Chapter 085: Sue, Sue, I’m Taking This to the Student Council! (Part 2) part 1

This month's special exam lasted two days, the 25th and 26th. Now it was the 31st.

After the exam ended, everyone got some free time.

Today was Monday.

It was the day scores were released.

All the students quietly gathered in the classroom and waited for -sensei's announcement.

Even though most already had a good idea of how the test went and there were no issues with the papers, they still had to wait for -sensei to officially announce things to get any rewards.

So they all stayed in the classroom.

First up was Class 1-D.

"Kushida, how many points do you think we'll get this time?"

"Huh? You're asking me?"

As soon as the girls entered the classroom, they started chatting.

That's just how it is with someone as popular as Kushida—people naturally gather around her.

It's not just that she's friendly and cute, or that she cares about others. She even lent out some of her own points, so of course everyone likes her.

"I think we'll do pretty well. -sensei said if our class average across all subjects is over 70, we'll get the maximum 100 points for our class score."

"I think our class can manage that," Kushida said.

But deep down, she didn't believe it.

Because—

She felt that even though they gave Hirata a good hand, he wouldn't make good use of it.

Hirata and Ayanokouji got the test papers in advance, but they didn't tell the rest of the class outright that they were real test questions. Even though they signed a confidentiality agreement, some people won't take it seriously unless you spell it out for them.

So for sure, a small number of students wouldn't take it seriously and would just skim through the papers.

And even though the math test started on the morning of the 25th and they realized the questions were exactly the same as the practice ones—

You'd still have students scrambling to go back and actually review the papers properly.

Then she crammed at the last minute.

But still, one of the subjects didn't go so well, so in a way, Hirata was being way too cautious.

But honestly, he didn't really have a choice—this class isn't exactly filled with top students.

If they had revealed in advance that the test would be based on old questions, the news would've spread by the next day.

Even though Kushida admitted her middle school classmates were a mess, this high school class wasn't that much better.

So even though they got a copy of the test paper this time, she didn't think the class could score high enough for the top reward.

That's the limit of what they could do.

"So that means we'll at least get 10,000 yen in living expenses."

"I seriously can't take this anymore."

"But Wang Meiyu, you seem to be in a good mood."

Some students also noticed what was going on with Kushida's best friend.

"It's because Kushida came to school with me today."

Wang Meiyu said.

Everyone knew Kushida had been trying to get close to Horikita. She'd been showing up every morning to walk to school with her, and it had already been two months. So had she finally broken through? Or had she finally realized she should stick with the people who were already close to her?

"Well, I still kind of worry about Horikita, but Mii-chan is my best friend, so of course I'm coming back to that."

Kushida said.

"Hehe."

Wang Meiyu was clearly in a good mood.

"..."

And the person just mentioned, Horikita Suzune, quietly sat in her seat. She looked up for a second when she heard her name, but quickly looked away again.

In her mind, she was thinking back to how Shirogane Miyuki handled Kushida.

Shirogane: So Kushida thought Horikita went to the same middle school as her, thought she knew her dark past, and worried she might spill everything, ruining her perfect image now.

Horikita: I have no interest in exposing Kushida.

Shirogane: Then Kushida, you need to apologize to Horikita. Not just for bothering her these past two months, but also for kicking the railing and yelling at her. Apologize for that too.

Kushida: I won't.

Shirogane: Then sign this withdrawal form.

Kushida: You don't have that authority.

Shirogane: What if it's President Horikita? The student council president has the power to expel one student.

Horikita Suzune: Hey!

Shirogane: Of course, I'm not trying to damage your brother's reputation, Horikita. I'm just telling Kushida that your brother does have that power. Whether she wants to test that is up to her.

Shirogane: You still have a way out.

Kushida: So you're basically just telling me to back down?

Shirogane: Do you really think you're in a position to fight back? You already know and have confirmed that Horikita Suzune is related to the student council president. What do you think you can still do to her?

