MidTerms

The day of the examination came.

"There are no absences today. It appears everyone is present."

Chiyabashira-sensei strode through the classroom with a bold smile on her face.

"That's the first hurdle for you, leftovers. Are there any questions?

"We've studied diligently these past few weeks. I don't think that

anyone will fail."

"Oh my. You sound quite confident, Hirata."

Everyone wore a confident look. The teacher promptly took up the test papers and passed them out. Our first-period test was for social studies. Out of everything we'd studied, it was probably the easiest subject.

"If anyone stumbles here, the other tests will be an uphill battle, quite frankly. You'll take this midterm and the final exam in July. If no one fails either test, you'll be rewarded with a vacation during your summer break."

"A vacation?"

"That's right. A dream vacation on an island surrounded by the brilliant blue sea."

Of course, the beach in summer meant we'd be able to see the girls in their swimsuits…

"Wh-what is this strange pressure…" one of the boys muttered.

Chiyabashira-sensei stepped back from the obvious tension the students exuded… mostly the boys.

"Everyone. Let's do our best!"

"Yeah!" Ike howled along with our classmates.

"Perverts," said Horikita as she glanced at the boys while Sakura was side-glancing at me to which I responded with a smile and she turned back.

Koenji looked at me and our eyes met, then he nodded and said, "We win."

I understood what he was talking about.

[FlashBack]

"Koenji, Let's make a bet." I went to him and said straight.

"And what bet you have? Izumi Boy." Koenji asked back in his ame usual tone.

"If I and Ayanokouji score Full Marks tomorrow, then you will help the class for net 5 exams, and if you score Full Marks tomorrow, I will give you a Million Points." Hearing a Million Points, Koenji was interested but he asked the question which I knew he would ask, "IF we both score full marks?"

"Then I will give 100,000 points and in return, you will help us in the next test," I said to him Ayanokouji who was at my side was getting bored and said,

"Man, You two. Just stop the act and be done. Izumi, you transfer the point and Koenji you will help in the next exams. Why are you two talking so much nonsense?"

I and Koenji looked at each other and then laughed.

"Ayanokouji Boy, You might be intelligent but you are bad at understanding human relationships."

"Hmm! Ayanokouji, you still have a lot to learn, we were doing business here, the main motive wasn't about testing tomorrow but how much I can give and how much he charges."

"Izumi Boy is right. We two don't care about the classes or anything. If we want to help, we will help. If we don't want to, then we won't. If we benefit from helping, we take advantage of it and if we don't see any advantage, we won't."

"Ayanokouji, you should spend some time with Koenji, He will show you other parts of life as I have shown to you." I said but as soon as Ayanokouji heard it, he shook his head and said, "Nope! I saw his life in the cafeteria and I am better without that side."

"hahaha," We both laughed as we knew he was talking about Koenji's Philandering.

"A shame, They might have liked you, Ayanokouji Boy."

"Hey, why do you call everyone a boy or girl?" Ayanokouji asked, I was also curious about the reason.

"Come here, I will tell you." We both went near him and he said, "I will tell you the reason I call you two a Boy. It's because You two are still Virgins. As for others, they are immature or brats."

Saying this Koenji got up and laughed away leaving Me and Aynokoiuji grumbling.

[FlashBack End]

[Ayanokouji POV]

Before long, everyone had their test papers. On the teacher's signal, everyone began. I held off on starting for a moment and looked around at the others. With everything they'd learned, could the Idiot Trio avoid failing?

First off, how many of this test's questions were the same as the ones from the old exam? I needed to check that first.

All right.

I discreetly clenched my fist in triumph. The questions here were the same as the old ones. I hadn't looked them over in any detail, but I saw no great difference. If I'd memorized what was on the old test, it was clear that I could get a near-perfect score.

Glancing around the classroom for assurance, I didn't notice any students looking flustered or confused. I assumed that many of them had engaged in some last-minute studying. Slowly, I went through and answered all of the problems.

The second and third-period exams were for Japanese and chemistry, respectively. While I worked, I discovered something else that intrigued me. Looking over the problems again, I realized that what Horikita had drilled into the study group was consistent with what was on the test. She'd been able to accurately predict what problems would appear just from the lessons. The silent girl beside me was even more impressive than I'd imagined, maybe a bit dumber too, in other areas.

Then came the fourth period. Mathematics. All of the abnormally difficult questions that had been featured on the mock test also appeared here, but the content was the same as the old exams. Even if Sudou and the other guys couldn't understand the problems, they could still apply the answers if they'd memorized them.

Then came the break.

Some members of our study group, including Ike, Yamauchi, Kushida, Horikita, and myself, gathered together.

"An easy victory! We've got this test on lock!"

"I feel like I might get 120 points." Ike sounded pretty sure of himself.

Yamauchi must have felt the same, judging from the smile on his face. Confident, they looked over the old test papers for a final review.

"Sudou-kun, how about you?" Kushida spoke to Sudou, who sat alone at his desk and stared fixedly at the old test material. However, Sudou looked sullen.

"Sudou-kun?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry. I'm kind of busy."

