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Classroom Of The Elite Volume 1 - Chapter 27
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The study group seemed to have gotten off to a good start. Of course, no one suddenly loved studying or found great joy in it. However, they all did their part to avoid expulsion so they could continue to spend time with their friends. The Idiot Trio started changing their behavior. They frantically repeated everything written on the blackboard, wracking their brains to understand the problems.
Sudou occasionally came close to passing out during class. His head would bob up and down as he started to doze, but he managed to stay awake, likely because of his professional basketball dreams. Most people would laugh at such high aspirations, but he chased them earnestly. Many of the first-year students, fresh from junior high, didn’t have a “dream” yet. Many had only the vaguest notion of what they wanted their future to be. At least Sudou was already working hard in pursuit of his dream. That was worthy of praise.
How exactly did this school define an exemplary student? At the very least, people didn’t pass or fail based solely on academics. Considering the fact that Ike and Sudou had been accepted into the school, that much was obvious. If the school enrolled students talented in other areas, though, it was odd that they’d have a system in place to expel students for just one failing grade. At least, that was how I saw it.
Unless the system itself was a lie, there wasn’t much I could conclude. Could they be creating such problems for students like Ike and Sudou solely so they could overcome them? It likely wasn’t that simple. Both the small test we’d taken and the classes, so difficult for those like Sudou, posed problems.
Once the afternoon class had ended, a satisfied-looking Horikita gave a small nod and glanced at her notes. Apparently, she’d compiled everything together. Even though Horikita was teaching the Idiot Trio, she wanted the best possible results. That was her nature. Our class’s evaluation would improve, as would the individual students’ abilities. However, trying to get perfect scores was absurd. We didn’t intend to reach that far. Helping Ike and the others avoid failing was the best we could do. When the lunch bell rang, everyone made a mad dash for the cafeteria. Our break was forty-five minutes long. After lunch, everyone had agreed to meet in the library for a twenty-minute study session. At first, we’d planned to study in the classroom. However, for better concentration, we decided to avoid noise and use the library.
However, the main reason was that Horikita wanted to avoid Hirata. His study group also met during lunch, and if we were reviewing materials nearby, they’d likely try to talk to us. Horikita absolutely did not want that.
“Horikita, what are you doing for lunch?” I asked.
“Well—”
“Ayanokouji-kun! Do you want to eat lunch together? I don’t have any plans today!” Kushida unexpectedly hopped out in front of me.
“Ah, okay. Well then, do you want to eat together with Kushida—” I began.
“I already have plans. Please excuse me.” Horikita stood and stalked out of the classroom by herself.
“I’m sorry, Ayanokouji-kun. Was I possibly…being a bother?” Kushida asked.
“Oh, no. Not at all.”
Kushida waved to Horikita’s retreating form, as if saying, Bye bye!
Had she planned that, by chance? After I’d discovered Kushida’s secret, she’d been rather blatant about keeping tabs on me. Though she said that she believed me, she might still suspect I’d tell someone. Kushida and I went to the café to get lunch together. When we arrived, the absolute flood of women overwhelmed me.
“What’s going on? There’re an insane number of girls here,” I said.
I’d say 80 percent of the customers were girls.
“This isn’t really a place where boys come to eat.”
The menu included items like pasta and pancakes, food that only girls would like. Athletic people like Sudou would probably complain about the small portions. There were a few guys, but you could say that they were either coupled up or playboys. Every guy here was either alone with one girl or surrounded by multiple ladies.
“How about we go to the cafeteria after all? I feel kind of
uncomfortable here,” I said.
“You’ll be fine once you get used to it. It seems like Kouenji-kun comes here every day. See?” Kushida pointed to a table in the back, where Kouenji sat surrounded by girls. He looked just as grand and imposing as ever. I’d never seen him around during lunchtime. Was this where he went?
“He seems really popular. Those girls around him are all third years.”
Kushida was surprised, too. I overheard some of the conversation between Kouenji and the older girls.
“Here, Kouenji-kun, say ‘Ahh!’” one of them said.
“Ha ha! Just as I thought, more mature girls are the best.”
He certainly didn’t act shy at all around the third-year ladies. Rather, he ate his food while they practically pressed up against him.
“That guy is really something else,” I muttered.
“His name seems to be going around lately. People are talking about him.”
I see. So, were those girls after his money?
“What a sad world.”
“Those girls are just being realists. You can’t afford to eat on dreams alone,” she said.
“Are you a realist, Kushida?”
