Starting in class C: not completely defective.

Arc 1 chapter 8: the end of everday life

For third period, we had maths class with Sakagami-sensei. When the bell rang, Sakagami-sensei walked into the classroom. Most students who were talking quieted down, although a few just kept on talking or playing on their phones.
"Quiet down a little, please. Today's lesson will be a bit serious."
"What do you mean, Sakagami-sensei?" Ryuuen asked.
"It's the end of the month, so we're going to have a short test. Please pass the to the back."
He handed out the papers to the students in the front row.
Eventually, the single-sheet test reached my desk. It contained questions in the five main subjects. With only a few questions per subject, it was really short.
"Huh? I didn't pay enough attention, though. This is so unfair!" A student cried out.
"Don't say that. This test is just for future reference. It won't be reflected in your report cards. There is no risk involved, so don't worry. Of course, cheating is prohibited."
His phrasing struck me as odd. Normally, only grades were reflected in your report card. But the way Sakagami-sensei said they wouldn't be reflected in our report cards made me think the grade could be reflected in some other way. Perhaps this would determine the amount of points we got?
As soon as the pop quiz began, I scanned the questions. There were four questions per subject, for a total of twenty. Each question was worth five points, for a total of one hundred points. Most of the questions were extraordinarily easy, to the point where it was almost a letdown. In fact, the questions seemed to be about two levels less difficult than the ones on the entrance examination. It appeared far too easy.
However, just as I thought that, I reached the end of the test. The final three questions were an order of magnitude higher in therms of difficulty. The final math problem couldn't be solved without complex formulae.
"No way. These questions are really difficult..."
These questions couldn't be geared toward a first-year high school student. The final three questions were clearly of a different quality than the others, so it was possible they'd been put on the test by mistake. Even though the results wouldn't be reflected in our grades, what in the hell were they evaluating with this?
Well, I guess I'll just solve these problems the same way I did on the entrance exam.
Sakagami-sensei monitored us. As he slowly patrolled the classroom, he kept a watchful eye to dissuade us from cheating.
I continued staring intently at my test until the bell rang.

"If you just come and tell me straight, I'll forgive you, okay?"
"Tell you what straight?"
After we'd finished lunch, I was chatting with Ishizaki and the other guys next to the vending machine in the hall. All of a sudden, Kondou sidled up next to me.
"We're friends right? Comrades that stick together through thick and thin?"
"Uh, yeah. I guess so."
"So then, naturally... you would tell us if you got yourself a girlfriend, right?" He asked.
"Huh? A girlfriend? Well, I wouldn't call her my girlfriend yet, but I went out to dinner with a senpai over the weekend."
Kondou put his arm over my shoulder.
"You see? Doesn't it feel good to get that off of your chest? What's her name?" Kondou asked.
"I would tell you, but she values her privacy rather highly." I said.
"Does that just mean that she doesn't exist? Don't worry brother, been there." Kondou said. Ishizaki and Komiya bowed their heads in silent sorrow.
"Right. Ok then. I've got to go now, see you." I wave goodbye.
"Bye Ayanokouji." The three boys wave me off.