He didn't look up from the questions as he spoke. He was reviewing the English test material, his forehead covered in a thin layer of sweat.

"Sudou, did you…not study the old test material, by chance?"

"Everything but English. I fell asleep partway through." Sudou sounded irritated. In other words, this was his first time reviewing the material.

"Eh?!"

That also meant that Sudou only had ten minutes to review.

"Damn, I can't get any of these answers to stick in my head," he muttered.

Unlike the other tests, the English problems weren't easy to memorize.

Trying to cram all of the answers in just ten minutes would be impossible.

"Sudou-kun, memorize the problems that are worth a lot of points and those with the shortest answers." Horikita leaped up from her seat and moved next to Sudou.

"O-okay." He stopped focusing on the low-point questions and instead zeroed in on what would net him the most points.

"A-are you going to be okay?" While trying to avoid getting in the way, Kushida appeared anxious.

"Unlike Japanese, I don't know the basics of English. These letters look like some kind of magic spell or something. Memorizing it'll take time."

"Y-yeah. I struggle with English, too…"

The break passed in the blink of an eye, and the heartless class bell

rang.

"I did all I could. I'll try to answer the questions I remember first,

before I forget them."

"Yeah…"

"He is done for." I heard Izumi with a weird glint in his eyes.

And thus began our English test. While the other students calmly made

their way through, Sudou clearly had trouble. Occasionally, he'd stop writing and whack his pen against his head. However, no one could help him now.

Whether Sudou sank or swam was entirely up to him.

After the last test, we gathered around Sudou's desk again. "Hey, did you do okay?" asked Ike, anxiously.

Sudou was on the verge of losing his cool.

"I don't know… I did everything I could, but I have no idea how well I did…"

"Don't worry. You studied as hard as you could. I'm sure you did

well."

"Damn it, why did I fall asleep?" Sudou fidgeted, clearly frustrated

with himself.

Horikita then stepped in front of him. "Sudou-kun."

"What is it? Are you going to lecture me again?" he grumbled.

"It was certainly your fault for not reviewing the old test's final section. However, as you said, you did everything that you could with the time that you had. You didn't cut any corners or give up. Considering how much effort you put in, I think you should hold your head high and feel proud."

"What is this? Are you trying to comfort me?"

"Comfort? I'm speaking the truth. When I look at how far you've come, I understand how hard studying is for you, Sudou."

Horikita was genuinely praising him. None of us could believe what we were seeing.

Except for Sakura and Izumi who were smiling as if they knew this will happen. I raised my eyebrows at Izumi, who put a finger on his lips and then glanced at Horikita and nodded.

Horikita didn't know about this but I understood that there was still something more.

"Let's wait for the results."

"Yeah… Okay."

"There's…one more thing. Something I need to amend."

"Amend?"

"Earlier, I said that your dreams of becoming a professional basketball player were foolish."

"Why are you reminding me of that?"

"I researched how someone could become a professional basketball player, and I learned that the road to success is an incredibly rocky one."

"So, you're telling me to give up because it's a reckless dream?"

"Not at all. I know that you're passionate about basketball. I also realize that you probably understand how difficult it is to play professionally." Horikita still acted in her normal, aloof manner, but this was clearly an apology, albeit an awkward one.

"There are many Japanese people who fight to enter that profession. There are some among those who wish to become internationally renowned. You're one of those people, right?"

"Yeah. I'm incredibly stupid, but I want to play ball. Even if I have to live a pathetic, miserable life as a part-time worker or worse, I'm going to achieve my dream."

"I never thought I needed to understand anyone except for myself. So when you first told me that you wanted to play basketball, I insulted you.

However, I now regret that. Someone who doesn't understand how difficult, and arduous basketball is has no right to dismiss that dream as foolish. Sudou-kun, don't forget the hard work and effort that you poured into studying. Apply that diligence to basketball. If you do, you might be able to go pro. At least, that's how I feel."

Horikita's expression was the same as always, but she bowed her head to Sudou.

"I'm sorry for what I said back then. Well. Now that I've said my piece, I'll be going."

Horikita left the room, her apology still hanging in the air.

"Hey, did you just see that? Horikita apologized! And so nicely!"

"I can't believe it!"

Ike and Yamauchi were both completely stunned. I was pretty surprised, too. Kushida was as well. Horikita had acknowledged that Sudou had done his best. A dumbfounded Sudou, still seated at his desk, looked after Horikita as she walked through the classroom door. Soon after, Sudou put his right hand over his heart and looked at us.

"O-oh, no… I… I think I might be in love with Horikita…" he said.

"Idiot" Muttered Sakura and Izumi when they heard Sudou.

Izumi shook his head and said, "Unrequited Love."

While Sakura had a look of pity for Sudou, "Ice Princess is a bro-con. What a pity."

'Though they are right, it still is bad for Sudou. It's good they aren't speaking loudly or a drama would be created. Still, I also think Sudou can't be with Horikita, even if she melts down, she won't accept him.'

(No Relationship with Sakura. She is gonna be an idol and you all know how Idols work. Well, most of have would have already seen or read about Hoshino. Anyways, I won't create nonsense drama regarding that.)

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