Scores

On May 1, the morning bell rang for our very first day of class. Soon afterward, Chiyabashira-sensei strode into the room, holding a rolled-up poster. Her expression today was even more stern than usual.

"All right, your morning homeroom is about to begin. Before we get started, does anyone have any questions? If so, now is the time to speak." Chiyabashira-sensei appeared totally convinced that the students had questions they wanted answered.

"Um, I checked my point balance this morning, but I didn't see any deposits. Points are given on the first day of every month, aren't they? I couldn't buy juice this morning."

"Hondou, I already explained this before, didn't I? Points are deposited on the first day of the month. I've confirmed that points were wired this month without any issues."

"Um, but... nothing was deposited into my account, though."

Hondou and Yamauchi exchanged glances. Ike appeared too shocked to notice them looking at each other.

"Are you kids really that dumb?" She said, her voice ominously.

"Dumb? What?"

As Hondou stupidly repeated her words, Chiyabashira-sensei looked at him sharply.

"Sit down, Hondou. I'll explain once more." she said.

"S-Sae-chan-sensei?" Hondou, taken aback by her unusually strict tone, slumped in his seat.

"Points were deposited. That much I know for certain. There is absolutely no chance that we forgot about anyone in this class. To think so is ludicrous. Understood?"

"Well, even if I tell you that we understand, we haven't received any points..."

"Ha ha ha! I see. So, it's like that then, teacher? I think I've solved the mystery." Kouenji boomed, laughing.

He doesn't seem to be lying, so I could guess his words are true. He propped his feet up on his desk and smugly pointed toward Hondou.

"It's simple. We're in Class D, so we didn't receive a single point."

"Huh? What are you talking about? They said that we'd get 100,000 points every month—"

"I don't remember hearing that, though. Do you?" Chuckling, Kouenji boldly pointed at Chabashira-sensei.

"While he certainly has an attitude problem, Kouenji is exactly right. For crying out loud, barely anyone seems to have noticed the hint I gave you. How deplorable."

In response to this sudden turn of events, the classroom exploded in an uproar.

Yes, this is what I wanted. For this class to experience a sense of crises, and the reality of this school. This failure will become a huge foundation for the future of this class.

"Sensei, may I please ask you a question? I'm afraid I still don't understand." Hirata raised his hand. He appeared to ask on behalf of his classmates rather than out of selfish concern. Just as I'd expect of the de facto class leader. Even now, he took the initiative.

"Can you please tell us why we didn't receive any points? We won't completely understand otherwise."

For this, I think I'll give it a go.

"Hirata-kun, for that question can I answer that?"

The class looked over me when I interrupted the matter they wanted to know, the most. This is going to be a tough battlefield for me. I'll have to properly plan and execute the conversation properly.

"A total of ninety-eight absences and late arrivals. Three hundred ninety-one incidences of talking or using a cell phone in class. Based on all that, it wouldn't be strange for us to get zero points. Right Chabashira-sensei?" I spoke all of that in one breath.

I noticed the sides of Chabashira-sensei's lips raised a little. "That's right. I should have explained this all to you on the day of the entrance ceremony. This school measures its students' true abilities. This time, you were evaluated as being worth nothing. That's all."

Though she spoke in a harsh monotone voice, I could feel some emotion behind it.

Hirata tried to argue that there was no talk about the decrease on points, but Chabashira-sensei cleverly crushed his argument.

He did try asking sensei about the way to earn points, but she refused to give information.

"It looks like we spent too much time yammering. I hope that you understood the gist of it. Well, it's about time that we switch to our main topic."

From the tube she carried, she removed a white rolled-up poster and spread it out. She stuck the poster to the blackboard with some magnets. The still-confused students stared blankly at the poster.

Class A through Class D were listed. To the side was a row of numbers that went up to a maximum of four digits. Class D had zero. Class C had 490. Class B had 650. And at the top was Class A, with a total of 940.

If we multiply it by 100, then each class were given 1,000 private points which equals to 100,000 class points.

"You've all been doing whatever you pleased this past month. The school has no intention of preventing you from doing what you want. Your actions, such as being late or talking during class, only affect the points you receive. The same goes for how you use your points. How you choose to spend is entirely up to you. We have not put any restrictions on point usage."

"This isn't fair, though! We can't enjoy our student lives like this!" shouted Ike, who'd stayed quiet until now.

Yamauchi wailed in incredible agony. He'd already used up all of his points...

"Look here, morons. Every other class got points. The amount of points we gave you for the first month should be plenty for you to live on."

"B-but, how do the other classes still have points left? That's weird..."

"I've already told you, there's nothing unfair about it. All of the classes were scored using the same rules. Despite that, they didn't lose as many as you. That's the truth."

"But... why is there such a difference in our point values?" Hirata also seemed to have noticed that the numbers were too tidy.

"Do you finally understand now? Do you see why you were placed in Class D?"

"The reason why we were placed in Class D? Weren't we simply accepted into this school?"

