8 chapter 8 - Dynamics
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I don't have much to say today except enjoy and if you do enjoy the story **please let me know what you think with comments, reviews, and, of course I'll take powerstones!!!**
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"Society is like a stew. If you don't stir it up every once in a while then a layer of scum floats to the top." ~Edward Abbey
"Eru Chan, have you noticed how much the class has improved in terms of infractions compared to last month?" Kikyo asks me cheerfully as we leave the classroom.
"Of course, it was a trivial issue, but I don't deserve much credit for the improvement. All I did was ask you to raise the class's morale a little. You, Ayanokoji, Horikita, and Hirata have done more to solve that problem," I say while thinking to myself how relieved I was that I didn't have to deal with that issue personally. It was a trivial one, but would have been harder for me since many in the class find me odd. But either way, the issue would have resolved itself eventually. People don't like being at the bottom.
Kikyo beams at me, then clasps my hand tightly. "So I did well, didn't I?" she asks.
"That is one way to put it," I reply, studying the girl. She clearly had an ulterior motive.
"Well, don't you think I deserve a reward for doing a good job?" she then asks me, batting her eyelashes.
"What is it that you want? Points?" I question her.
But Kikyo quickly shakes her head. "I can't accept points from Eru Chan. You never asked me for points the last time you helped me," she says, placing a finger on her lips. "I know I'm low on points, so I haven't been to the Pallet Cafe lately. Why don't you take me?"
"That... is not a terrible suggestion. I have a craving for cake at the moment," I say to her, changing my direction to the cafe; in just a few minutes, we had arrived.
"What are you ordering, Eru Chan?" Kikyo asks me with interest.
"I have an unusual appetite for chocolate today, so I might choose the triple chocolate cake. But the chocolate lava cake is also tempting," I mutter to myself, weighing my options. Kikyo has not even opened her menu yet.
"What do you suggest I get, then?" she asks me, so I examine her and consider what she might prefer.
"My personal favorite here is the strawberry sponge cake. I believe you would like it," I tell her.
"OK, then. You are the expert, so just order that for me," she says with a grin, and soon a waiter comes and takes our order. "Eru Chan, what is your opinion on the study group Hirata organized for the midterms?"
"Well, theoretically, it is a good idea. People who join study groups tend to get higher grades than those who don't, right? But what kind of people join study groups?" I ask Kikyo, giving her some time to think.
"Hard-working people?" she guesses.
"Precisely. So we can infer that the people who join study groups are the ones who need it the least. After all, if they are willing to join a study group, they are probably also willing to study on their own and thus are unlikely to fail a test." I explain to her as our cakes arrive.
"Then what are you implying? Are you saying that Yamuchi, Ike, and Sudo will fail?" she asks in a dismayed voice.
"That is the most probable scenario at this point," I say calmly, eating my cake.
"Then what should we do?" she persists.
"We? I have no interest in helping a bunch of idiots who don't care about themselves." I reply and continue to enjoy my cake, fascinated by how the chocolate oozed out of it as I pierced it with my fork.
"I assumed the reason they didn't join the study group was because they disliked Hirata," Kikyo said as she finally tasted her cake and smiled after the first bite.
"Well, that might be one of the reasons for their choice, but consider this: lazy people never admit that they are lazy. They always have an excuse, such as saying that they didn't go to the gym because they were tired. And while that might be a valid reason once in a while, it loses its credibility when repeated too often. For instance, I imagine you were tired this morning when you got ready for school, but you didn't use that as an excuse to skip the day. And even if you did, it would have been the first time you ever did that, so your excuse would have some merit. It's fine if Yamauchi, Ike, and Sudo don't want to join the study group because they don't like Hirata, although that's foolish, but then I would have to ask: are they studying in their spare time? If not, that doesn't mean they do like Hirata; it just means their claim and excuse lack legitimacy."
"But don't they realize they will be expelled? Is there no solution?" she asks me.
"Of course there is," I reply.
"What is it?" she asks, gazing at me.
"As I said before, I have no intention of telling you," I say, taking another bite of my cake.
"I see... Is there any way I can hire you again like I did with Horikita?" she asks me.
"You don't have the means to do that this time," I say.
"Do you dislike the idea of saving them that much?" she whispered.
But I shake my head. "It has nothing to do with my preferences, but your payment last time was more than enough to make me help you."
She looks at me, puzzled. "What do you mean? I have enough money to buy you another cake. Is that what you want?"
I sigh. "You don't understand, Kikyo. The last time I helped you with Horikita, I told you that I would only take a job that interests me. So, I took the last job because you intrigued me, so you could say you mostly paid me by partially satisfying my curiosity as I learned more about you during that job. I'm telling you now that you don't have the resources to ask for my help with Ike, Yamauchi, and Sudo, as you have no material wealth to afford my assistance, and I doubt I will discover anything new about you by helping you."