“I’d say I’m a bit of a dreamer. Something like a knight in shining armor would be nice.”
“A knight in shining armor, hmm?”
We sat as far away from Kouenji as possible.
“What about you, Ayanokouji-kun? Do you like girls like Horikita-san?” she asked.
“Why’d you bring up Horikita?”
“Well, you’re always with her. Isn’t she cute?”
Well, I certainly thought she was cute. On the outside, though.
“Know something, Ayanokouji-kun? You’ve caught the girls’ eyes for a little while now. You’re on a first-year students’ ranking chart.”
“Caught their eye? Me? Also, what the hell kind of ranking?”
Apparently, we men had been rated without even noticing. Was it like the ranking we’d made for the girls’ ****** sizes?
“Well, there are lots of different rankings, you know? The hot guy rankings. The rich guy rankings. The creeper rankings. And—”
“Okay, that’s enough. I don’t think I want to hear any more.”
“Don’t worry. You’re ranked a respectable fifth place in the hot guy rankings. Congratulations! By the way, Satonaka-kun in Class A is in first place. Hirata-kun’s in second. The third and fourth place boys are in Class A. I feel like Hirata-kun gets lots of points because of his looks and personality.”
I’d expect nothing less from the Class D star. Even girls in Class C and above noticed him.
“Is it okay for me to be happy about that?” I asked.
“Of course. Oh, but you also ranked pretty high in gloominess.”
“Let’s see…” I looked at Kushida’s cell phone. There really were a lot of different ranking charts. I saw a rather disturbing ranking titled, “Boys Who Should Die.” Better not look at that one.
“Are you not really happy about it? You’re ranked fifth.”
“I guess if I cared about popularity it’d be different, but I don’t really feel anything.” Besides, no girl had ever placed a letter with a heart sticker on it in my bag. “So, does everyone participate in this?”
“Well, not everyone, but lots of people do. I don’t know the exact number of votes, though. The comments are also anonymous.”
In other words, many unknown variables made it difficult.
“I think you’re probably at a disadvantage, Ayanokouji-kun. From my point of view, you’re definitely attractive enough to be considered a hot guy, but I don’t think people would say you’re as beautiful or stand out as much as Hirata-kun. You’re not exceptionally smart, you don’t have exceptional athletic ability, and you’re not a great conversationalist. There’s something missing, some element of attractiveness, you know?”
In other words, there was nothing appealing about me at all. “Ouch. I feel like I just got stabbed in the heart.”
“S-sorry. I probably should have held back a bit.” Kushida appeared sheepish. “Hey, Ayanokouji-kun. Did you have a girlfriend in junior high school?”
“Would it be bad if I didn’t?”
“So, you didn’t have one? Ha ha, no. No, it’s not bad.”
“Rankings, huh? What would the girls think if the boys did something like that?”
“They’d probably consider them the lowest of the low.”
Her smile didn’t reach her eyes. Well, that was to be expected. If the boys ranked girls by cuteness, the girls would vehemently object. There was a definite double standard at play. At any rate, Kushida didn’t seem to be treating me any differently than she had before. I’d thought things might have changed since discovering her secret side.
“Hey. You don’t have to force yourself to talk to me if you don’t want to,” I said.
“No, it’s not that I don’t want to. Talking to you is fun, Ayanokouji-kun.”
“Didn’t you say that you hated me, though?”
“Ha ha ha, yes, I did. Sorry, but that’s how I really feel.”
Well, that hurt. Even though she was smiling, she hated me. This was the worst.
“To tell you the truth, I invited you out to lunch today because I wanted to check with you. Hypothetically, if you had to choose either Horikita-san or me as your ally, whom would you choose, Ayanokouji-kun? Would you choose me?”
“I’m no one’s ally or enemy. I’m neutral.”
“There are some situations where you can’t avoid trouble by staying neutral. It’s wonderful to oppose war, for example, but you may find yourself in the middle of turmoil at some point, you know? If Horikita and I happen to clash, I hope that you’ll cooperate with me, Ayanokouji-kun.”
“When you say that…”
“Anyway, try to remember that I’m expecting your help.”
“Expecting, huh? If you were to ask for my help, your first priority should probably be to explain the situation.”
Kushida, still smiling, emphatically shook her head. “First, we’d need to build a relationship of mutual trust.”
“I suppose.”
Neither Kushida nor I understood each other yet. Perhaps in the future, I’d come to have deeper knowledge of her.
…—————-…
…Please don’t report,…
…Wilysha_Purple♡…