<h4>Chapter 22: Chapter 7:?The group of failures</h4>


    It''s the first weekend of May. Ike and the others started listening to the teachers silently. Only Sudou kept sleeping through ss, but no one tried to stop him. Because no one find a reliable way of increasing our points, Sudou''s habits were not fixed.


    However, Sudou still received the ire of a lot of the ssmates every day.


    ... I''m sleepy too. Because it''s the period right before lunch, it''s hard to stay awake. I also stayed upte watching a movie. It''d be great if I could fall asleep now...


    "W-whoah!?"


    As I was nodding off, my right arm experienced some severe pain.


    "What is it, Ayanokouji? You suddenly shouted. Is this your rebellious age?"


    "N-no. Sorry, Chiyabashira-sensei. Some dust entered my eye..."


    Normally, the students would''ve started whispering, but they stayed quiet and sent me nces instead, still being wary of the points. Rubbing the sore part of my arm, I red at my neighbor. In my line of sight, I saw Horikita holding apass needle in her hand.


    This isn''t a normal situation. Why does she even havepasses on hand? I don''t even think there''s a reason to use them during ss. As soon as ss ended, I went up to Horikita.


    "There are things that are OK to do and things that are not ok!" Compasses are dangerous!"


    "Are you mad at me?"


    "You made a hole in my arm! A hole!"


    "What are you talking about? When did I poke Ayanokouji-kun with apass needle?"


    "You''re holding a dangerous weapon in your hand."


    "Are you saying I stabbed you just because I''m holding something in my hand?"


    I woke up not because of the ss, but from the pain.


    "Be careful. If they saw you dozing off, our points would be subtracted."


    Horikita started being wary of such things in order to get us out of ss D. Protesting to the school resulted in nothing for her. Ah, it hurts. Dammit, if Horikita dozes off during ss, I''ll do the same thing to her.


    As everyone stood up to go to lunch, Hirata started to talk.


    "The test that Chiyabashira-sensei mentioned ising up soon. Everyone understands that they''ll have to drop out of school if they receive failing marks. So, I think that it would be best if we form study groups."


    It looks like the hero of ss D decided to start a charity project.


    "If you neglect your studies, you''ll immediately receive failing grades and drop out. I want to avoid that situation. Studying isn''t solely for avoiding that situation, because there is also a high possibility that our test scores are reflected on our points. If we get high grades, the assessment of our ss would probably go up. I asked some of the people who got good grades to help out. So, I would like people who are worried about their grades toe participate in the study group. Of course, everyone is wee to join."


    Hirata stared at Sudou while he made his speech.


    "... Tch."


    Sudou averted his eyes, crossed his arms, then closed his eyes.


    Every since Sudou rejected Hirata''s invitation to do a self-introduction, their rtionship has been bad.


    "From 5 o''clock today until the day of the test, I n to study every day for 2 hours in this ssroom. If you have any thoughts of participating, pleasee. Of course, it''s fine if you have to leave halfway. That''s all."


    As soon as he said that, several of the students with failing marks stood up and went to Hirata.


    Sudou, Ike, and Yamauchi were the only ones that didn''t go up to Hirata. Ike and Yamauchi hesitated for a moment, but in the end, they didn''t approach him.


    I wasn''t sure whether they were afraid of Sudou''s bad mood, or if they were simply jealous of his poprity.