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Classroom Of The Elite Volume 1 - Chapter 26
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- Chapter 26 - Chapter 9: The Failures Mobilize Once Again
The air was rich with the aroma of new tea. (I’m grateful for your continued patience and cooperation, dear reader.) A month and a half had already gone by since I started high school. For the most part, my days had passed without incident.
“Hey, can you hear me? Is your head okay?”
Horikita rudely smacked my forehead, then touched a hand to her own head.
“You don’t seem to have a fever,” she said.
“Of course I don’t! I was just lost in thought, that’s all.” I let out a deep sigh, already regretting that I’d told Horikita I’d help her. I suppose there was no use crying over spilled milk. I’d offered to help as a means of encouragement, but, thinking back, it really struck me as being out of character.
“So, my honorable tactician. What should I do, hmm?” I asked.
“Let’s see. Obviously, we’ll need to persuade Sudou-kun and the others to participate once again. That means you’ll need to grovel and beg for them to return.”
“Why should I have to do that? You’re the reason the group split in the first place.”
“The reason we split was because they couldn’t take studying seriously. Don’t get that twisted.”
Jeez. Did she even intend to help Sudou and the others?
“We’ll never get them back without Kushida’s help. You understand that, right?”
“I understand. Sacrifices are inevitable,” she grumbled.
She appeared to hate the idea of Kushida’s involvement. Still, she agreed despite her dissatisfaction. This was a major compromise for Horikita, who didn’t want Kushida getting close to her at all.
“Okay. Can you get Kushida-san to help us immediately?” she asked.
“Me?”
“Of course. We made a deal. You agreed to be my workhorse until we reach Class A, so you have to do as I command.”
I didn’t remember making that kind of deal.
“Here, look at this written contract.”
Wow, a real contract. It had my name and my seal on it and everything.
“You realize they could charge you with forging documents, right?” I asked.
I tore up the contract and tossed it away. Horikita got up and went over to Kushida, who was tidying her desk.
“Kushida-san. There is something I would like to talk to you about. Would you care to have lunch with me?” Horikita asked.
“Lunch? It’s unusual to get an invitation from you, Horikita-san. Okay, I’ll go.” Kushida didn’t waver at all. She walked with Horikita toward the school’s most popular café, Palate.
That was the scene of Horikita’s previous anger, when I’d invited her under false pretenses. Horikita said that she’d treat Kushida, and paid for her drink. Of course, I had to pay for myself.
“Thank you. So, what did you want to talk about?” Kushida asked.
“I’m putting together another study group for Sudou-kun and the others. Will you help me one more time?”
“What’s your reason for doing this? Is it really for Sudou-kun and the others?” Kushida clearly understood that Horikita likely wasn’t doing this out of altruism.
“No. This is for me.”
“I see. So, you look out for yourself as usual, Horikita-san.”
“You won’t help someone whose motives are selfish?”
“You’re free to think whatever you like. I just didn’t want you to try to lie to me. I’m glad you were honest. Okay, I’ll help. We’re classmates, after all. Right, Ayanokouji-kun?”
“Y-yeah. You’re really helping us,” I muttered.
“There’s something I want to ask you though, Horikita-san. You’re not doing this for your friends or to get points. It’s so you can get to Class A, right?”
“Yes.”
“I can’t believe that, though. I mean, isn’t it impossible? Oh, I’m not saying you’re stupid, Horikita-san. How do I put this, though? More than half of the class has given up, you see.”
“Because the gulf between us and Class A is so vast?”
“Yes. To be perfectly honest, I can’t imagine how we’d catch up. I’m not sure we can even get any points next month. It’s disheartening.”
Horikita smacked the table. “I’m going to do it. Definitely,” she said.
“Ayanokouji-kun, are you aiming for Class A, too?” Kushida asked.
“Yes. He’s working as my assistant.” Horikita had given me a title without asking me.
“Hmm. I understand. I want in, Horikita-san.”
“To help us with the study group.”
“No, not for that. I want to work on getting into Class A with you. I want to help with everything else you’ll be doing.”
“Huh? But…”
“So, you don’t want me to join?” Kushida asked.
She looked at Horikita with wide eyes, prompting her to answer.
“Fine. If everything goes well with the study group, I’ll accept your help moving forward,” answered Horikita.
Kushida probably had some ulterior motive. Even so, Horikita understood that she had no choice but to acknowledge Kushida’s value. Having coaxed a victory from the usually stubborn Horikita, Kushida excitedly sat up.
“Really?! Yay!” Kushida cheered, a look of genuine delight on her face. She looked really cute this way. “I look forward to working with you again, Horikita-san! Ayanokouji-kun!”