Kushida: ...Are you threatening me?

"Yes."

Shirogane's face didn't show any emotion.

"Heh—"

Kushida gave a mocking smile.

"Heh—"

Kushida followed it with a scornful one.

Then Kushida said, "Fine, I won't do anything for now."

Yeah.

She was just a regular student, while Horikita Suzune's brother was the student council president. Even if Horikita Manabu claimed he was fair, come on—they're siblings. Who would believe that?

Kushida was an only child, so she didn't really understand how close siblings could be. But she did know that even if they didn't get along, most people would still get mad if their little brother or sister was being bullied.

So in this situation, all she could do was wait for Horikita Manabu to graduate.

Shirogane: Don't think about waiting for President Horikita to graduate and then planning something against Suzune. Because by then, I'll be the student council president. And I'll also have the power to expel someone.

Kushida: …Are you threatening me?

"Yes."

Shirogane's face was blank.

"Heh—"

Kushida gave another mocking smile.

"Heh—"

She smiled with clear disdain.

It felt like the same scene had just played out earlier.

And then—

Feeling annoyed, Kushida finally gave in.

She decided not to mess with Horikita anymore. In return, Horikita wouldn't expose her past. And of course, Shirogane wouldn't use this to try to get her expelled.

The three of them did a light fist bump to wrap things up.

But for Horikita Suzune, this still left a heavy impact.

The fact that Kushida approached her for such a ridiculous reason—just to shut her up—and maybe even planned to get her expelled if she hadn't known she was the student council president's sister… That hit hard.

Yeah.

Getting someone to stay quiet is one way. But making sure they *can't* say anything is another.

So pushing her to drop out was also an option.

"Horikita."

Just then, a boy's voice came from the seat next to her.

It was Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.

"What score do you think our class will get on this test?"

He asked.

"..."

Horikita.

She usually kept to herself in class and barely talked to anyone, but there were two exceptions.

One was Kushida, who bugged her that morning, and the other was the guy who sat next to her—Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.

Judging by how Kushida acted, she clearly had a reason for approaching her. So then, was Ayanokouji doing the same?

Horikita couldn't help but feel unlucky for running into people like this.

"We'll find out how we did soon enough."

Horikita looked cold and distant.

"..."

Ayanokouji.

What he didn't know was that, in Horikita's mind, anyone who approached her probably wanted something from her—maybe even wanted her to drop out.

So deep down, she'd already labeled Ayanokouji as someone dangerous. And what she could do in return was simple—

"Can you not talk to me?"

"I don't want to be friends with you."

Horikita Suzune said.

"Uh…"

Ayanokouji looked like he'd just taken a hit.

He probably didn't expect his already cold seatmate to get even colder.

"Um, Horikita. You don't really need to act like that, do you?"

Hirata came over just then.

"I won't get in your way."

Horikita Suzune said flatly.

"But I'm not lending anyone my points."

"..."

This time, even Hirata didn't know how to respond.

Luckily, their homeroom teacher, Chabashira Sae, walked into the classroom at that moment.

Just like before when she showed the quiz results, she came in holding several sheets of paper.

"Looks like you've been waiting."

As usual, Chabashira-sensei was dressed in her formal suit. She glanced down at the students, then let out a small laugh. She picked up the sheets she'd placed on the desk, smoothed them out, and stuck them onto the blackboard.

"Alright, today you're getting your test scores. And yes, there are bonus points too."

Math, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, and English.

A total of five subjects.

The rankings and scores were all posted.

Except for Math, where some students didn't do that well, all the other subjects had minimum scores of at least 66.

Most people scored in the 80s and 90s.

And around ten students even got perfect scores—100.

In other words, everyone in the class… scored really well.

"To be honest, I'm a bit surprised. You all made some progress, and I admit you worked hard. But—"

The teacher said this, then suddenly picked up a pen and circled the lowest scores in every subject.

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka scored 51 points in all subjects.