Chapter 7 Part V

Horikita was sullen in the morning. It would be great if she cutely puffed up her cheeks and cutely hit a boy's chest when she pouted.

I say that, but she's completely expressionless and silent. She doesn't even acknowledge my existence.

But if I turned my back to her, she might take out her compass… School ended and then it was after school.

"Did everyone gather for the study group?"

The first words she said to me were about the study group. She also spoke in a way that heavily implied something.

"… Kushida will bring them. I wonder if they'll participate."

"Kushida's bringing them, huh. Did you tell her properly that she's not allowed to participate?"

Horikita headed to the library with those confident words. As I was about to walk out of the classroom, I looked at Kushida, who returned a cute wink.

Securing a corner of a long table near the edge of the library, we waited for the students.

"I brought them~!"

Kushida came to where we were waiting. Behind her was—

"We heard about the study group from Kushida-chan. I don't want to drop out that quickly after school. Please take care of us."

Ike, Yamauchi, and Sudou. However, there was one unexpected visitor. A boy named Okitani.

"Okitani, you also got a red mark?

"Ah, uh, no. I was worried because I was right on the border… am I… not allowed to join? It's a bit difficult to join Hirata-kun's group…"

Okitani looked up at me with slightly red cheeks. Slender frame, blue hair, and a short-bob hairstyle. A boy weak to girls would immediately shout "I'm in love~!" If he wasn't a boy, it would be dangerous.

"It's fine if Okitani-kun joins, right?"

Kushida asked Horikita. His score was a 39 after all, so it's natural for him to be worried.

"If it's a student worried about getting red marks, then it's fine. But you have to be diligent."

"O-ok."

Okitani sat down happily. Kushida tried to sit down next to him, but Horikita noticed.

"Kushida-san. Did Ayanokouji-kun not tell you? You're—"

"To be honest, I'm also worried about getting bad grades."

"You… you didn't get bad tests on that last test."

"Well, that was luck. There were a lot of multiple choice questions. So for about half of them, I guessed. In truth, I barely passed."

Kushida cutely scratched her cheek while saying "Ehehe".

"I think I'm about the same level as Okitani-kun, if not worse. So I want to participate in the study group to avoid a bad grade. That's fine, right?"

I couldn't hide my surprise at Kushida's bold and unexpected plan. After confirming that Okitani could join, she turned the tables. Horikita couldn't help but to let her join.

"… Fine."

"Thanks!"

Kushida bowed to Horikita with a smile. Bringing Okitani was probably a part of her plan too. She used him as justification for her to join.

"Below 32 is a red mark. Then is 32 points also a failing grade?"

"If it's 'below', then 32 points is safe. Sudou, can you even make that?"

Even Ike is worried about Sudou. Of course these guys would like to know if it's "below" or "up to".

"It doesn't matter either way. My goal is to make everyone here get at least 50 points."

"Geh, isn't that too hard for us?"

"It's dangerous to just aim for the bare minimum. You guys, who aren't even at the mark, are really troubling."

At Horikita's sound argument, the group of failures reluctantly agreed.

"I was able to summarize most of the topics that will be covered on this test. I plan to thoroughly cover these topics in the next two weeks. If you have any questions that you don't know, ask me."

"… Hey, I don't even understand the first problem."

Sudou scowled at Horikita. I also read the question.

"A, B, and C have 2150 yen collectively. A has 120 yen more than B does. After C gives B 2/5ths of his money, B now has 220 yen more than A. How much money did A originally have?"

A problem involving system of equations. For a high school student, it should be a free point.

"Try using your brain. If you give up from the very beginning, you won't get anywhere."

"Even if you say that… I don't even know how to study."

"Everyone else in the school passed."

The school doesn't decide on admissions solely based on scores. Sudou was probably accepted because of his high physical ability. If you think about it, wouldn't he get kicked out immediately because of his bad grades?

"Ugh, I don't know either…"

Ike was also puzzled as he scratched his head.

"Okitani-kun, do you know how to do this question?"