She extended her left and right arms toward us. A bit perplexed, Horikita and I shook Kushida’s hands.
“Getting Sudou-kun and the others on board again will be a problem, though,” Horikita said.
“Yeah. Considering the current state of things, it will probably be difficult,” I agreed.
“Well, can you leave that to me? It’s the least I can do after you’ve let me join you,” Kushida said.
I felt a little overwhelmed by how quickly Horikita and Kushida were moving.
Kushida took out her cell phone, ready to leap into action immediately. Soon after, Ike and Yamauchi arrived, looking like they were on cloud nine after receiving Kushida’s invitation. As soon as they saw Horikita and me, though, they looked me square in the eye. They seemed to silently ask, Did you tell her about the chat?! I thought it’d be better to keep quiet. Their guilt might help in getting them to fall in line.
“I’m sorry for calling you two over. I have something to ask you, or rather, Horikita-san does.”
“Wh-what is it? What do you want from us?!”
What an overreaction. They backed away in fright.
“Are you two joining Hirata-kun’s study group?” Horikita asked.
“Huh? S-study group? No. I mean, studying’s so boring, and Hirata is annoyingly popular. Besides, we planned to cram the day before. Things should work out. We’ve gotten by since junior high doing exactly that.”
Yamauchi nodded at Ike’s words. They were counting on an all-nighter to save them.
“That certainly sounds like an idea you two would have. But if you do, it’s highly likely you’ll be expelled.”
“You’re acting the same as usual,” Sudou said, showing up. He glared at Horikita. Apparently Kushida had caught Sudou in her honey trap as well.
“You’re the one who should be worried, Sudou-kun. You don’t seem to have any fear of being expelled.”
“I know that. Drop it, or I’ll beat the crap out of you. I’m busy with basketball now, anyway. I’ll be just fine if I cram before the test.”
“C-calm down, Sudou. Okay?” Ike was acting like he didn’t know what they’d said in the chat.
“Sudou-kun, won’t you try studying with me one more time? You might manage to squeak by if you pull an all-nighter, but if that fails, you won’t be able to play basketball here anymore. Right?” Horikita asked.
“Well, I…I don’t want any of your stupid charity. I haven’t forgotten the bullshit way you spoke to me the other day. If you want me to join, I want an apology first. A completely honest one,” said Sudou, displaying open hostility toward Horikita.
Although Sudou probably realized the danger he was in, he couldn’t dismiss Horikita’s insults. Of course, Horikita would never give him an apology. No one could ever take pride in saying something that untrue.
“I hate you, Sudou-kun.”
“What?!”
Instead of apologizing, she spat harsh words at Sudou, throwing fuel on the fire.
“However, our mutual abhorrence is trivial right now. I will teach you for my own sake. You will do your best for your own sake. Am I wrong?”
“You really want to get up to Class A, then? Even if that means inviting someone you hate, like me?” he muttered.
“Yes, exactly. Otherwise, why would anyone willingly involve
you?”
Sudou grew more openly annoyed in response to Horikita’s incredible bluntness.
“I’m busy with basketball. The others on the team never take study breaks, not even before a big test. I can’t fall behind everyone else by doing something as boring as studying.”
As if she’d predicted Sudou’s remarks, Horikita opened her notebook and showed it to him. On the page, there was a detailed schedule leading up to the test.
“During the last session, I noticed that style of studying didn’t work for you. None of you understand the fundamental basics. For example, it would be like tossing a frog into the ocean. The frog wouldn’t have any idea where to go or how to swim. Also, I understand that taking time away from your hobbies will only add to your stress. Therefore, I’ve come up with a plan.”
“What kind of sorcery did you use to come up with that? All right, tell me the plan.”
He could make time for studying and club activities. Sudou, believing such a thing to be impossible, snorted in amusement.
“The test’s two weeks from today. You’ll all study every day during class like your life depends on it.”
I couldn’t believe what Horikita had said. No one else could, either.
“You three don’t usually work seriously during class, do you?” she asked.
“You can’t know that about us,” Ike objected.
“So, you work seriously?”
“Well… No, we don’t. We just sit around ’til class is over.”
“So, in other words, you waste six hours a day doing nothing. Rather than struggling to study for the one or two hours available after class, we’re wasting a far larger and more precious period of time. We must use this time better.”
“Well, certainly… Theoretically that would work, but…isn’t that unreasonable?”
Kushida was right to be worried. They wasted time precisely because they couldn’t study normally. If they couldn’t manage to discipline themselves during class, I doubted they’d be able to understand the problems by themselves.