May 1st
We need to talk Ayanokouji
I received the text message in the middle of my afternoon class while absentmindedly jotting down notes. I could see Ryuuen staring at me, waiting for a response. I nodded in confirmation. It was then that the morning bell rang. Soon afterward, Sakagami-sensei strode into the room, holding a rolled-up poster. His expression today was more stern than usual.
"All right, your morning homeroom is about to begin. Before we get started, does anyone have any questions? If so, now is the time to speak." Sakagami-sensei appeared totally convinced that the students had questions they wanted answered. Immediately, several students raised their hands.
"Um, I checked my point balance this morning, but I noticed we had way less points than we should. Did something go wrong?"
"Komiya, I explained this already before, didn't I? Points are deposited in the first day of the month. I've confirmed that points were wired this month without any issues."
"But... we only got 49,000 points deposited into our accounts though."
Kondou and Komiya exchanged glances. Ishizaki appeared to shocked to notice them looking at each other. I'd checked my point balance this morning as well and, just as I predicted, we receive as many points as we did last month.
"Points were deposited. That much I know for certain. Everyone in this class got their allowance for this month. To think otherwise is ludicrous. Understood?"
"Well, even if I tell you that we understand, we received less than half of what you promised..." Kondou, still perplexed, began to look dissatisfied.
"Kukuku! I see. So it's like that then, teacher? Ayanokouji, you were right."
He stood up and addressed the rest of the class
"It's simple. We're in class C, so we received less points that classes A and B, but we probably received more than class D."
"While they both certainly have their flaws, Ryuuen and Ayanokouji are right. For crying out loud, barely anyone seems to have noticed the hint I gave you. How deplorable."
In response to this, many of the students began grumbling and whispering to each other.
"Sensei, although we've figured it out, I'm afraid I still don't quite understand." Ryuuen asked Sakagami. He appeared to ask on behalf of his classmates, but I knew he wanted answers just as much as everyone else. Just as I'd expect from the tyrant class leader. Even now, he took the initiative.
"Can you please tell us why we didn't receive any points? We won't completely understand otherwise."
That was certainly true.
"A total of 49 absences and late arrivals. One hundred and ninety-five incidences of talking or using a cell phone I'm class. That is quite a few infractions over one month. In this school, your classes results are reflected in the points that you receive. As a result, you wasted more than half of the 100,000 points that you should have received. That's what happened. I should have explained this all to you on the day of the entrance ceremony. This school measures its students' true abilities. This time, you were evaluated as being above defective, but below competent. That's all."
Sakagami-sensei spoke in a robotic fashion, devoid of any emotion. The doubts I'd had since coming to this school were finally confirmed, though, in a worse way than I would have liked. Even thought we'd started with the huge advantage of 100,000 points, Class 1-C had lost just over half of it in a single month.
From the tube he carried, Sakagami-sensei removed a white rolled-up poster and spread it out. She stuck the poster to the blackboard with some magnets. The students stared at the poster.
"Are these... the results for each class?" Shiina tentatively took a guess. She was probably right. Class A through class
D were listed. To the side was a row of numbers that went up to a maximum of four digits.
Class 1-A: 0940 points.
Class 1-B: 0650 points.
Class 1-C: 0490 points.
Class 1-D: 0000 points.
Considering we had 490 class points, and we'd received 49,000 class points, that meant that 1000 points would mean 100,000 yen, wouldn't it? Every class had apparently lost points.
"You've all been doing whatever you pleased this past month. The school has no intention of preventing you from doing what you want. Your actions, such as being late or talking during class, only affect the points you receive. The same goes for how you use your points. How you choose to spend is entirely up to you. We have not put any restrictions on point usage"
"How do classes A and B have more points than us?" Ryuuen asked.
"All classes were scored using the same rules. Despite that, classes A and B didn't lose as many as you, and class D...well they were judged to be lower even than you. Do you finally understand now? Do you see why you were placed in class C? In this school, students are sorted by their level of excellence. The superior students are sorted into class A, the lease capable in class D. It's the same system you'd find in the major cram schools. In other words, class D is akin to the last bastion of failures. Class C is viewed as inept, but not completely defective, as in the case of class D. This is the result of you not being as smart or as well behaved as classes A or B, but being better than class D. However, I have to say, this years class C was better behaved than it is in most years, and you retained almost half of your points. I am impressed by how well you behave, considering how the school evaluated you. Well done."
"So does this mean we're stuck at 490 class points forever?" Ryuuen asked.
"You're class' points aren't just linked to the amount of money that you receive each month. They're indicative of your class rank."
In other words...should we get to 660 class points, class C would be promoted to class B. This really did sound like a company performance review.
"Now then, I have one more bit of bad news to share with you all."
He stuck another sheet of paper on the board. It listed the names of everyone in class. A number stood next to everyone's name.
"Judging from these, I can see that we've quite a few idiots in this class." As his shoes clacked against the floor, he glanced at us. "These are the results of the short test you took a while ago. I am not entirely impressed at your performance, but I suppose you could have done worse, overall."
With the exception of a few high scores, almost everyone tested below a sixty. The lowest scoring was Ishizaki, with 27. The average score was 69 (nice 😏).
"I'm so glad. If this was an actual test, 4 of you would have had to drop out."
"D-drop out? What do you mean?"
"Oh, what, did I not explain this to you?  If you fail on a midterm or a final exam in this school, then you are expelled. If we applied that rule to this test, anyone who scored below 34 points would have had to drop out."
He drew a red line on the paper, separating the four people in question from the red of the class. Among these four people, Kondou had scored the highest, with 33 points. Anyone with a score equal to or lower than Kondou's had failed.
"Oh, and one more thing. This school, which operates under government supervision, boasts a high rate of advancement into elite education and workforce placement. That is a well-known fact. It's very likely that most of you have chosen your college or future workplace."
This was it. I saw Ryuuen tense up and lean forward in his chair.
"However, nothing comes easy in this world. Mediocre people such as yourselves would have to be naive to think you could easily get into the college or workplace of your choice."
Sakagami-sensei's words carried throughout the room.
"To make your dreams of a bright future come true, your only option is to overtake class 1-A. This school guarantees nothing for any other students."
There was a silence in the classroom. I could see Ryuuen thinking deeply.
"It looks like most of your bubbles had been burst. If you had simply understood the harsh reality of the situation from the start, then this long homeroom period might have meant something. Your midterm exams are in three weeks. Please think things over, and be careful not to fail. I have confidence that you can find a way to avoid getting red marks on your report cards. If at all possible, challenge yourself to act in a way befitting a skilled individual."
Sakagami-sensei exited the room, closing the door with some force for added emphasis. The students marked in red were left dejected, Ishizaki especially.
Immediately after Sakagami-sensei had left the room, Ryuuen leapt up to the teachers podium and began to speak.
"Everyone, we need to get our shit together. You don't have the right to refuse."

Unknown pov
Class 1-D: 0000.
0 points?
0 fucking points?
How was I supposed to live like this? What did the students in other classes have that I didn't? I'm beautiful, I'm kind, I'm clever, I'm athletic. At the very least, I should have been in class B, if not class A. I bet it was him. I bet he'd figured all of this out already, I bet he told all the other classes, just to spite me.
No. I'm thinking too rashly here. Of course he hadn't figured it out, and even if he had, I don't think he would have even told his own class.
I had to do damage control now. Ike and Yamauchi were practically crying. God, how pathetic. I wish they'd pull there shit together. But that didn't matter. Now, I had a clear goal. I would have to team up with my old schoolmate, who didn't much like me. I would get her to team up with me, no matter what. I needed to unify the class, under either mine or Hirata's leadership. Once that was done, it wasn't out of the question to think we could rise through the classes. We'd need to form study groups, and generally shape the worst of us into better people.
We could become class 1-A.
But first, we needed to crush class C.
What fun. Watch out, Ayanokouji.

Author's notes
Not much to say really. Pretty much word for word from the light novel, with a few insults dropped since class C didn't do too badly.
Not much else to say really.
Hope you're doing well, and I hope you enjoyed.