"Um… A+B+C equals 2150 yen, and A equals B+120…"

Okitani, who somehow avoided failing the last test, started writing down the equations.

Kushida was looking over his shoulder.

"Un un, that's right, that's right. And then?"

Kushida is certainly bold. Even though she said she was worried about getting a failing mark, she was teaching Okitani.

"Honestly speaking, this problem can be easily solved by first-year and second-year middle school students. If you fail here, you won't be able to do anything.

"Are we elementary school students then…?"

"As Horikita-san said, it's pretty bad if you can't solve these problems. The first few math problems on the test were about this hard, but even I didn't know how to do the last problem."

"I can teach you how to do systems of equations if you want."

Horikita picked up her pen without hesitating. It's pitiful, but the only ones who understood how to do the problem were Kushida and Okitani.

"In the first place, what even is this 'system of equations' thing…?"

"… Are you serious?"

Wow, these guys really live without studying at all. Sudou threw his mechanical pencil at his desk.

"No, stop. This isn't going to work."

Before even starting, Sudou already gave up.

Looking at his pitiful state, Horikita was fuming.

"E-everyone, wait. Let's try our best. If you learn how to solve these problems, you can apply your knowledge to the questions on the test. Ok?"

"… Well, if Kushida-chan says so, we'll try our best, but… If Kushida-chan taught it to us, I would probably work even harder."

"U-um…"

Horikita stayed silent when Kushida was about to ask her. It was troubling that she didn't say anything. However, if she stayed silent, the others might give up on studying. Kushida made up her mind and picked up the mechanical pencil.

"This is, as Horikita-san said, a problem that uses systems of equations. I'll write down what I said as expressions."

As she said that, she wrote down the three equations. It looks like they're trying their best, but even if she wrote down the equations and showed it to the them, they probably don't understand. Rather than a study group, this is more like detention. They don't get her explanation.

"So, the answer is 710 yen. Do you get it?"

Feeling satisfied, Kushida smiled and looked at Sudou.

"… Uh, then can you answer this question? Why?"

"Uu…"

She finally realized. They didn't follow her explanation.

"I'm not trying to deny you, but you guys are way too stupid and incompetent."

The silent Horikita spoke up.

"I'm scared for the future if you can't solve this problem."

"So what. This has nothing to do with you."

Feeling irritated at Horikita's words, Sudou hit the desk.

"It has nothing to do with me. No matter how much you suffer, it doesn't affect me. It's just that I feel pity for you. I guess I've been running away from painful things all my life."

"Say what you want to say clearly. Studying's useless in the future anyway."

"Studying is useless in the future? An interesting argument. What makes you say that?"

"Even if I don't know how to solve this kind of problem, I won't have any trouble. Studying is unnecessary. Rather than sticking to a textbook, aiming to become a basketball pro is much more useful for the future."

"That's wrong. If you learn how to solve that problem, your whole life will be changed. In other words, if you study, you'll have less trouble. It's the same thing for basketball. I wonder if you've been playing basketball to your own convenient rules. Do you run away from difficult things just like you do while studying? From the looks of it, it doesn't seem like you practice seriously. That's the kind of personality you have. If I was the advisor of the club, I wouldn't let you be a regular."

"Tsu!"

Sudou stood up and grabbed Horikita by her collar.

"Sudou-kun!"

Even faster than I could react, Kushida stood up and grabbed Sudou's arm.

Horikita raised her eyebrows and stayed calm.

"I have no interest in you, but I can understand what kind of person you are. You want to become a basketball pro? Do you think that kind of childish wish can simply become true in this society? A half-hearted person like you who gives up easily can never become a pro. Furthermore, even if you become a pro, I don't think you'd be able to get a sufficient annual income. You're a fool for setting your sights on such a idealized job."

"You…!"

It's clear that Sudou is on the brink of losing his control. If he raised his fist, I'll also have to jump out and hold him back.

"Can you just give up on studying, no, school? And then you can give up on your dreams to become a basketball pro and live a pitiful life working a part time job."

