21 Chapter 21 – Trio of idiots

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The next day, as the mid-term exam results were about to be announced, the efficiency of the Advanced Nurturing High School in marking and releasing results was commendable. The exams finished yesterday, and the results were ready today.

Apart from Class D, the other three classes were calm and composed, without any worries or relief. At most, every student was excitedly discussing that they had finally survived the school's test and wouldn't be expelled.

In Class C, Yukio even instructed Ishizaki not to bother about the results since they had copied from the answer key and were sure to score high. Instead, he suggested Ishizaki should go check on Class D's situation.

Considering the commotion in Class D the previous day, with chair throwing and heated arguments, many in Class C had noticed and reported it to Yukio.

Ishizaki, slightly scratching his head and glancing at the classroom surveillance cameras, seemed worried about openly skipping class and losing class points. But recalling Yukio's authority and the additional personal points gained from selling the fake answers, he obediently set off for Class D.

Ishizaki, obediently following Yukio's orders, pleased him. It seemed like this subordinate was getting better at following directions. As for the class points? That wasn't an issue for Yukio. He effortlessly took balloons and a pump from the teacher's desk drawer, ready to repeat his trick. The teacher of Class C, Sakagami, was quite skilled at deceiving the school administration, always keeping the necessary tools in the drawer.

Reaching near Class D, Ishizaki easily noticed the stark difference in the atmosphere compared to Class C. If his class was jubilant, Class D looked like frost-stricken eggplants, everyone was listless and droopy.

He even saw Sudo, his fellow basketball club member, looking utterly dejected near the classroom door, his face pale and sweating coldly as if awaiting a grim verdict.

Ishizaki felt a sense of empathy, even relief. Had it not been for Yukio in his class, he, being poor in studies, would probably be in the same agonizing wait for results like Sudo.

Determined to follow Yukio's lead more diligently in the future, Ishizaki resolved to fulfill whatever task was given to him.

The wait was short. The teacher of Class D soon entered the classroom, and noticing everyone's focus on the blackboard, Ishizaki cautiously approached the back door of Class D to eavesdrop.

Just as he leaned against the wall, he heard a Class D student asking, "Teacher, when will our mid-term results be announced? Other classes seem to have theirs today."

The teacher's chilling and slightly smoky voice responded, "Right now. If we wait until after school to announce, there won't be enough time to process the expulsion procedures."

This statement caused an uproar in Class D, like water being dropped into hot oil, causing splatters and chaos.

"Expulsion? Teacher, does this mean… someone failed and will be expelled?!"

"Who is it? Who failed and will be expelled?!"

"Wait, teacher, you mentioned many expulsion procedures. Could it be that more than one person in our class will be expelled?!"

"No, it must be students from other classes who failed, right?"

Listening to this, Ishizaki almost laughed out loud. What were these Class D underachievers thinking? It was evident that other classes wouldn't have failing students.

He had sold the answers; he knew that the top students in Classes A and B didn't need them, and his own Class C had the correct answers, leaving no room for failure.

The teacher of Class D didn't respond to the students' queries but simply attached the grade sheet to the blackboard with magnets and drew a red line that seemed to signify a death line, separating the last three names from the rest: "That's it."

"Ike, Yamauchi, Sudo, you three have subjects below passing marks. The average this time is very low, the pass mark only being in the thirties, yet combined, you fell short of the pass mark by twenty-eight points, showing your laziness."

"So, you three will be expelled. Now you may return to your dormitories to pack, and then come to the office with me to process your expulsion."

The teacher's cold and ruthless conclusion hammered down like a judge's verdict, shattering everyone's hopes and forcing them to face the harsh reality, classmates would be leaving. It brought a genuine sense of loss.

The majority of Class D breathed a sigh of relief, a typical human reaction when disaster doesn't strike them personally. They couldn't empathize with those facing expulsion.

In fact, some had already noticed that the three failing students were the ones who frequently refused to join study sessions.

Upon learning that failing the mid-terms would lead to expulsion, every class member contributed to organizing study groups. Good students tutored the weaker ones, which led to a slight improvement for some, barely scraping through with low passing grades.

However, the troublesome trio of Class D, who loved to play and had no interest in studying, participated in the study groups half-heartedly and without efficiency, leading to their current predicament, which seemed self-inflicted.

Ishizaki, observing from the sidelines, saw Sudo stand up in utter despair, eventually slumping down weakly, as if his knees had given out: "This is a joke, right? I'm being expelled?"

Yamauchi was in turmoil, crying out, "Impossible! Why am I being expelled?"

Ike protested, "Teacher, isn't there another way? Like a retest or something?"

But even without the teacher's reply, Ishizaki knew that the school had no provision for retests.

Then, a bright-looking boy from Class D, Hirata, stood up to plead for the trio: "Teacher, may I request to see their exam papers?"

"Hirata," the teacher saw through his intentions. "While it's rare for the grading team to make mistakes, I anticipated your disbelief. I have brought their papers."

Upon reviewing the papers, Hirata's expression turned to one of despair, confirming the trio's expulsion was unavoidable.

"How could this be…!" Hirata's face was even grimmer than Sudo's, signifying that his classmates' expulsion was an unbearable sorrow for him.

While others tried to console Hirata, telling him the expulsion of the disliked trio might be a good thing, it was clear that the three were really not accepted by most of their classmates.

However, while Ishizaki's attention was on Sudo, he missed something crucial happening at the back of Class D.

Ayanokouji took out his school phone and showed Horikita his remaining personal points: 88,000 points.

Confused by Ayanokouji's sudden display of wealth, Horikita wondered what it had to do with the trio being tricked by Class C into expulsion.

Seeing her perplexed and almost angry, Ayanokouji faintly added, "The teacher said at the beginning of the year that personal points can buy anything within the school."

This revelation struck Horikita like a bolt of lightning, illuminating a new possibility.

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