Horikita's Dilemma [2]

Afternoon classes were over. 

Everyone in class 1C started packing their things.

The day after, each class would decide who, from their class, to cast out of this school.

For some classes, the thrown out students were apparent to almost everyone, due to their odd standing.

From class A, the student to be expelled might be Katsuragi, and from class D, it might be Ryuen.

The stand point of class B was still not clear. Perhaps, they were trying to not expel anyone, because of their close-knit nature.

As for class C, a large group has decided to cast their common criticism votes for Kiyotaka Ayanokouji.

That's why, even though everyone was anxious, deep down, there was a sense of relief, since they believed they would be okay. Amidst their guilty conscience, the will of not to be expelled prevailed over any virtue in their heart.

No one wants be the sacrifice. Even if they feel guilty about it now, after graduating from this school, or even a year from now, that feeling would fade away. Just a memory of a student named Ayanokouji would remain inside them.

However, that was going to change now. 

Suzune Horikita, the visibly emergent leader of class 1C would name the student she wants to expel, and provide a detailed explanation for the reasoning behind it.

She started preparing for that, while the student beside her, the victim of this manipulation, and on the other hand, the one manipulating her deeds silently kept on waiting for her to act.

"All right then, homeroom is done for the day. Tomorrow is Saturday, but it's also exam day. Don't oversleep," said Chabashira.

"Excuse me, could I have a minute of your time?" asked Horikita, raising her voice to call out to every student in the classroom.

Everyone turned around, wondering what was going on.

"I'm sorry, everyone. But I'd like to ask that you all wait here for a little while longer," said Horikita.

Even Chabashira stopped in her tracks, also curious about what Horikita was up to.

"What's up, Horikita-san?" replied Hirata, the popular one, at the peak of social ranking.

"There's something I need to talk to you all about, regarding tomorrow's special exam."

"Regarding tomorrow's exam?"

Horikita glanced for a moment towards Yamauchi, expecting some excuse to ditch this meeting.

"Hey Haruki. Is it okay for us to be here?" Ike whispered into Yamauchi's ears.

"...Yeah. Don't worry. Everything will be fine." Yamauchi assured him that there was no problem to attend.

"It's about tomorrow's test. About who will be expelled. I'd like to have a serious discussion about this." Horikita walked up to the front of the class and stood at the podium, taking up a position where she could scan the room and see everyone's faces.

'Hm? No reaction, huh? Well then...' Horikita thought to herself, after seeing Yamauchi and Ike sitting silently.

"I've been doing a lot of thinking over these past few days. Who should remain? Who should be expelled? How should we arrive at our answer? And today, I was able to come to a clear decision. So please, allow me to go over it with you right here," said Horikita.

"Please wait a minute, Horikita-san." The person who stopped Horikita was none other than Hirata.

"No one in our class should be expelled."

"Is that true? Isn't it possible that there might be someone who should be expelled?"

"B-But, that…"

"Ever since we've been informed of this test, I've had some significant concerns. Even though we should be evaluating the students in our class and using the results of our discussion to determine who will be getting expelled, the school hasn't even left us time to do so. That means this is just going to turn into a battle where people will form groups to try and control the vote. As a result, there's a danger that excellent students who should remain in our class may be expelled. This can't even be called an 'exam,' really," said Horikita.

Chabashira had an amused expression while Koenji spoke up.

"I have no idea what has happened to you, but it's almost as though you're a completely different person. Still, I must say, what you're saying is quite on point," said Kouenji, clapping. "Let's hear it, then. What would you like to do?"

"Well, originally, we should have had a discussion and narrowed down the list of candidates for expulsion. But realistically speaking, I understand that would be quite difficult to do now. So, that's why… I would like to name someone who should be expelled," said Horikita.

"W-Wait just a minute, Horikita-san," stammered Hirata. As kind as always. He would never try to eliminate someone deliberately. And if there's something like that going on in front of him, he would definitely try to stop.

"I'm sorry, but I'm speaking right now. I'll provide a proper explanation of the reasoning behind my nomination later." Horikita continued pushing the conversation forward, wasting no time.

"No, this is not okay. I am completely against doing something that would throw everyone into chaos," said Hirata, holding his ground. He had his own way of doing things.

"She's at least got the right to speak, man. Raise your objections after she's done," Sudou interjected, trying to get Hirata to stop interfering.

