Act 6: Scene 1

The first month of school passed by like it was the wind, and the students of Class D were as lively as ever. How could they not be? Today was the day where they will get their monthly allowance of 100,000 points and go back to how they were enjoying their lives when they started going to this school.

"They sure are excited today," Kiyotaka commented from where he was as he chose to observe his classmates. There was never a quiet day in this classroom because of things like these.

"Why wouldn't they be? It's the first day of the month. The school will be sending 100,000 points to our accounts, and that's something that a lot of them were waiting for," said Suzune, who was also observing the class like him, which was a bit strange.

Normally, she would read a book instead and choose not to concern herself with class matters.

Kiyotaka turned to her. "That's the strange part, though. When I checked my point balance this morning, I didn't receive a hundred thousand points. I remember it was only about 9,000 points that got sent to me."

Like his classmates, Kiyotaka also looked forward to receiving 100,000 points from the school, just not to the extent as them. However, when he woke up, there wasn't any. The only amount he received was 9,700 points, which was strange.

"So you noticed it too?" Suzune looked at him in return as their gazes locked. "I think I actually received the same amount as you."

"If that's the case, then the same must go for all of our other classmates. They either didn't notice or they thought that they would receive the rest today," Kiyotaka concluded. "What do you think about this situation?"

"I'm not sure..." the girl muttered as she was in deep thought. "But I have a feeling that we won't be receiving any more points today."

"Is that so?" he asked, the curiosity present in his voice. "Assuming Horikita is right and that we won't be getting any more points from the school, then it would make sense why the cafeteria offers free food for the students. It's for those who no longer have any points left in their student accounts. But why would the school give us less than 100,000?"

It didn't take long before the morning bell rang, signaling the start of their class. Everyone immediately went back to their seats after hearing it and not long after, Chabashira-sensei walked inside the classroom. She looked more stern than usual and it was starting to scare some of the students.

"Hey, uh, sensei? Did your menopause start or something?" Ike joked in an attempt to brighten up the situation, but all it did was cause a big wave of nervousness to wash over his classmates. There's no doubt that he only made the situation worse by saying such a thing to their teacher, of all people.

"Before we start our homeroom, does anyone have any questions they want to ask? If so, now is the time to ask them." Thankfully, it didn't seem like Chabashira was affected by that remark from Ike. She still looked serious, though, and right after she invited her students to bring up any questions that they might have, several of them raised their hands.

"Uh, sensei? I checked my point balance this morning... but I only got about 10,000 points, I think? Are we going to get the rest of our 100,000 points later today?"

"Yeah, the same happened for me, actually. Is something wrong with the app, Sae-chan-sensei?"

"I already explained this before, didn't I? Points are distributed on the first day of every month. Points have already been given to the students for this month hours earlier. And I can assure you, there is nothing wrong with the student ID application."

"Eh? But only 10,000 points got deposited to my account..."

Hondou and Yamauchi looked at each other, as they wondered what was going on. Ike was the same, completely different from his boisterous self a while ago. Everyone else only looked on, torn between feeling confused and nervous about this.

"Are you idiots really that dumb?" she glared harder at her students, even causing some of them to shrink in their seats.

"D-Dumb? How?" Hondou repeated her words stupidly.

"All right then, I'll explain it once again. In a way that your small brains can understand," she sighed.

Taken aback by her words, Hondou couldn't do anything but sit down and remain silent.

"Points were deposited to each and every student account in this school. There is no chance that we have forgotten anyone in this class. To think otherwise is an insult not only to me, but to the whole school as well."

"We heard you, Sae-chan-sensei, but... we still didn't get our 100,000 points?" Yamauchi asked, beginning to look irritated.

Meanwhile, Kiyotaka was in deep thought. If their teacher was telling the truth, and she probably is, then Suzune was right. They already received their allotted points for this month, and they wouldn't be getting any more. This creates another question, though.

Why did they only get a fraction of the 100,000 points that they received during their first day here?

"Hahaha! I see now. That's how it works, eh, sensei? I have figured it out," Koenji's voice boomed across the room, gaining everyone's attention easily.

"Huh?"

Koenji leaned back against his seat, as he rest his feet on top of his desk. "It's simple. Our supposed points for this month have indeed been given to us. However, it is not the amount that you expected. We have only received a total of 9,700 points, a fraction of the supposed 100,000."

"Wait, what are you talking about? Sae-chan-sensei said that we'd get 100,000 points every month—"

"I don't recall ever hearing such a thing," Koenji smirked. "Or were you simply not listening during our first day here?"

