Kushida took my hand.
When I felt her soft hand in mine, she gave me a very beautiful smile. I wonder if that smile was genuine or fake.
"It's a pleasure, Oborozuki-kun; your name is also beautiful."
After some time, we finally arrived at our destination: the Advanced Nutrition High School.
When I saw the entrance, I couldn't contain myself; the school was enormous and fantastic, and I couldn't wait for the special exams and challenges I'd face. This was going to be a real challenge.
"Finally! This is going to be so exciting," I said out loud, not realizing I was drawing the attention of everyone nearby.
'He's crazy.'
'Who gets excited about being at school'
'I don't blame him; I got excited too when I was accepted.'
I saw that the people nearby who could hear me were judging me for that great performance I'd given, or for making a fool of myself.
Seeing that the murmurs weren't going to end anytime soon, I ran inside out of embarrassment, passing by a couple who were arguing.
After that regrettable public scene, I had to go to the classroom.
When I got to the classroom, I was the only one there, since I was the only one who ran.
I quickly looked up the names of the "important" students in Class D, and when I saw them I couldn't help but smile. A little later, I saw more students arriving in the classroom, among them Hirata, whom I recognized because... he sat in the seat labeled "Hirata," yeah, nothing incredible.
When I saw Hirata, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to climb the social ladder a bit, so I approached him.
"Hello, my name is Oborozuki Gen." I extended my hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you. From now on, we'll be classmates, so we should get along."
Hirata didn't think twice and accepted the handshake.
"Nice to meet you, Oborozuki-kun. My name is Hirata Yosuke, but you can call me Yosuke. Back in junior high, everyone called me by my first name, so don't hesitate to do the same."
"Of course, Yousuke-kun, you can call me by my first name too," I said with a smile before saying something to make him doubt the school and get him on my side when Chabashira makes her scene.
"Did you notice the excessive number of cameras around the school? It seems like they want to monitor our behavior."
I pointed toward some cameras that were in the classroom, without taking my eyes off Hirata's face to observe his surprised expression.
"Wow, I hadn't noticed that; it seems you're very observant, Gen-kun."
"Maybe it's like that, although I don't think I'm the best observer in our class," I turned around to look at a brown-haired boy who needs no introduction.
When he saw me watching him, Ayanokouji looked at me for a moment before turning to his seatmate.
"Well, it was a pleasure, Hirata, but it looks like the teacher is about to arrive, so I'll head back to my seat. I hope we can talk after class."
As I stepped back a bit, I turned to look at Hirata, who was wondering why there were so many cameras in a classroom. It wouldn't be strange to have one or two, but there seemed to be cameras covering every angle; his face was that of someone confused.
My seat was in the same row as Ayanokouji's, but we were at opposite ends.
A little later, about two minutes, Chabashira-Sensei arrived, entering with an aura of serenity.
"Good morning, students. I'm the instructor for Class D; my name is Chabashira Sae. I usually teach Japanese history class. Anyway, at this school we don't change classrooms for each grade. For the next three years, I will be your homeroom teacher. So I hope we get along well; it's a pleasure to meet you. The entrance ceremony will be held in the gymnasium one hour from now, but first I'll hand out written materials with information about this school's special rules, and I'll also give you a hand with the admissions guide."
The moment the student in front of me handed me the document, I began reading it.
What's particular about this school—what makes it so different—is the special rule, the S system. Surely, if it weren't for that novel, I wouldn't be able to decipher it, or at least not in time.
"Now I'll pass out your student ID cards. Using this card, you'll have access to any facility on campus and be able to buy anything you need. It acts like a credit card. Anyway, you need to pay attention to the points you earn; at this school, you can use them to buy anything. Anything located at the school can be purchased."
That's where it gave us the first clue about the S system: paying attention to the points and being able to buy whatever we want.
"Your student cards can be used simply by swiping them thru the machine's scanner. The method is simple; you shouldn't get confused. Points are automatically deposited into your accounts on the first day of each month. You should have already received 100,000 points. Please note that one point is equal to one yen. No further explanations are necessary."