"Yes, yes, it's just as Red Hair-kun says. This is cutting into my valuable afterschool time, and it will just be a further waste of my time if you continue to be an obstruction," said Kouenji, speaking up in support of Horikita. He was interested in this discussion, too.

"B-But…" stammered Hirata. 

Taking advantage of the opportunity to take the floor, Horikita opened her mouth to speak once more.

"For this special exam… I have decided that Yamauchi Haruki-kun ought to be expelled," she said. 

That was quite a bold move indeed.

Everyone preferred to remain low key in the fear of incurring others' criticism and resentment. That's why they formed secret groups to decide potential targets for expulsion. But Horikita here, just dropped the bomb. She, essentially, nominated someone publicly.

Horikita expected some backlash from Yamauchi, but he was just calmly sitting, with nothing to complain.

Naturally, his friend Ike did the complaining for him. 

"W-Why Haruki?!"

"I am surprised that you are the one asking and not Yamauchi-kun himself. Anyway, there's a very good reason behind it. First of all, his contributions to the class over the past year have been extremely few," said Horikita. 

Then she went on to explain a few more reasons on the basis of which Yamauchi was the perfect expulsion candidate. 

She expected Yamauchi to be aggressively denying these claims, out of being singled out like this.

Not only Horikita, but other classmates were also surprised and confused what to do. They were already going to cast their criticism vote for Ayanaokouji, but now, they were suggested to vote for Yamauchi.

Horikita also knew that this was not enough for changing their minds. That's why she started telling them what was the real reason for singling Yamauchi out. 

At the same time, Yamauchi stood up from his seat.

"Ah. Horikita, if you don't mind, I would like to say something too."

"But I am not done talking. Or do you feel like telling the whole class, what did you do, in detail?"

"Yes. It's about that matter. Just give me 5 minutes."

"E-eh?" Horikita, not expecting such actions, stood at the podium, startled.

"Okay. Let me start from where she left. As Horikita was saying, I am at the lowest rank in this class, so a good choice to throw away, no? But that's not all there is to it. I have formed a group consisting of half of the class with the help of Kushida as mediator, for getting Ayanokouji expelled."

.

.

.

"W-What are you saying Yamauchi-kun?" Kushida butted in.

"Let me finish..... Okay, as I was saying, Kushida was the mediator, but I told her to convince everyone to cast their criticism votes for Ayanokouji. Well, one can say that it was out of desperation for me to do something like that. Kushida must have known that Ayanokouji contribute much more to the class than I, but despite of that, she did exactly what I told her. Quite an absurd thing, you won't expect from the honors student, Kushida, ain't it? Not like I am in any position to comment on that. But yeah, that's what happened. But, the vital part starts now. I was in contact with Sakayanagi from class A, and she gave me those ideas. Horikita was going to talk about it too.... You might call it betrayal or will to survive, or anything. Even so, the fact remains that I tried to expel someone else for saving myself. For that..."

Yamauchi walked towards the podium and stood at a distance from Horikita.

"I take it back from Kushida's side. You all are free to cast vote for anyone. And...."

"I am sorry Ayanokouji and everyone." Yamauchi bowed as the whole class watched this spectacle.

"Anyway, that's what I wanted to say. I am sure Horikita was gonna talk about that too, right?"

"Y-Yes. But what do you hope to achieve by telling this?"

"Heh. Does that even matter now? If that's all you wanted to say, then I am off." Yamauchi declared and eventually left the classroom. 

If these facts were revealed by Horikita herself, then the question of who to expel was as good as answered. 

But...

***

You would never be hesitant to abandon someone, if he is a scumbag to the very last minute. But now, I am not a total piece of shit anymore. 

There must be conflicting opinions being thrown around inside that classroom.

Kushida must be deeply shaken, and might be cursing me inside. Hirata might be throwing tantrum like a little kid, not letting anyone abandon a friend. No, a classmate.

However, today's episode is not over.

Even if Horikita is in a dilemma, she would decide it sooner or later.

Would everyone spare me, feeling sympathetic?

Like hell they will.

From the start there was a single mindset governing this special exam. 

'As long as there is no fire around my ass, I don't care if anyone's house is burned.'

Despite considerations, I would still get the highest number of criticism votes.

However, this was just the preparation. 

Let the main party start.