The Prodigy - Classroom Of The Elite

After my chat with Horikita, there was still some time before class started, so I thought I'd sit quietly and watch what the other students were up to.

But then, out of nowhere, Hirata came over to the back row where I was sitting. He stopped in front of me and said, "Hey, Hayashi-kun, I hope I'm not bothering you, but there's something important I'd like to talk about. Is now a good time?"

Honestly, it wasn't the best time because I wanted to keep an eye on the class happenings, but I wasn't really busy with anything anyway.

"Yeah, sure," I replied.

I assumed we'd just talk right there, but he gestured for us to move. So, I got up and followed him. We didn't go far, just to the front of the class near the window. Kushida joined us too.

"First off, congrats on getting a perfect score, Hayashi-Kun," Hirata said.

"Yeah, same here," Kushida added. "I didn't know you were that good at studying."

"Thanks," I said. "So, what's up?"

"You've probably heard about the situation—our class is in a tough spot. Most of us are running low on points, except for a few exceptions. I was thinking about coming up with a plan to boost our points," Hirata explained.

"Yeah, but I think we should start by keeping things more disciplined in class. But looking at everyone, not sure if they'd all be on board with that," I suggested.

"I agree," Kushida chimed in.

"Yeah, I was thinking the same. Plus, a lot of students didn't do well in the tests. Maybe we should find a way to help with that too. Do you mind if we talk more about it after class?" he asked, sounding genuinely worried about the class situation more than his own.

I didn't really see why he'd be so concerned, but it seemed important to him.

"Okay!" I agreed.

After that, I headed back to my seat, and Kushida did the same. Hirata stayed up front, walking over to the teacher's podium. He faced the noisy classroom and started speaking.

"Attention, everyone. Before class starts, I need you all to listen closely for a moment. Especially you, Sudou-kun." His mention of Sudou's name made everyone glance over at him, and Sudou didn't look too happy about it.

"Tch, what is it?" Sudou grumbled, clearly annoyed.

I figured Sudou might be trouble for the class down the line. Sure, he's great at sports—I've seen him play basketball, and he's doing well from what I've heard—but his temper could cause problems. I don't have much patience for people who can't keep their emotions in check.

Emotions are fine, but if you can't control them, you just end up being a nuisance, like Sudou was being right now in class.

"We didn't earn any points this month. This is a serious issue that will hugely affect our daily lives from now on. We can't make it to graduation with zero points, can we?" Hirata continued, emphasizing the gravity of the situation.

"That's true."

"You're absolutely right!" a girl's voice agreed from somewhere in the classroom, backing up Hirata's point. Hirata acknowledged her with a small nod.

"Exactly. So, we really need to earn points next month. To make that happen, we all have to work together. So please, let's make an effort not to be late for class, avoid chatting during lectures, and remember that using cell phones during class is not allowed."

If you want to lift yourself out of a tough spot, the first thing is to figure out why you ended up there in the first place. Once you know that, you can start fixing the issues, and then work your way back to the top.

From what we talked about earlier, getting our class disciplined should be our first step.

"Huh? And why do you get to tell us what to do? Plus, what if our points don't go up? Then all this is useless," Sudou complained, keeping the back-and-forth with Hirata going.

"As long as we're talking during class and showing up late, our points definitely won't rise. Even if we can't go below zero points, disruptions will, without a doubt, count against us," Hirata responded.

That made sense. If we don't start organizing ourselves and instill discipline, no matter how hard we work academically or otherwise, boosting our class points will be nearly impossible.

"I'm still not convinced. Even if we buckle down and work hard, our points might not go up," Sudou argued.

"Well, the teacher did say that being late and chatting in class were obviously bad, right?" Kushida chimed in.

"Yeah, I agree with Kushida-san. It's just common sense to avoid doing those things," another student added.

"That's just your own selfish view. You don't even know how to increase our points. Talk to me when you've figured that out," Sudou retorted, acting as if he was in charge.

"I don't think there's anything particularly wrong with what you said, Sudou-kun. I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable," Hirata said, bowing his head politely.

"However, Sudou-kun, it's a fact that unless we all cooperate, our points won't go up."

"Do whatever you want. It doesn't matter. Just leave me out of it," Sudou dismissed.

Leave him out of it? I don't think we can afford that. I guess I'll have to step in somehow.

It seemed like the class was already showing their disapproval of Sudou, which wasn't surprising. He's always late, just like today, and his academic performance isn't great either.

So, basically, Sudou isn't really contributing to the class right now except for his involvement in club activities, which might be helpful later on. But at the moment, he seems pretty useless.

After Sudou stormed out of the classroom, a few students complained about his behavior, while the rest just went back to their usual chatter.

Meanwhile, Hirata made his way to the back of the class and stopped in front of Ayanokoji's desk.

He invited both Horikita and Ayanokoji to join the after-class discussion he had mentioned to me earlier.

As expected, Horikita turned him down right away.

Then it was Ayanokoji's turn, and he also declined the invitation. So, Hirata came over to me, reminded me about our discussion, and then returned to his seat.

I can't help but wonder what Hirata is planning to do about our situation. It seems like he already has some sort of strategy in mind.

"You know, you could've joined the discussion," I mentioned to Horikita after Hirata left.

"I don't think so. Besides, I have other plans after school," she replied, her expression as straightforward as ever.

"What about you, Ayanokoji?" I asked, turning to him right next to Horikita. He had also turned down the invitation to join the discussion for some reason.

"I don't think I'd be of any help in the discussion. That's all," Ayanokoji said.

"No help? Come on, Class D is full of students who are considered 'defective,'" I said. As soon as I used that word, Horikita flinched and shot me an angry look, but I ignored it and continued talking to Ayanokoji. "So, you'd actually be quite helpful compared to some of the others."

"Still, I have to say no," he replied with his usual expressionless face.

"Okay," I said, deciding not to press him further. Ayanokoji is the kind of person who knows what he wants, so asking him repeatedly wouldn't change his mind.

After that, I went quiet, but I noticed something about Horikita. She seemed upset and frustrated. You couldn't tell just by looking at her face, but sitting next to her, I could feel her frustration. I think I knew why.

Being called "defective" seemed to have bruised her ego more than I initially thought.

Honestly, if I were in her shoes, I'd probably feel the same way.