Chapter 4: Brother and Sister

It was the third morning after the supplemental exam was announced.

The vote was to be held on Saturday, the day after tomorrow.

All too soon, one person would be expelled from each class.

Cold air seeped into my body the moment I opened the door to the hallway.

After descending to the first-floor lobby in the elevator, I spotted Sudō walking out of the stairwell.

"You're using the stairs?"

"Sorta. Even if it's just a short one, I thought I'd get a workout in."

From club activities to studying, Sudō was probably trying his best to lead a standard student lifestyle.

Just like that, the two of us headed off for school together.

"I may be stupid and short-tempered, but I've been making huge improvements recently. That's why I absolutely don't wanna be expelled."

Instead of talking to me, it felt like more like he was talking to himself.

"Would it be wrong for me to say that you're fine with being resented as long as you can stay enrolled here?"

"Nah, that sounds about right. The strong-willed are the ones who'll make it through this exam."

"Right."

After arriving at school, I felt a strange sense of discomfort as soon as I walked in the classroom.

Sudō, on the other hand, went to his seat without noticing anything.

The mood had changed.

I was by no means insensitive to things like this either.

The moment I stepped into Class C, I noticed a completely different feel to the classroom compared to the day before.

The usual, everyday classroom scene was playing out right before my eyes.

Everyone was acting as if things were totally normal.

The room was immersed in idle chatter and standard friendly conversation.

It was the physical incarnation of something being out of place.

Just yesterday, everyone had been very cautious of each other, expecting to be kept in check by the people around them.

And yet, today, there was a strange sense of unity.

"Good morning Ayanokōji-kun."

Hirata called out to me.

"Morning."

After a short reply, I took a moment to examine how Hirata was taking in all of this.

"Hm? Is something wrong?"

I wondered if he didn't notice anything strange about the room, or if he just pretended not to.

Hirata looked into my eyes with the same expression as always.

"No, it's nothing."

"Really? Well, let's have a good day today as well."

Hirata finished his greeting and made his way to the girls who were calling for him.

The strange feeling that something was out of place gradually faded as more and more students arrived in the classroom.

The conclusion I drew from this was that a large group had probably been formed in preparation for the upcoming exam.

There had probably been a consensus on choosing not only who to protect, but who to kick out as well.

There were eleven people in the classroom. Hirata aside, if the remaining ten combined their censure votes, it'd put whoever they targeted in a dangerous position.

Out of these ten people, there were a handful of boys in a group with Ike and Yamauchi.

There was also a group of girls that usually had little to do with them.

It was possible that everyone in the classroom had united into a large group.

Though, strangely enough, some of the girls were members of the group Kei was in.

What's more, I still hadn't heard anything about this from Kei yet.

"Good morning."

Horikita showed up before long.

Although her attitude was the same as usual, she did a quick look around the classroom.

"…What happened?"

"You feel it too?"

"Yes. It's a little unpleasant. Though, if you're interested, why don't you go and ask them yourself?"

"I'll pass. It's better to let sleeping dogs lie."

At the very least, it wasn't something you could just carelessly look into.

[Has something happened?]

I sent a message to Keisei, who had arrived at school earlier in the morning.

[No idea. But I feel like something's different from yesterday for some reason.]

Keisei didn't seem to have caught on entirely, but he was on the right track.

[Maybe a large group was formed. Our classmates are weirdly calm.]

I sent a message to point him in the right direction.

After he read it, Keisei looked around the room and then at me.

[That's certainly true. The gloomy atmosphere is clearly gone. Good job noticing it.] 

[I don't have many friends, so I'm sensitive to changes in my surroundings.]

[Assuming a group of ten or more people has been formed, they've probably decided on who they're going to vote for, right?]

[The person they'll be targeting will be in a pretty tough spot.]

[That makes me wonder who formed the group… Will we be okay?]

I could feel Keisei's anxiety from his message.

As the number of people in a group increases, in order to increase the overall sway, students who aren't very close to the original members would inevitably end up joining. Leading a group like that isn't an easy thing to do.

Since more people had arrived in the classroom, I stopped messaging Keisei for the time being.

The continuation of this would have to wait until lunch or until after school.