Chapter 33: Dreams Are Always Beautiful
Feeling Chabashira-sensei's intense gaze, Hikigaya slightly lowered his head, avoiding her eyes.
"This school judges students by merit, and you lot are just trash who can only earn this many points."
Chabashira's words plunged the class into a heavy silence.
[Kushida Kikyō: "Looks like no matter how things change, Chabashira-sensei's view of Class D won't change. But… At least this time, we really changed things. We're not at zero points anymore."]
[Shinohara: "Chabashira-sensei has always taught Class D students, hasn't she? Even with a few points left, we're probably just like the students she taught before."]
[Sudo, seeing things clearly, said: "This result has little to do with our class. It's more about that guy named Hikigaya. In other words, he changed this outcome single-handedly, so it's normal for people to say that."]
[Ike: "By the way, Sudo, have you changed or something…?"]
[Sudo: "Have I? I just don't want to drag the class down. Seeing him sacrifice so much to protect the class, I can't help but feel a bit guilty."]
[Yamauchi: "Sudo, you're surprisingly… kind. But this guy's just a fictional character. You don't need to care so much."]
[Sudo nodded, saying nothing more.]
Chabashira-sensei picked up a pen and began writing on the blackboard.
'Class A: 940 cp'
'Class B: 650 cp'
'Class C: 490 cp'
'Class D: 97 cp'
"These are the current class points for each class. Every class point translates to 100 private points for each student."
"At the start of the semester, all classes received 1,000 class points. And you… managed to reduce your 1,000 points to 97."
Hikigaya looked at the board, calculating the gap between Class A and Class D.
In terms of personnel, overall strength, Class A was far ahead of Class D. Plus… with a monster like Sakayanagi, rising to Class A was practically impossible.
Moreover, since class points were distributed monthly, the gap between the two classes would only widen. Avoiding falling further behind would already be a miracle, let alone catching up.
Not to mention Class A—even reaching Class C was a daunting task for Class D now. Fortunately, Hikigaya had never dreamed of rising to a higher class. As long as they maintained enough class points for a peaceful three years, that was enough for him.
But…
His deskmate, Horikita Suzune, didn't seem to think the same way.
With her goal of catching up to her brother and reaching Class A, she would undoubtedly do everything to chase the upper classes.
But it was Kushida Kikyō who stood up first, asking Chabashira: "Is there a way to increase our points?"
Without a doubt, she voiced the question most students cared about. No one wanted to scrape by on free supplies for three years.
In response, Chabashira gave a slight smile.
"Of course. If you earn more points than Class C, you'll become Class C, and they'll drop to Class D. The next opportunity is the upcoming midterm exam, where you can earn up to 100 class points based on your results."
Listening to Chabashira's words, Horikita Suzune seemed busy with something. Hikigaya glanced over with his peripheral vision—yep, she was still taking notes.
'She's way too serious…'
Ike: "Only a hundred points, huh…"
Yamauchi: "But it's better than nothing. Plus… if we can get those hundred points, we'll close the gap with Class C by a lot."
Listening to their conversation, Hikigaya remained completely unmoved.
He didn't believe that with Class D's current lineup, they could outperform Class C in an exam. And… even if they somehow won, getting a full hundred class points was unlikely.
Overestimating oneself is a common human flaw… Hikigaya knew this well.
Sure enough, just as Ike and Yamauchi finished speaking, Chabashira slowly pulled out a large sheet of white paper and stuck it on the blackboard.
"These are the results from the last quiz. Scores only trash would get."
Since the school didn't differentiate between humanities and sciences, all grades were calculated comprehensively. This was a headache even for Hikigaya. While he could score near perfect in humanities, his science grades… were Terrible.
Even putting in his best effort, he could only hover around the middle of the class. To be honest… managing to stay in the middle with such scores was truly fitting for Class D.
Chabashira-sensei's words spared no one's feelings. She turned around, speaking with a hint of coldness: "Starting from the next exam—midterms and finals—anyone who fails will be expelled immediately."
Her words sent the already struggling "three idiots" into a panic. Honestly, even Hikigaya was startled. If those guys got expelled, it wouldn't be long before… it was his turn.
'Damn science!'
No matter what, he couldn't let them get expelled.
Though Hikigaya's heart was filled with determination, he had no idea how to proceed.
After all, he didn't even know how to improve his own grades, let alone help others.
After briefly explaining some school rules, the class meeting finally ended.
Honestly, though he had expected it, class meetings were indeed terrifying.
As Hikigaya was thinking this, Sudo, one of the "three idiots," approached him again.
"Hey, Hikigaya, what're we gonna do? I remember your grades aren't great either."
"Instead of worrying about me, you should worry about yourself. Even if I get expelled, it'll be after you."
Sudo scratched his head awkwardly at Hikigaya's jab.
After spending time together, he had grown used to Hikigaya's bluntness. Getting hit with varying degrees of verbal blows daily had made him somewhat immune.
But this time, it wasn't a joke.
This school was seriously out to get them.
As Sudo was thinking this, he unintentionally said: "If only sports could count toward our regular grades."
"You're dreaming too much. Instead of that, you should actually study."
"I can't study at all, you know that…"
"While I can't argue with that, don't lump me in with you…"
( End of this chapter)