“I can’t even keep up with class at all.”
“I know. So we’ll hold a short study session during our free time.”
With that, Horikita turned to the next page, spelling out the details of her plan. After first period, we’d all meet up and discuss what we hadn’t understood in the lecture. During the ten-minute break, Horikita would explain the answers to those questions. We’d repeat the process over the next several periods. Of course, this wasn’t as simple as it seemed. Since Sudou and the others couldn’t keep up naturally, they might not be able to learn the material in such a short time.
“W-wait a minute. I’m kind of confused here. Is this really going to work?” Ike could tell this would be difficult.
“Yeah. I mean, won’t it be impossible to understand that stuff in just ten minutes of break time?”
“Don’t worry. I’ll compile answers to every question and make them easy to understand. After that, Ayanokouji-kun, Kushida-san, and I will each teach you individually, one-on-one.”
If we used this system, we might just be able to make them understand in short blocks of time.
“It’s just a matter of explaining the answers. You two can handle it, right?” Horikita asked.
“But I still don’t think we can do it in that little time. Studying’s so hard.”
“One class period covers surprisingly little content. Typically, there’ll be one page of notes, two at the most. If you narrow it down to only the things that will be on the test, you can probably whittle it down to a half a page of information. If we somehow end up not having enough time, we can always use our lunch period. I’m not saying that you have to understand the material. I just want you to memorize it. During class, you must focus on the teacher’s voice and what’s written on the blackboard. Forget about taking notes for right now.”
“So, you’re telling us not to take notes?”
“Trying to memorize things is surprisingly difficult when you’re writing down notes.”
She was probably right about that. A focus on note-taking would simply waste precious time. At any rate, Horikita had laid out a plan that didn’t use up any time after school.
“Just try. Give it a go before you say no.”
“I don’t want to. I’d rather spend my time differently than a bookworm like you. Besides, I don’t even think I could learn to study with such a simple, cheap trick.” Horikita had carefully come up with a plan tailored to the three of them, and yet Sudou still wouldn’t agree.
“It seems you’ve misunderstood. There are no shortcuts or cheap tricks when it comes to studying. You just have to spend your time carefully. That applies not only to studying, but to everything else as well. Or are you telling me there are shortcuts and cheap tricks in something like basketball?”
“Of course there aren’t. You only improve by practicing, all the time.” Sudou inhaled sharply, surprised by his own words.
“For people who can’t focus or work seriously, it’s impossible. However, you put all of your effort into basketball. I want you to apply some of that effort to studying, even if it’s just a fraction of what you have. Put in the effort so that you can continue to play basketball at this school. Don’t throw away your own potential.”
Horikita’s compromise was small, but real. Sudou hesitated. However, his pride still got in the way. He seemed incapable of agreeing to the plan.
“Yeah, I’m still not doing it. I get what you’re saying, but I’m not convinced.”
Sudou made to turn around and leave, and Horikita couldn’t stop him. If he left now, the study group was probably dead. Normally I’d stay out of it, but this called for drastic action.
“Hey, Kushida. Do you have a boyfriend?” I asked.
“Huh? What? I don’t. Why would you suddenly ask me something like that?!” she cried.
“If I can get fifty points on the test, will you go out with me?” I extended my hand to her.
“Huh?! Wh-what are you saying, Ayanokouji! No, date me, Kushida! I’ll get fifty-one points!” Ike cried.
“No, no, me! Go on a date with me! I’ll show you! I’ll get fifty-two points!” Yamauchi said.
Kushida immediately understood my plan.
“H-how embarrassing… I don’t just judge people based on something like test scores, you know?” she said.
“But they need a prize for trying. Look at how eager Ike and Yamauchi are. They’d probably be motivated by a reward.”
“W-well then, how about this? I’ll go on a date with whoever scores highest on the test. I like people who work really hard, even when they don’t like doing it.”
“Whoa! Yes! I’ll do it! I’ll do it!” Ike and Yamauchi breathed heavily in their excitement. I called out to Sudou.
“Hey, Sudou. What about you? This might be your chance.”
That was a bit subtler than yelling, Do you want to date Kushida?
I generally understood Sudou’s personality, but it was still difficult to predict whether he’d agree. So I had to find some common ground.
“A date, huh? That doesn’t sound too bad. Jeez, guess I don’t have a choice. All right, I’ll join,” Sudou said, his voice small. He didn’t turn around.
Kushida sighed deeply in relief.
“Remember, boys are the simplest creatures on earth.”
Horikita probably agreed with me. We welcomed Sudou to our group.
…—————-…
…Please don’t report,…
…Wilysha_Purple♡…