"Hirata, what Chabashira-sensei meant is that we're the worst class in our year. Class D." I said finding the perfect timing to insert my idea.

Students exchanged glances.

"It's like as Takamura said. In this school, students are sorted by their level of excellence. The superior students are sorted into Class A, the least capable in Class D. It's the same system you'd find in the major cram schools. In other words, Class D is akin to the last bastion for failures. You are the worst of the worst. You're defective. This is just the result of you being defective."

"However, I have to say, this year's Class D was the first to ever spend all of their points in a single month. I am impressed by how much you indulged yourselves. Wonderful, just wonderful." Chiyabashira-sensei's false applause echoed throughout the classroom.

"So, does that mean that once we reach zero points, we'll always stay there?"

"Yes. You will remain at zero until you graduate. But don't worry, you can still have a room in the dorms and free meals. You won't die."

Hmm... Well it's a fact that as we are now, it's impossible to gain points.

"Won't the other classes make fun of us?" Sudou kicked the legs of his desk with a loud thwack.

After hearing that the classes were divided based on merit, everyone else would probably believe that Class D was full of idiots.

"What? You're still worried about your dignity, Sudou? Well then, work to make your class into the best one."

"Huh?"

"Your class's points aren't just linked to the amount of money that you receive each month. They're also indicative of your class rank."

In other words... if we get higher class points than class C, then we'll get promoted huh.

"Now then, I have one more bit of bad news to share with you all." She stuck another sheet of paper up on the board. It listed the names of everyone in class. A number stood next to everyone's name.

"Judging from these, I can see that we've quite a few idiots in this class. Your sensei was so happy after your excellent performance. Come on, what in the world did you all study when you were in junior high?"

With the exception of a few high scores, almost everyone tested below a sixty. The average score was sixty-five. Sudou got the lowest score of fourteen points.

"I'm so glad. If this were an actual test, then seven of you would've had to drop out."

"D-drop out? What do you mean?"

"Oh, what, did I not explain this to you? If you fail on a midterm or final exam in this school, then you have to drop out. If we applied that rule to this test, anyone who scored below thirty-two points would be out. You guys really are stupid, aren't you?"

That class, especially Sudou and Ike at the risk of expulsion are complaining to how unreasonable it was.

"Oh, one more thing. This school, which operates under government supervision, boasts a high rate of advancement into elite education and workforce placement. That is a well-known fact. It's very likely that most of you have chosen a college or future workplace."

Well, it's obvious. This school boasted the highest rates of advancement in the whole country. There were rumors that it was possible to get into a highly competitive school or company just by graduating. Rumors even suggested that graduation from this school was like receiving a recommendation to Tokyo University, the most prestigious of Japan's institutes of higher learning.

"However, nothing comes easy in this world. Mediocre people such as yourselves would have to be naive to think that you could easily get into the college or workplace of your choice."

I don't really have any interest with that. I feel bad for them...

"In other words, you're saying that if we want to get into the company or college of our choice, we must, at minimum, surpass Class C?" Hirata asked.

"You're wrong. To make your dreams of a bright future come true, your only option is to overtake Class A. This school guarantees nothing for any other students."

"Th-that's... absurd! We didn't hear anything about that!"

A bespectacled student named Yukimura stood up. He'd tied with Kouenji for the runner-up score, indicating that there were no issues with his academic abilities.

"Yukimura, don't lose your cool and stay calm. Nothing's gonna change panicking about it." I told him off with a stern tone.

It looks like my practice had paid off. I usually record my voice to make sure it sounds natural.

"Don't you feel dissatisfied being in Class D, Takamura? Someone like you who aced the exams, is labeled an idiot!"

True, in this class I dominated the exams scoring perfect scores. Even Yukimura and Kouenji could only score 90 points, 10 points below mine.

"And what of it? I don't see any problems with that? Can you explain what you're so dissatisfied about?"

"...Because the school says we're so low that we're basically delinquents and failures. We've been told that there's no guarantee whatsoever that we'll advance into higher education or get a job!"

"Yukimura, you seem to get the wrong impression here. Your way of thinking is way to naive."

"Huh, naive? What do you mean?"

"Nothing... I'm done explaining." I didn't say anything anymore, and ignored him. I held a firm face and stared at him. Anyway that's the first time I talked this much. I gained a huge amount of Exp.

Yukimura, at a loss for words, simply sat back down.

"It looks like your bubbles have been burst. If you had simply understood the harsh reality of the situation from the start, then this long homeroom period might have meant something. Your midterm exams are in three weeks. Please think things over, and be careful not to drop out. I have confidence that you can find a way to avoid getting red marks on your report cards. If at all possible, challenge yourself to act in a way befitting a skilled individual."

Chiyabashira-sensei exited the room, closing the door with some force for added emphasis.

The students marked in red were left depressed. Even the normally proud Sudou clicked his tongue and hung his head in shame.

Since the Great I, Takamura Hayato-sama, scored perfectly in that test I gathered quite the looks by my classmates. Well being smart does have its perks.