The whole class erupted in happiness at having received those points—everyone except a few people; to be exact, there were four of us who weren't quite so excited. Ayanokouji, who had surely already realized the mistake but wouldn't actively participate; Koenji, whom I wasn't entirely sure about; Hirata, who was still somewhat anxious about the cameras and wanted to ask about them; and finally me, who already knew about this system.
'With this money, I'll be able to buy all the consoles.'
'That's right, after class we should go shopping.'
'I can't wait to buy perfumes.'
'It'll be girls' day as soon as the boring classes are over.'
'This school is the best.'
'This school will be very easy.'
Everyone was murmuring things without knowing what would really happen. It was time to act a little.
"Oh, wow, it's too good to be true," I said aloud, emphasizing the last word.
"It's not like they won't give us the same points next month, right, Chabashira-sensei?"
I was using a sarcastic tone so as not to arouse too much suspicion among my classmates; I just wanted to see the reactions of a few attentive people. I saw Chabashira flash a smile, a smile that was barely noticeable.
I turned to look at everyone else and noticed some very disappointing reactions.
'What is this idiot talking about?'
'Doesn't he see that the school is generous and says those things?'
'This guy is crazy.'
'Is he stupid or is he just pretending?'
It seems like Class D is dead weight. Although there were also some that were true gems.
"Are you an idiot, or what's wrong with you? Can't you see the school is being generous with us, and you call the beautiful Chabashira-sensei-chan a liar? You're making her look bad. It's a shame you're in my class," said a dark-haired boy.
Which I ignored, turning to look at Ayanokouji and Horikita. They seemed to be talking about something, but I could tell that Ayanokouji was making Horikita realize what I was getting at.
.
.
.
.
.
"Hey Horikita, where do you think he's trying to get by saying that?"
"I don't know, but it seems like it's just another annoying person. I couldn't have worse luck ending up in this classroom," she said.
"Maybe he knows something we don't; he seems like a very smart guy."
Seeing that Horikita was closed off to creative ideas, Ayanokouji preferred to remain silent and let Gen handle it.
..
.
.
After seeing that Horikita possibly didn't listen to Ayanokouji and was blinded by the fact that someone she considers inferior could know something she wouldn't notice, she probably took me for a sarcastic idiot.
If I had said this in any other class, they probably would have realized what I was getting at.
"Sorry for interrupting, Chabashira-sensei; please continue with your explanation."
"Don't worry, it's nothing." She said, with an annoyed tone directed at my classmates—or so I assume, and I hope, because I don't want to be blackmailed like Ayanokouji.
"Are you shocked by this amount? This school evaluates its students' talents. Everyone here passed the admission exam, which speaks to their value and potential. The amount they received reflects the evaluation of their value. You can use your points without restrictions. After graduation, however, your points will be returned to the school. Because it's impossible to exchange points for money, there's no advantage in saving them; once the points are deposited, it's up to you to decide how to spend them. If you don't want to spend them, you can transfer your points to someone else. Anyway, extorting points from others isn't allowed; this school monitors bullying very carefully."
Upon hearing these last words, Hirata had calmed down a bit because of the number of cameras, which was reflected in his face. Too bad it seems he won't bring up the excessive cameras anymore. I'll have to start asking the questions myself, or maybe I'll let my classmates enjoy their school life this month and tell them about it on the last day so they'll hate me. Nah, that would be stupid.
While the noise kept going and it seemed like a chabashira disko was about to break out, she began looking around the classroom as if waiting for someone to ask.
She looked at me for a while, but the thing is... I wasn't ready to dance yet. I hope Chabashira-sensei will forgive me, since she can read thoughts like all women do, right? Well, if she reads this, at least she'll forgive me. Oh, no, wait.
"Chabashira-sensei, if it's not too much trouble, I have a question about what you said."
Chabashira smiled slightly at my participation and nodded for me to continue.
"You said it's possible to buy everything inside this school, right?"
"That's right, that's what I said," she said.
"So, I can buy information about the special rules that weren't described," I said as I stood up, "specifically about the S system."
Chabashira could no longer contain her smile and grinned; it was as if she had changed her personality.
"Maybe yes, maybe no, who knows? Do you want to try buying it?"