"Ha… that's just fine. I'm giving up. It's not because it's too difficult for me. I took a day off from my club activities, but it was a complete waste of time. Bye!"

"You're saying some strange things. Studying is difficult."

Horikita shot him a final blow. If Kushida weren't there, Sudou probably would've hit Horikita. Not hiding his irritation, he stuffed his textbook into his bag.

"Hey, is this ok?"

"Doesn't matter. For someone who's indifferent… it's pointless to care about someone like that. Even though expulsion is at stake. He doesn't have an ounce of determination to stay in school."

"I thought it was strange for someone like you who has no friends to invite people to a study group. At best, you brought us over here to call us stupid. If you weren't a girl, I'd hit you."

"You just don't have the courage to hit me, right? Don't use my gender as a reason."

The study group started moments ago, but it was already crumbling.

"I also quit. Even though a small part of it is because I can't study… most of it's because I'm irritated. Horikita-san may be smart, but that doesn't mean you're above us."

Losing his patience, Ike also gave up.

"I don't care whether or not you drop out of school, so do as you like."

"Well, I'll pull an all-nighter for that."

"Interesting. Aren't you here because you can't study?"

"Tsu…"

Even for the usually upbeat Ike, Horikita's thorny words made him stiffen. And then Yamauchi also started packing up. Finally, the worried Okitani also stood up, unable to go against the flow.

"E-everyone… Is this really ok?"

"Let's go, Okitani."

Ike left the library with the hesitant Okitani.

The only ones remaining were me and Kushida. Even Kushida would probably leave soon.

"… Horikita-san, why didn't you stop anyone from leaving…?"

"I was mistaken. Even if I got these guys to barely pass, this situation would repeat. And then they'd give up again. I finally realized that this was a waste of time and effort.

"What do you mean by that…?"

"I'm saying that it's good to throw away all unnecessary trash now."

If the students with low grades weren't here, then there would be no labor needed to teach them, and the average would also increase. She came to that conclusion.

"So that was it… H-hey, Ayanokouji-kun. Do you also think the same way?"

"If Horikita concluded that, then isn't it fine?"

"A-ayanokouji-kun, do you think that?'

"Well, I don't want them to quit, but since I'm not the one teaching them, I can't do anything about it. In the end, I have a similar opinion to Horikita."

"… I see."

With a dark expression, Kushida got her bag and stood up.

"I'm going to do something about this. I don't want everyone to separate so quickly."

"Kushida-san. Are those your true intentions?"

"… Is that bad? I can't just abandon Sudou-kun, Ike-kun, and Yamauchi-kun."

"It doesn't matter whether or not you say those are your true intentions. I don't think that you truly want to help them."

"What are you talking about? I don't know what you mean. Why do you make enemies with your cold words without hesitation? That's… That's sad."

Kushida hung her head.

"… See you two tomorrow."

After those short words, Kushida also left. In a flash, we were back to the two of us. The library was completely silent.

"That was troubling. With that, the study group is over."

"Looks that way."

The library's silence felt ominous.

"Only you understood me. I guess you're a bit better than those worthless fools. If you need me to teach you something right now, I can do it."

"I'll decline."

"Are you returning home?"

"Sudou and the others are heading there. I'll go chat with them."

"There's no worth in talking to people who will drop out soon like them."

"I'm just simply trying to talk to my friends."

"How selfish. Calling them friends while you sit back and watch them get kicked out. From my point of view, that looks like the most cruel thing you can do."

Well, I can't deny that. She didn't say anything wrong.

In the end, studying is all about how well someone can motivate themselves.

"I'm not going to say you're wrong. I also understand why you'd call someone who doesn't like to study like Sudou stupid. But Horikita, isn't it also important to imagine Sudou's circumstances? If he was only aiming to become a basketball pro, then there's not much for him at this school. Don't you want to see why he chose this school?"

"… Not interested."

Brushing away my words, Horikita continued to look down at her textbook.