AM AM AM

~ Next Day

Baku, who was relaxing in class, heard the classroom become quite noisy because many students had already used their points, and some female students wanted to borrow points, like Kei, who asked Kushida for help.

Looking around, Baku saw Ayanokouji walking toward his desk, with Horikita observing this.

"Are you free during the break? Would you like to have lunch with me?" Horikita asked with an expressionless face.

Upon hearing that Horikita and Ayanokouji were going to the cafeteria, Baku said, "I'm coming too. You don't need to treat me; I'm just bored being alone in class." With that, the three of them walked to the cafeteria.

Arriving at the cafeteria and having ordered food, Ayanokouji noticed that Baku hadn't ordered anything and asked, "Madarame, do you want me to treat you?" Ayanokouji asked with an expressionless face.

I replied, "I'm not hungry or thirsty right now; you guys can just eat. I just want to hang out here; class is too boring."

Ayanokouji, noticing that Baku wasn't hungry, saw the meal that Horikita had treated him to and asked, "Are you sure about treating me to this expensive special lunch package?"

Horikita answered, "Of course. I told you that you could order whatever you wanted."

When Ayanokouji was about to eat, he noticed Horikita's expression and paused.

Horikita asked, "What's wrong, Ayanokouji? Hurry up and eat."

Hearing this, Ayanokouji started eating.

As Ayanokouji ate, Horikita said, "I need you to listen to me for a moment. Before the break, it seemed like Hirata and the others had started making plans.

They were planning to form a study group in preparation for the next exam, but there were three people with low scores who refused Hirata's invitation."

Baku and Ayanokouji heard this and already knew that the people in question were Sudou, Yamauchi, and Ike.

Continuing from before, Horikita said, "It seems they don't like to study. I can't understand how some people can get failing grades on the exam.

But the fact that some people get failing grades... it's inevitable."

Hearing Horikita's words, Ayanokouji replied, "Your words are pretty harsh."

"I'm just stating facts. If this continues, they're likely to get failing grades again. To move up from Class D, it's not enough to just avoid losing points; we also need to earn them," Horikita explained.

Ayanokouji asked, "So you want to form a study group like Hirata's? To help Sudou, Ike, and Yamauchi? Are you serious?"

"I'm serious. If they continue like this, they'll bring down the entire Class D. If I was put in Class D, I would still aim to move up to Class A," Horikita said confidently.

Hearing this, Ayanokouji said, "Wait a minute, did you just say Class A, not Class C?"

"Class A. I can't accept being placed in Class D," Horikita stated.

Ayanokouji asked, "So the first step is to address those who get failing grades?"

"If you understand, then you know what I mean," Horikita replied.

Hearing this, Ayanokouji said to Horikita, "Please don't involve me."

"You ate it, didn't you? You enjoyed my special lunch package, right? I haven't forgiven you for plotting with Kushida and lying to me to lure me out. If you want me to forget about it, you have to help me. Your task is to convince the three of them to join my study group," Horikita said, handing him a piece of paper with her phone number.

After Horikita left, Baku asked, "Are you going to do it?"

Hearing Madarame's question, Ayanokouji thought, 'This is the first girl's contact I've gotten in high school, not that I'm happy or anything, but since it's already in my hand, I might as well keep it.'

After putting the paper in his pocket, Ayanokouji said, "Since I've received it, I guess I have to do it, right? Okay, let's do it. Do you want to come, Madarame?"

Baku, hearing this, became excited and immediately agreed.

As they left the classroom, they saw Ike in the hallway. Ayanokouji approached him and was about to say something, but Ike, seeing his classmate approaching, immediately said, "I refuse. I'm not interested in studying for this test."

Yamauchi had the same answer; he wasn't interested either.

When they found Sudou, Baku saw him getting angry and grabbing Ayanokouji by the collar, saying, "What did you say!?"

Seeing this, Ayanokouji said to Madarame, "I should ask someone who has a better relationship with them for help."

Baku asked, "Do you want to call Kushida? If so, it might work."

On the phone, Kushida's voice was heard, "Hello?"

Ayanokouji, who heard it, said, "Ha-eh?? What's that sound??"

" I'm sorry, did you hear that? I was in the shower; I just finished." said Kushida

Hearing this, Ayanokouji said on the phone, "Congratulations, Kushida, you've been chosen as the ambassador for spreading joy, for the sake of our class. Try as hard as you can."

After hearing Ayanokouji's explanation, Kushida said, "A study group to help Sudou and the others? Horikita suggested it? If there's a friend struggling, of course I'll help." 

Ayanokouji replied, "You don't have to do it if you don't want to."

"It's okay, it seems too cruel to be expelled just because of a failing grade. We just started to become friends; why should we be separated already? That's too harsh. Can I ask for one thing in return? I want to join the study group," Kushida said.

After everything was resolved, Ayanokouji turned off his phone and looked at Madarame. "It seems like the study group issue has been resolved for now. The only thing I worry about is whether the three of them will be able to accept and remember the lessons from the group study session."

Baku, hearing Ayanokouji's question, said, "You don't need to worry. Even if they don't understand, I'm sure you'll find a solution so our class doesn't get a low score." He still remembered that in the anime, Ayano would meet with seniors and buy test questions with Horikita's help.

'I will have fun tonight because Kushida will show her true colors. I guarantee she'll become a woman who follows my instructions.'