practice test," I state, observing her reaction.

She sighed, "At least start coming up with better lies," she said, staring at me. "Fine, I suppose you being here won't be too bad." She said with a smirk as she led us to a room labeled 'Guidance room.'

"Come here," Chabashira ordered, opening a separate sliding door inside the guidance room. It looked like a tiny kitchen. "Don't come out unless I tell you to. Don't even make a sound, or you'll both be expelled." She said, closing the door behind us. It was just Ayanokoji and me left inside, staring at each other.

We heard the guidance room door open, and Chabashira said, "Sit down, Horikita. Now, what did you come here to demand from me?"

"Why was I put in Class D?" Horikita asked bluntly, getting straight to the point.

"Didn't you pay attention in class? It was explained quite clearly what kind of students are put in Class D. Can't you figure out why you were placed there? Or do you think you're too good for Class D?"

"Of course I do. Class D is full of idiots. I aced the entrance exam and the interview. I don't belong in Class D." Horikita's character was very simple to understand, at least on the surface. There wasn't much more to her than that. She makes it obvious why she was put in Class D to everyone except herself. She was not only unwilling to cooperate or help the class or accept the help of the class, but she was also extremely arrogant.

"You're right. I reviewed your entrance exam. You ranked fourth among all the incoming first-years. And your interview was also quite impressive."

"Why?" Horikita asked.

"Horikita, do you hate Class-D?" Chabashira questioned.

"Who wouldn't hate being wrongly placed in a class and having their future prospects ruined?" Horikita retorted.

"You weren't wrongly placed in Class D, Horikita. You assume that your placement is based solely on your academic performance, but no one ever said that was the criterion for Class D. And don't forget, Horikita, there's always the possibility of Class D rising to Class A." Chabashira reminded.

Horikita scowled. "That's nothing but a pipe dream." She sounded like she was about to leave the room, judging by the sound of her chair scraping the floor.

"I almost forgot, I have someone else in the guidance office. He's related to you, Horikita." Chabashira said.

"You... called my brother?" Horikita said in a shocked voice. It seemed that all my assumptions were correct. I wondered if I would ever get a chance to meet this Manabu Horikita.

"Come out, Ayanokoji. Oh, right, there were two of you." Chabashira said with a smirk. "Eru, you too."

Ayanokoji remains motionless in the cramped room, but I open the door, exposing both of us to Chabashira and Horikita.

Horikita's expression is a mix of shock and displeasure. "Were you eavesdropping?" she asks.

"No, we couldn't really hear-" Ayanokoji begins, but I interrupt him.

"Yes, we were listening. The conversation was quite amusing. I don't know if this will comfort you, Horikita, but I concur with the school's evaluation of you as a Class D student at most." I remark, causing Ayanokoji to sigh and Horikita to twitch.

"Sensei, why are they here…"

"Well, because I think it's in the best interest of the class, I originally invited only Ayanokoji here, but Eru tagged along. I suppose what I'm about to say concerns him as well, so I let him stay," Chabashira says, and I start to nibble on my finger, wondering what she will reveal next. "Don't be too upset, Horikita. I'm about to give you a clue on how to reach Class A." She pulls out two answer sheets, one showing Ayanokoji's entrance test, where he scored 50 on all subjects, and the other showing mine, where I scored 100.

As I examine Ayanokoji's entrance test results, I glance at him. "It must be a coincidence," he responds.

"A coincidence? You aced the difficult questions and failed to solve the easy ones." Chabashira retorted.

"It's merely a coincidence; you can't pro-" I interrupt Ayanokoji once more.

"It's pointless, Ayanokoji. No one here will believe you," I tell him, smiling as I look at his test. I knew I would discover something intriguing if I accompanied him here.

 "Do you still really doubt your ability to reach Class A? I know Ayanokoji is not very ambitious, but it's not impossible if you cooperate sincerely. You can lift Class D to the top," Chabashira says, looking at us sternly.

"Chabashira sensei, I have an inquiry. What was your initial reason for excluding me from this conversation?" I ask.

"Well, I had no reason to include you. You haven't given up on Class D, nor are you unmotivated like Ayanokoji. I was confident that you would assist Class D eventually, even if only for your own benefit." I did not take Chabashira's words at face value. I sensed some honesty in them, but I suspect her true motives were more complex and involved Ayanokoji personally. I could make assumptions, but they may be farfetched. I just do not have enough information to truly understand the situation. "Well, you should all leave now. I have a staff meeting to attend," she said, ushering us out of the door. Ayanokoji and Horikita walked side by side while I drifted away to ponder the events that had just passed.

--------------------------------

I wasn't feeling that good about this chapter maybe because there wasn't many new things going on but I hope you enjoy everything should spice up in the\e future.