Kikyo looks surprised, then smiles. "I see, so Eru Chan meant it when he said he was interested in me," she thinks to herself. "What if I answer any one of your questions completely honestly in exchange for your help?"
"How would I know if you plan to answer truthfully?" I ask her.
"I guess you wouldn't," she smiles and says, "but I suppose then you would learn that I'm a big liar." She uses a chilling voice that would shock anyone who heard it from a cute girl like Kikyo.
I put down my fork at her words and looked at her. The way she said them made the offer irresistible. I felt like I was about to make a deal with the devil, but I couldn't resist. "I'll help," I say, as I begin to think about how I could benefit from this deal.
"Yay, I knew Eru Chan would agree!" she says, eating her cake.
"It's not that your request is difficult; I just lacked interest in taking it. But now I'm quite pleased with this exchange," I tell her.
"So how are we going to make them pass?" she looks at me, curious.
"It's quite simple; you just need an incentive," I tell her, taking a bite of my cake and continuing with a full mouth, "points won't do, as I'm not giving them any, and you don't have much to spare, but luckily we don't need points."
"Then what will we use?"
"I'm surprised you haven't figured it out yet. You should have realized it by now. Those three are infatuated with you, especially Ike and Yamauchi. If you invite them to study with you, they will surely agree, just for the opportunity to get closer to you or to impress you as good Class D students. You wouldn't want your crush to be disappointed with you, would you? Besides, you have some of the highest grades in the class, so it works out perfectly. All you have to do is tutor them, and their fantasies will keep them coming back. You can also invite a few other classmates," I tell her, but she doesn't seem willing until I add the last detail.
"I see that could work… but do you think it will work on Sudo too? He can be a bit difficult to deal with," Kikyo asks.
"It will work, believe me," I say, and Kikyo nods firmly as if convinced by my words.
"Alright, then, this is doable! Everyone can pass and avoid an expulsion, even Sudo. All we need to aim for is above 33. Even if someone guessed on a multiple choice test, they would likely get around 25!" Kikyo says confidently.
"33?" I ask Kikyo, curious about where she got that number.
"That's how many points Chabashira sensei said we need to pass the test," Kikyo says, making me hold my head and sigh. "What's wrong?" she asks.
"Is that the same logic Hirata's study group is using?" I ask, wondering how widespread this misconception is, and Kikyo slowly nods. "Let's go, lead me to the study group. I need to talk to the members of the group." I say, after paying for our meals and leaving the cafe.
"What's wrong, Eru Chan?"
"You'll see when we get there. I don't want to repeat myself," I tell Kushida, and in a few minutes, we arrive at Hirata's study group.
***
"Kushida, Eru, it's nice to see you both. Are you here to join the study group?" Hirata asks us warmly.
"I'm not here to interfere with your studies but to prevent you from making a mistake," I say calmly, noticing their puzzled expressions. "According to Kikyo Chan, you all seem to think that 33% is the passing mark for the midterms. Is that so?"
"Is that so?" Hirata asks with a puzzled expression. "We do believe that, yes. But are we wrong to do so?" He looks at me with a hint of hope, probably hoping whatever I would say will help Class D.
"Indeed," I reply and say nothing more. I can feel their irritation; Hirata breaks the silence before anyone else does.
"I'm sorry, Eru, but could you explain a bit more?"
"Chabashira sensei mentioned two things when we took our practice test. You should have paid attention to the details, they are crucial in this school. She said the test was for reference, and there was no risk associated with it. This raises an important question: whose reference is it for? The students' or the school's?" I say, letting them process my words.
"If it's for the school, then failing the test could be beneficial. It would lower the expectations for Class D and give us an advantage. But I'm not convinced that's the case. If it were, then there would be a risk associated with passing. We could score too well and jeopardize our future opportunities. I have verified that teachers are not allowed to lie about school matters, so it must be true that passing this test won't harm us. Therefore, this test is meant for our reference, not the school's or the teacher's."
"Then why does this matter if it's unrelated to the school?" Hirata asks me with a curious tone.
"That's because the 33% passing mark must have then been derived from a different reference. Otherwise, there would be a clear disadvantage to scoring too high on the test. That's obvious, isn't it?" I say as I bite my thumb.
"I see. I understand your reasoning," Hirata says, taking a moment to reflect. "But couldn't 33% be the normal passing mark set by the school?" He asks me softly.
