7 Chapter 7

My receipt showed the price of each item and the remaining amount of points. The payment had gone through without any problems. I poured hot water into my noodle cup while Light and I waited for Horikita. I'd thought it might be tricky, but opening the lid and pouring hot water up to the line was simple enough.

Anyway, this school was certainly eerie.

What merit could every student possibly have that would warrant such a massive allowance. Considering that there were about 160 people enrolled in my grade, that means that the school had forked out 16,000,000 yen to the first-years alone this month. Even for a government-supported school, that amount seemed quite excessive.

"How does this school benefit from giving us this much money?"

"They probably wouldn't." Light said nonchalantly.

Horikita, having just finished paying, shot him a quizzical look.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just what I said. This school probably wouldn't benefit from giving every student 100,000 yen a month."

It seemed like Light was dropping a few more subtle hints for Horikita, but it seemed that she had no interest in looking for a hidden meaning in his words. She just stared at him like he was an idiot.

"Ah, whatever. Forget I said anything," Light sighed.

"I won't tell either of you what to do, but I'd advise against wasting money. It's difficult to fix frivolous spending habits. Once a person gets used to an easy life, they find they need more and more. When you lose it, the shock can be great," Horikita said.

I had no intention of wasting my points on miscellaneous junk, and I had no doubt that Light didn't either. After paying and exiting the store, I found Sudō seated outside, waiting for me. When I saw him, he gently waved me over. I waved in return, feeling somewhat embarassed, yet happy.

"Are you really going to eat here?" I asked him.

"Of course. It's just common sense."

Sudō perplexed me with his matter-of-fact reply. Horikita sighed in exasperation.

"I'm going back. I'll be stripped of my dignity if I spend more time here," she said.

"What do you mean 'dignity'? We're just high school students. We're ordinary. Or, what, are you the high-born daughter of some noble family or something?"

Horikita didn't flinch at Sudō's harsh tone. Seemingly irritated, Sudō set his noodle cup on the ground and stood.

"Huh? Hey, listen to people when they're talking to you! Hey!" he said.

"What's his problem? He just sudenly got angry." Horikita said this to me and Light, completely ignoring Sudō. This was apparently too much for Sudō, who started to shout.

"Hey, get over here! I'll smack that smug look off your face!" he yelled.

"Hey, while it's true that Horikita is pretty rude you're also taking this too far." Light said.

It was apparent that Sudō's patience had run out. "Huh? What was that? She has a bratty, obnoxious attitude. That's bad, especially for a girl!"

"For a girl? That's rather outdated thinking. Ayanokōji, I would advise you not to become his friend," Horikita said. With that, she turned her back on Sudō.

"Hey, wait! You shitty girl!"

"Calm down." I help Sudō back as he actually tried to grab Horikita. She made her way in the direction of the dorms without stopping or glancing back.

"What the hell is her deal? Goddamn it!" he shouted.

"There are many different types of people, you know." I said.

"Yeah and besides, your attitude wasn't exactly praiseworthy either." Light added.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sudō glared at Light.

Still staring at Light, Sudō ripped the cover from his noodle cup and began eating. Just a little while ago, he'd fought in front of the register, too. He probably had a short fuse.

"Hey, you guys first years? This is our spot."

As Sudō slurped his ramen, three boys called out to us. They seemed to have just come out of the same store and were carrying the same brand of noodle cups.

"Who are you? I was already here. You're in the way. Get lost," Sudō barked.

"You certainly have a way with words, Sudō." Light said sarcastically.

"You hear this guy? 'Get lost,' he says. What a cocky little first-year punk."

The three laughed in Sudō's face. Sudō shot up, slamming his noodle cup against the ground. The broth and noodles splashed everywhere. I heard Light stifle a laugh from beside me. I knew he was going to make fun of me for buying Sudō those noodles later, but I ignored him for now.

"'First-year punk,' huh? You tryin' to make fun of me, huh?!"

Sudō had an extremely short fuse. If I had to guess, he was the type to immediately threaten anyone or anything that crossed him.

"You're awfully mouthy, considering we're second-year students. We already put out bags here, see?"

Plop! With those words, the second-year students put down their bags and guffawed loudly.

"See, our stuff's here. Now, beat it," one of them said.

"You got a lot of guts, asshole."

Sudō didn't back down, unfazed by being outnumbered. It looked like fists were going to fly at any moment. I, of course, didn't want any part of it and I'm sure Light didn't either.

"Oh, wow, scary. What class are you in? Wait, never mind. I think I know. You're in Class D, aren't you?"

"Yeah, so what?" Sudō snapped.

