As time passed, the first-year students faced their first exam.
"Since it's almost the end of the month, there won't be any classes today. Instead, we're going to have a little quiz, so please take it a bit seriously."
Tomonari Mashima stood at the podium, handing the test papers to the students in the front row so they could pass them back. Before long, Kaoru Mitoma got his copy. He glanced over it—questions from five subjects, not too many in total. It really did look like just a small quiz.
"Excuse me, Mashima-sensei, is this a real exam?"
Kohei Katsuragi raised his hand and asked. Tomonari Mashima expression didn't change.
"It's not an official exam, and it won't show up on your report cards. It's just for some kind of reference in the future. But, maybe for you all, in a certain sense, it's still an important test."
This homeroom teacher always had a hidden meaning in his words, and he just had to emphasize it at the end, as if he was worried no one would catch on. Was this some kind of special treatment for Class A?
Still, he clearly understood what Kohei Katsuragi was really asking.
'Real exam'
he obviously meant one that would affect the class points. Tomonari Mashima denied Katsuragi question, but at the same time, he made it clear that this little quiz was still important.
Not only did Katsuragi Kohei understand what he said, but quite a few others also looked surprised. But there was something strange. If this quiz doesn't affect the class points, then why is it still so important?
Kaoru Mitoma spun his pen, and then the bell signaling the official start of the test rang out. Most of the questions were pretty easy, only a few on the back were a bit tricky, especially the big math problem.
"Tch... "
A dissatisfied sound came from Kamuro Masumi next to him, and he glanced over from the corner of his eye. She had a conflicted look on her face, her pen hovering indecisively between two options, clearly unsure which one to pick. Wait, you're already stuck on the second question?
Kaoru Mitoma stayed quiet. She usually paid attention in class, so solving the earlier questions should have been a breeze for her. It shouldn't be this hard.
Unless she really put in a lot of effort in class, the knowledge just wouldn't stick.
"Tch... "
Kamuro Masumi seemed to sense what he was thinking, suddenly shot him a glare, and instinctively shielded her test paper. Who wants to copy your answers anyway!
The way she blocked it made Kaoru Mitoma almost laugh out of frustration. He stopped paying attention to the girl and just filled in his own answers right away, so she wouldn't get the wrong idea.
When the bell finally rang, Kamuro Masumi looked at the answer sheet being collected by Tomonari Mashima with clear reluctance. Kaoru Mitoma couldn't help glancing over—most of the questions were filled in, which actually surprised him a little. Even though she got them wrong, it was obvious she tried hard to answer everything. He'd thought she'd just give up.
"Hey, what's with that look? That pitying gaze is really pissing me off!"
Kamuro Masumi seemed unable to stand his stare, her expression turning hostile.
"Want me to tutor you?" Kaoru Mitoma tried to look at her as gently as possible.
"Who needs your help? These little questions are nothing, I don't care at all!"
Kamuro Masumi couldn't save face. Why was he even asking?
She was in Class A just like him—how could her grades possibly be worse than his?
Kaoru Mitoma had experienced her stubbornness more than once. No, rather than calling it stubbornness, it was more like she was avoiding reality. Whenever she didn't want to face something, or ran into a question that was hard to answer, she'd immediately try to end the conversation, snapping back in a harsh tone to cover up her own insecurity.
But no matter how tough she acted, her body was still soft. A few days later, Kamuro Masumi quickly started to regret it.
.....
Almost at the same time, Class D was also taking a quiz. Horikita Suzune looked at the test paper that had just been handed out, frowning—not because it was too difficult, but because she didn't understand.
"Chabashira-sensei, I have a question."
Hearing Horikita Suzune voice, Chabashira Sae lazily glanced over at her student.
"Is there a problem?"
"What's the point of this test?" Horikita Suzune asked.
"You said earlier that it would be used as a reference for the future. Specifically, what will it be used for? Is it about the class points?"
It seemed like Chabashira Sae had expected these questions.
"Horikita, you really do ask a lot of questions. But don't worry, this test won't have any real impact. Just do your best and show your true ability."
"Will the results of the other classes be announced after the test is over?"
Chabashira Sae actually smiled a little. Even though Horikita Suzune could be a bit dense, she did have some ability—she was already thinking about the competition.
"The results for each class will be announced. Of course, only the average scores, not individual results."
"I see. So, when does the real test begin?"
Horikita Suzune wanted to keep pressing, but then she saw the exasperated look on Chabashira Sae face.
"Sorry, I'm not obligated to answer every single one of your questions. Don't waste any more time, Horikita."
How could she possibly tell you the answers right in front of the surveillance cameras?
"Hahaha, don't worry about it, Sae-chan. Just watch me today—I'm definitely going to get a high score!" Iker Kanji shouted loudly.
"I don't have any expectations for you," Chabashira Sae replied flatly.
"Hey, hey, hey, that's way too harsh!"
Horikita Suzune listened to their voices, silently staring at the test paper in her hands, her face unreadable.
Not long ago, Hirata Yosuke had asked Chabashira Sae in class to confirm what she'd said, and Chabashira Sae had affirmed it, but didn't mention anything about the rules. She hadn't told Class D about spending two million private points to buy information, as if she'd never expected Class D to be able to come up with that many points in the first place.
At first, Horikita Suzune couldn't understand it at all, but now she was starting to get it. Leading this class to climb up really is pretty difficult.
As the homeroom teacher, Chabashira Sae seemed to have given up from the very start, not to mention the rest of Class D. Except for a few students who couldn't accept it, the others, though a bit unwilling and disappointed, quickly came to terms with reality.
After all, a hundred thousand private points per month was just too much. If they could get through three years like this, they wouldn't mind whatever the school arranged. Everyone thought this way, and even Hirata Yousuke couldn't do anything about it—he just went along with the majority.
Kushida Kikyou didn't care either, and Karuizawa Kei was even less interested in any of this, too busy managing her own circle. They were the most influential students in Class D, so it was easy to imagine what the class was like now.
Thinking of this, Horikita Suzune unconsciously clenched her fists. Even if she had to fight alone, it didn't matter—she was already used to being on her own.
"Hey, Sae-chan, how many private points will we get next month~?"
You could still hear those flippant remarks from time to time. No one seemed to care about the exams at all, everyone just grinning and joking around. Huh, losing points?What a joke.
Just like Class A, they started with a thousand points. No matter how much they lost, they'd still have seven or eight hundred left!
Even if they did lose some, they could just catch up slowly. No big deal!
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