"It would be foolish to settle for just above 33% and risk being wrong. But you are mistaken anyway. I told you there were two details you should have noticed. The second one is how Chabashira sensei phrased her warning: 'If you fail a test in this school, you will be expelled immediately. On this test, that would have been seven of you who scored under 33%.' Don't you find that odd? She said, 'On this test,' implying that the passing mark could vary depending on the test situation. This leads us to the question of how the passing grades are determined. I think it's fairly obvious that they are based on the average class grade divided by two. The average grade on the last test was 66, so the passing mark was 33." I say, finishing my explanation.
There was a brief silence, and I felt some stares, but Hirata was the first to speak. "Thank you for sharing this with us, Eru. This could be very helpful for us. Your reasoning skills are amazing; I'm always amazed by how you think." He said with a warm smile.
"I appreciate your gratitude; I will leave it to you to inform the rest of the class about this discovery. It is in everyone's best interest to perform well on the test." I say, without looking at him.
"Huh? But wait, if that's how the test works, can't we just leave all the questions blank and get zero together? Then we'd all pass, right?" Hasebe asks me with a bright smile.
"That's too optimistic. It's too risky. Someone could easily betray us. And do you really think someone like Koenji would cooperate with that plan?" I say, looking at them with a blank expression. I can tell they agreed with me after a moment of thought. "Well, then. I have nothing more to say. I'll be leaving now."
"Do you think that's all we need to do to prepare for the midterms?" Kikyo asks me, following me out of the classroom.
"Give me your phone," I tell her as I check my point balance. 138,900 exactly. I sigh as I transfer her 20,000 points. "Two days before the midterm, buy the test papers of a second or third year from Class D. Don't pay more than 15,000 points. I'm sure you know how to negotiate. Start with a low offer and act clueless. You should be fine. And make sure to pick an easy target. The poorer and lonelier, the better. Make sure you hand out the test papers to everyone after school the the first chance you get. And inform them they should study hard, starting from their weakest areas. It's the only way to ensure everyone's survival." I say, taking candy out of my bag.
She giggles at my words. "What should I do with the extra points you gave me?"
"That's so you don't ask me for a reward this time," I say, making her frown.
***
"20:00," I say to myself, looking at the clock. I still have more than 12 hours until class. I decide to get a drink from one of the vending machines outside. A hot coffee sounds good. I stand up from my bed, where I was sitting, with my knees to my chest, and leave my room.
The night is quiet and serene. I suppose being an insomniac has its perks. The silence is soothing. There are vending machines inside the dormitory, but I prefer the fresh air.
"What is your purpose for following me to this school, Suzune?" I heard a male voice say in one of the side streets of the campus. Suzune and that voice, they must be the Horikitas. I remained silent and listened.
"Brother, I have changed. I'm not the same weak girl I used to be. I have improved myself, and I will catch up to you," Suzune says, looking at him with determination.
"Catch up? Is that what you believe?" I hear Manabu say as I start recording from behind the wall using my phone's selfie camera.
"You are still in Class D, and you still don't understand. You are always following my shadow; that's one of your flaws, Suzune," Manabu says, looking at her with disappointment.
"You will see, I will make it to Class A like you someday," Suzune says, looking at him with defiance.
"Suzune, please be quiet, and don't speak of things you don't comprehend," Manabu says, cutting her off.
"I do understand; I know how the school system works… I know it's possible to reach Class A…" Suzune says, trying to justify herself.
"Suzune, let me explain this to you clearly. You are not capable of reaching Class A. The fact that you came to this school to follow me just proves that. You are nothing but a burden to me and our family." Manabu says, grabbing her arms and pinning her to the wall. "It's truly a shame that such trash like you was born in our family." He says, raising his fist to hit her. I finish my recording and walk into the alley, playing the recording out loud.
As he turns his gaze towards me, I say, "I doubt it is a common occurrence for someone to obtain blackmail material on the student council president."
"Eru?" Suzune asks, detached as I approach, but Manabu reacts differently. As soon as I get close to him, he attempts to kick my right hand holding the phone.
I swiftly evade his kick by arching my back and dropping my phone to the ground, letting it play the recording of his abusive words and violent actions. Manabu looks enraged and charges at me with a fist, but I deflect it with my arm and grab him, pulling him closer to strike him with a headbutt.
He stumbles back and tries to knock me down by sweeping my legs, but I leap over his foot and execute a spinning kick by positioning my hands on the ground and swinging my legs, hitting him with the heel of my foot on his face. Manabu instantly collapses to the ground, bleeding from his nose and mouth. Suzune gasped and ran to his side while I picked up my phone and stopped the recording.
"An imprudent move, Manabu Horikita. Or should I address you as Mr. President? Either way, I would have thought attacking an underclassman would be beneath you."
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I really enjoyed writing this chapter I think it's one of my favorites hope all of you enjoyed it too.