"That's right, I want to buy the information about the S system," I replied.
"You really are interesting, Oborozuki."
"Don't bother calling me that; I hardly like my last name. Just call me by my first name." I stood next to Chabashira-sensei to get everyone else's attention.
"How many points will it cost to find that out?"
Chabashira smiled when she saw me standing face to face with her; there was tension—was it romantic? Nah, she's just planning how to blackmail me and Ayanokouji into working together. Well, since...
"It will be difficult for you to reduce your income next month by 20,000. This decision must be made jointly with your entire class, not on your own."
Upon hearing this, I turned to everyone else.
"Listen, maybe I sound stupid or like an idiot, but I'm sure this school is hiding something. Doesn't it seem strange to you that on the first day they give us too many points or yen? They're creating an illusion so we won't see beyond it."
'What are you talking about?'
'It's good that you admit how stupid you are.'
I turned to look at Hirata, who seemed undecided about whether to speak or not.
"Yousuke, come on, tell them about the cameras."
Upon hearing my voice, Yousuke reacted and began to speak.
"I think what Gen is saying is true. Look around this room—there are cameras everywhere. If there were just a few, it wouldn't be strange, but they're all over the place to capture every angle. It's like—"
He was interrupted by a female voice.
"As if they were monitoring our behavior," the voice came from Horikita, who had been talking with Ayanokouji for a bit; it seems he finally convinced her to speak.
Chabashira seemed excited by this moment; she looked like she was about to burst out laughing.
"That's right, so maybe we don't know each other all that well yet, but if you trust me, next month at least we'll get the right points and they won't give us too few," I said, turning to look at a boy with gray hair and red eyes.
"You look like you have something to say."
"Ahh, that's right, I'm Yukimura, and I want to know why you're suspicious of the school system; it doesn't seem suspicious to me at all," he said.
"Tell me something, Kushida-san." I turned to look at Kushida, who seemed reluctant to get involved in all this in case she was wrong. She wants to maintain her facade, huh? I want to see her reaction when Ayanokouji exposes her. "Why did Chabashira say we were getting these points?"
"Aaah, well, if I remember correctly, I think I heard it was because of the evaluation the school had of us and our potential," she replied.
"Now, Yukimura-san, do you think the school will have the same evaluation of us after a month if we display inappropriate behavior inside or outside the classroom? We'll be penalized, and that evaluation should go down."
I was going to continue talking, but someone interrupted me.
"But Chabashira said they take bullying very seriously—don't you think that's why the cameras are there?" said a girl with short, somewhat bluish hair and a pink hairpin.
"That's right, and beside, do you think we're some kind of defect or something?" said another boy, a bit short with brown hair and bangs.
Upon hearing that, I knew that this class—yes, this one—was more than just dead weight and was completely full of defective people, just as Chabashira said.
"Ooh, come on, man, it's not like we're Class D—defective or anything like that. It's not like we're the ones with the most obvious defects, right, Sensei-manipulates-kids-chan?" I said somewhat ironically.
When they heard what I said, most of them got angry, while others were left wondering if they had flaws. It seemed I'd hurt their soft, bread-like hearts and their brilliant minds.
"Are you saying we're defective or something?" Horikita said.
"I don't think Gen-kun meant that, right?" Kushida tried to defend me even tho it's obviously false, or maybe she fell in love with me when she saw me. I'm a heartthrob.
"So, I don't think Gen meant to offend you; it was probably just a little joke," Hirata added, trying to defuse the situation.
"Don't worry, guys, I'll take care of this." I tried to calm them down. "If you trust me and accept Chabashira's deal, I'll tell you that we'll be the best class and this school won't be able to call us defective again, and if by next month what I've told you doesn't happen, I'll give each of you my private points."
I approached Chabashira to ask her for something specific.
"I want to buy a document in which we can agree on a deal between Class D and me, Oborozuke Gen," I said.
Chabashira, who had been silent the entire time, enjoying the spectacle before her eyes, would finally stop being a spectator.
"Of course, but first, does everyone agree to this deal?" she said, already knowing the answer that would come.