"The hell did you just say?!"

Chabashira quickly intervened before an argument could take place. "While he has an attitude problem, Koenji is not wrong. It's utterly disappointing that almost no one noticed the hint I gave you. How deplorable."

And with that, the classroom descended into chaos over the issue of points.

"Sensei, may I ask a question? I'm afraid I still don't understand," Hirata raised his hand. Even now, when the class was about to fall apart, the young man took initiative for the sake of his classmates. "Can you please tell us why we only received a fraction of the 100,000 points? We won't understand otherwise."

The rest of the class nodded, agreeing with him.

"A total of 62 absences and late arrivals. 287 incidences of talking or using a cell phone in class. Those are quite some numbers over one month. In this school, your class's results are reflected in the points that you receive. As a result, you nearly wasted all of the 100,000 points that you should have received. Be grateful that you even received a few points at all."

Chabashira-sensei slammed her palms down on her desk and glared at everyone there

"Nearly wasted, huh? I guess all we really got was 9.7% of the 100,000 points that were supposed to be deposited to our accounts," Kiyotaka thought as he analyzed the situation in his mind. "Since she's keeping track of the offenses that we commit instead of ignoring them, this also means doing inappropriate things inside of the classroom and students' behavior are factors in determining whether we'll keep our points or lose them."

"I should have explained this all to you on the day of the entrance ceremony. You were this close to being evaluated as nothing more than fodder," she explained further, emphasizing her point with her fingers.

"Chabashira-sensei, I do not recall hearing you explain that to us before—"

"What is this? Are you saying you are incapable of understanding unless it's explained to you detail by detail?" The woman cut him off.

Yosuke's calm look started to fail him as frustration began leaking out. "There was never any explanation about reducing our points. If those were explained beforehand, I'm sure we would have avoided committing any offenses that would result in losing our points."

"Is that your argument, Hirata? Tell me, then. Were you not taught in elementary school or junior high about the consequences of being late or talking in class? I'm sure that in all of your years in going to school, you learned about the basic things to do and not to do while inside a classroom. And now you're saying that you didn't understand because I didn't explain it to you? I'm afraid your argument is flawed, Hirata."

Yosuke couldn't say anything this time, because he knew that he was caught in a tight spot. On one hand, he knew that it was to be expected for a student to behave properly and at the same time, he didn't want to let his friends down.

"If you had simply acted like proper and behaved students, then your points would have never dropped. As I said, consider yourselves lucky that you even received some."

Still, no one dared to speak out against her, especially after that perfectly sound argument. Everyone was aware of what bad behavior is and what it could bring. Most of them simply didn't know how much of a big deal it would be.

"Did you honestly think you'd receive 100,000 points every month with no strings attached? At the most prestigious high school in the country? This place is dedicated to training gifted people, not for children who cannot even rely on their own common sense."

"She makes a good point. There's no way that the government could give 100,000 yen to every student in this school on a monthly basis, since Chabashira-sensei said that 1 point is equal to 1 yen. That's not even counting the upperclassmen..."

Kiyotaka could have figured this out a lot sooner, but he didn't bother putting the extra effort in doing so. Plus, he couldn't exactly put his information-gathering skills to the test when he was already preoccupied with another problem the whole time.

Even though Hirata looked agitated himself, he still maintained his calm demeanor. "Well then, could you at least explain to us how points can be added or deducted, sensei?"

"I cannot tell you. The teachers are not allowed to disclose how we evaluate the students. It's like with any other organization. When you enter a company, it's the company's choice whether or not to tell you how it evaluates its employees. That being said, I'm not cruel, and I'm not giving you the cold shoulder. As a matter of fact, you're all so pathetic that I'll give you a piece of advice."

"You're already being cruel, sensei..." was the collective thought in most of the students' minds.

"Let's imagine that you stop being late to class and being absent completely. Even though no points will be deducted from you this month, that doesn't mean you will receive any higher than 9,700 either. But if you fail to behave yourselves, you might just end up getting no points at all."

Instead of something that would give them hope in this predicament they have found themselves in, Sae's words bore the opposite effect on her students. Those who thought they could improve their situation by fixing their bad behavior had their hopes dashed right away.

At that moment, the bell rang.

"Looks like we spent too much time yammering. I hope you understood the gist of it, because now we're switching to our main topic for the day." As she said those words, she then brought out a white rolled-up poster and attached it to the blackboard so that everyone could see its contents.

Class A - 890

Class B - 650

Class C - 490

Class D - 97