Free meal

After May 1st, before they knew it the school week was over. Ike and Yamauchi started listening to the teacher's lessons.

Only Sudou kept unashamedly sleeping in class, but no one tried to reprimand him. Because the Class had yet to come up with a method to increase their points, he'd apparently decided not to fix his bad habits.

Kenji was a little sleepy in the middle of class too. He envied Sudou a little that he could sleep without care in the world.

If he decided to sleep here now, no doubt his classmates would look at him badly. And if that happens his goal on making friends would get even more farther out of reach.

"Ow! What the–"

Just as Kenji's head was slowly starting to get into the world of dreams, a sudden pain shot up from his arm.

"What's the matter, Kawamoto? You cried out. Have you started your rebellious phase or something?"

"No, it was nothing sensei."

Normally students would have started whispering. But wary of losing more points, they instead just shot him with a pained glance.

As Kenji rubbed the sting on his arm using a sliver of Mana to heal, he gazed at his neighbor. Horikita brandished her math compass.

After class Kenji immediately went after her.

"What was that for, geez. It's dangerous to stab someone."

"Are you angry with me?" Horikita said nonchalantly not the slightest bit of remorse.

"No shit, yeah I do!" Kenji said.

Kenji spent the entire time wide eyed, not because of the lecture, but of pain. Even though he experienced much more painful things in the past, he's not a masochist.

"Be careful. If you get caught sleeping, that would undoubtedly lead to a loss in points."

Yesterday Horikita questioned their Homeroom teacher why she's put in Class D. Right after that Horikita said she'll climb up to Class A.

"If you neglect your studies, you'll get a failing grade and be expelled on the spot. I want to avoid that. However, studying won't just prevent expulsion, it may also help earn points. If we receive high marks, our class's assessment should improve as a result. I asked some of the students who scored high on the test to help prepare a study plan. So, I would like people who are anxious to come join our group. Everyone is welcome, of course."

The de-facto Class D leader Hirata proposed another project. Particularly his gaze landed upon the problem child Sudou.

"Tch." Sudou averted his gaze, crossed his arms, and closed his eyes.

Since the first day, their relationship had been rocky.

"Starting today at 5 PM, we will plan to study in this classroom for two hours a day until the test. If you'd like to join us, please come whenever you like. Of course, I don't mind if you need to leave partway. That's all I have to say."

@

"Are you free for lunch? Do you want to eat together?"

During break, Horikita came up and invited Kenji out.

"It's unusual to get an invitation coming from you. I'm feeling nervous." he said.

"You don't seem anxious from the way you speak."

"It's all in your imagination. It's not like I was excited when a pretty girl goes out to invite me out for lunch. Nope, certainly not." Kenji denied straightforwardly without changing the expression on his face.

"Are you being sarcastic? Seriously, whatever you want to eat is on me." Horikita pressed.

Kenji thought that she was merely joking, after all Horikita isn't the kind of person to reach out to another person.

"Now I'm seriously scared." Kenji muttered.

With no other plans, he followed Horikita to the cafeteria. Kenji ordered the most delicious looking dish, and the most expensive one.

"Well then, shall we eat?" she asked. Horikita stared at him intently, as if she were waiting for Kenji to begin.

"What's the matter, Kawamoto-kun? Aren't you going to eat?"

"Oh."

There's definitely an ulterior motive behind. Not wanting the food to get cold, Kenji bit into his croquette.

"I know this is rather sudden, but I want to talk to you about something."

"I have a bad feeling about this..."

Just as Kenji was preparing to flee, she grabbed his hand. "Kawamoto-kun, I'll ask once again. Will you listen to me?"

"..."

"Ever since Chabashira-sensei's warning, fewer people have arrived late or talked in class. When I say we eliminated more than half of the reasons our class got into trouble, I'm not exaggerating."

"That's true. It wasn't really a difficult issue to begin with, though."

"The next step is to improve our chances of scoring well on the midterm. Hirata-kun started taking action toward that end earlier."

"The study groups, huh? Well, I suppose that a study group certainly could help. I have to say, it's unlike you to see you so worried for others."

"I can't truly imagine failing a test. However, it's true that some students in this world can do just that."

"Sudou and the others, you mean? Your tongue is as sharp as ever, I see."

"I'm just telling the truth."

As they continued eating their meal, Kenji finally got the taste of the cafeteria's dishes. He thought it was better than he thought it would be.

"How about you held a study group specifically dealing with those guys?"

"Sure. I wouldn't have any objections to that. You probably find that rather surprising, though, don't you?"

"Yeah, I wondered if the sun rises from the West tomorrow morning."

"That said, you'll be tasked with bringing them to the library, and I'll tutor them."

"When did I become your servant? I know that you wanted to get into class A, but could you keep me out of this?"

"You ate the food I treated you to, right? Lunch. The special set. A wonderful, delicious meal."

"..." Kenji finally caught on. "I can't guarantee anything. Are you okay with that?"

"I believe you'll find a way. Oh, here's my phone number and email. If something happens, contact me."

Getting a contact number of a cute girl for the first time ever in his high school years made Kenji thought it wasn't all that bad. The contact info listed on his contact lists numbered less than the fingers of one hand.