"I hope you're right, Oborozuki-kun," said Horikita.
"I trust you, Gen-kun, and don't worry, I won't take any points from you if you're wrong," Hirata said.
Everyone else followed as well; they all agreed, whether out of social pressure or to earn more points, I don't know, but either way, this was already a victory. Quickly, Chabashira, as if it were something she had been expecting or even hoping for, went to prepare the document and brought it to the classroom, where everyone quickly signed it, accepting the deal.
After the last person to sign the deal, which was Ayanokouji, Chabashira smiled proudly. She began to applaud.
"Congrats, Oborozuki, you're the first person to see through this school fantasy," he began, as if it were a great achievement; if I hadn't already seen this, I never would have known. "You're right, the cameras are there to monitor your behavior in class. If we saw you using your phones or not paying attention, we'd deduct something called class points."
He started writing on the chalkboard.
Class A-1000 cp
Class B-1000cp
Class C-1000cp
Class D-1000cp
Don't worry about the 20,000 points we deducted; you can recover them, since this information cost you 200 CP—your class points. Unlike private points, these are earned thru your performance in class.
"So, if we don't come to class or use our phones in the next few days, they'll deduct points from us," said a girl with brown hair and blue eyes.
"Exactly, on the first day of each month these points are recalculated, and to be honest, Oborozuki's ironic comment wasn't entirely false." It's all true; here we classify our students from the highest class, A, to the most defective, D.
After hearing that, everyone was in shock, and some were annoyed at being called that, especially Horikita and the gray-haired boy with glasses.
After the teacher left the classroom after explaining the system, Yousuke stood up at the front of the room.
"Everyone, can you listen to me for a moment?" he said- "Starting today, we'll be classmates, so I think it would be good for us to introduce ourselves and become friends as soon as possible. Plus, it'll help us on those special exams—as a team. What do you say?"
"I agree, after all most of us don't know anything about each other. You're Yosuke, right?" someone shouted.
"That's right, my name is Hirata Yousuke. In Junior high, most people called me Yousuke, so don't worry about using my first name—feel free. I guess my hobby is sports in general, but I like soccer more than anything, and I plan to play it here. It's a pleasure to meet you all."
Yousuke looked back, specifically at where I am; I guess he wants me to be the star of the class by introducing myself. I'll take this opportunity.
"Okay, I think we should start from the back to introduce ourselves." he said
"Hello everyone, you should at least know my name by now, but just in case, my name is Oborozuki Gen. Like Yousuke, don't hesitate to use my first name; I prefer to be called that. My hobbies are playing chess and reading. I hope that after we've all introduced ourselves, you'll send me your contact numbers so we can create a school group where we can all discuss earning class points. If you have any problems, let me know and I'll help you however I can."
Next to me was a red-haired boy whom I assumed was Sudo, possibly just as he's portrayed in the story—eager to leave—but when he talks about his prized, fabulous sport, it makes me want to tell you all the lore. At least in this case, he'll only introduce himself, since he doesn't trust us much.
"Now it's your turn, friend. You look really strong; I can't wait to find out what sport you play," I said, gesturing for the tall redhead Sudo to introduce himself.
"My name is Sudo Ken, and yes, I play basketball. I came here to join the varsity team and earn a scholarship."
Next up was the famous Ice Queen, I suppose she'd introduce herself directly and say nothing more than her own name.
"I am Horikita Suzune," Horikita said as she sat back down and resumed reading her book.
Now comes my favorite presentation, the best of all, the most concise, the best ever delivered—Ayanokouji's. I hope that, after what happened before, he'll think about making it even better.
"Uhm… my name is Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. And… uh… I don't have anything special to say. I guess… I'll do my best to get along with you. And… uh… it's nice to meet you."
Wow... I knew it would be awkward, but I didn't expect it to be this awkward.
Everyone started applauding; I don't know if it was out of discomfort or respect.
So I applauded anyway.
"What a great presentation, my friend; I hope it's the last one," I said jokingly, tho unfortunately no one heard me.
"It's a pleasure to meet you too, Ayanokouji-kun." I always want to be friends with everyone, just like you; let's both do our best.