The upperclassmen students exchanced glances and burst into laughter. Seeing this, Light and I also exchanged glances, as if to say That wasn't just a guess, right?

"You hear that? He's in Class D! I knew it! It was a dead giveaway!"

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean? Hey!"

As Sudō barked at them, the boys grinned and stepped backwards.

"Aw, you poor things. Since you're 'defective,' we'll let you off the hook, just for today. Let's get going, guys."

It appears Light and I had been lumped in with Sudō.

"Hey, don't run away! Hey!" Sudō shouted.

"Yeah, yeah, keep on yapping. You guys'll be in hell soon enough anyway.

Be in hell?

They appeared calm and composed. I wondered what they'd meant. Previously, I'd been certain this school would be filled with upper-class young men and women, but there seemed to be plenty of rowdy, combative people like Sudō or those upperclassmen.

"Ah, damn it! If those had been nice second-year students, or cute girls, that would've been great. Instead, we had to deal with those annoying morons."

Sudō didn't bother to clean up his mess. He thrust his hands into his pockets before heading back. I looked at the wall outside the convenience store, discovering two surveillance cameras.

"That might lead to problems later," I muttered.

Light seemed to agree, as he reluctantly bent down and started to help me pick up the cup and clean up the mess. Come to think of it, as soon as those second-year students found out Sudō was in Class D, their attitudes had changed. Although it ate at me, I couldn't explain it.

I made idle conversation with Light as we headed back towards the dormitory, our homes from that day onward.

"It appears we've been blessed with a rather valuable hint," Light said.

"Yeah. We should let our classmates know tomorrow." I replied.

"Speaking of our classmates, what's your impression of them, Ayanokōji?" he asked me.

My impression of my classmates, huh? Although I hadn't spent much time with them at all, I had already begun to paint a picture of what they were like in my head. It was much easier to do so when you have six classmates, as opposed to the usual thirty-nine.

"Shiro has caught my interest the most," I said.

"Really, why's that?"

"I take it you aren't a chess player then, Light. During Blank's game against Lelouch, she displayed extraordinary calculative abilities. Her moves were played with utmost accuracy."

"Ah, that's right. I have played a bit of chess but never really studied it seriously."

"Who are you most interested in then, Light?" I asked him.

"Definitely, it would have to be Sora. He claimed to be a shut-in his whole life but had no problem speaking up to our class. Additionally, his deductive reasoning is very impressive especially since he had barely anything to go on and he didn't look like he had thought that hard about it at all. Oh, and his one move during that chess game seemed to really shake Lelouch up. I can't help but be intruiged by him."

"I'd be inclined to agree, Sora is also very enigmatic. But then again, our whole class is enigmatic."

Class 1-E was shrouded in mystery. Ishihara-sensei had told us we were an 'experimental class' but refused to elaborate on what exactly that meant. Additionally, we were supposedly made up of generational talents which would pique almost anyone's interest.

"That's true," Light said with a small laugh.

"Oh, right, Ayanokōji," he called out to me. "Can I have your contact info? I think it will be a good idea for us to establish connections within our class as soon as possible."

He was definitely right about that. If our deductions about being disadvantaged and having to compete against other classes was true, then we'll have to do everything we can possibly do to make up for that. Establishing trust and relationships between the students of Class E was one of those vital things.

After exchanging contact information with Light, I received a keycard for Room 401 in the dorms and a handbook containing information about the dorm's rules. It seemed that Light's room was on a different floor than mine, so I split off from him on the elevator and made my way to my room.

"So they don't place restrictions on electricity or gas usage?"

I'd initially assumed that the school would deduct the cost from our points. This school really went to great lengths to have a perfect system for its students. However, I was a little surprised that they'd implemented co-ed dormitories. After all, this was high school, so the rules stated that unsuitable romantic relationships were frowned upon. In short, sex was strictly forbidden... obviously. I mean, a member of the clergy wouldn't say that engaging in illicit sexual activity was okay.

I lay on my bed and thought about everything I'd learned in this short day. I'd met a very intruiging group of classmates and seemingly made my first friend, in Light. This school seemed to operate in a very luxurious yet mysterious fashion, and I felt that our class had only scratched the surface when it comes to deciphering the inner workings of the school.

Most importantly though, I was finally free. When I wanted to eat something, I could eat it. When I wanted to do something, I could do it. I almost didn't want to graduate. Before being accepted, I'd honestly thought I would've been fine either way, that the difference between passing and failing would have been trivial. But my true feelings finally welled up. I was glad to have been admitted here.

This is the start of my new life, my chance to redefine myself. For the first time since I can remember, I am truly excited.