A Life Without Color

Chapter 5

Moments after Ike's collapse, the guards returned and Ike was carted off to the medical bay. Meanwhile, a large, rotund man with fiery red hair made his way to the front of the room.

"I am your new instructor. You have no need to know my name. There will be no speaking. Failure to follow the rules will result in consequences."

The instructor paced back and forth before stopping in the center of the room.

"Today, we will be assessing your academic intelligence. You will have one hour to complete the exam in front of you. Begin."

I started flipping through the pages. The content was far above the level of an average high school student. Even honor students like Horikita and Yosuke would have trouble answering the majority of the questions. It's a good thing Ike and Sudou are both absent because neither of them have the ability to score above a zero on this exam. Speaking of which...

I glanced over at the rest of my classmates. Kouenji was grinning while he easily filled out his answers. His pencil zoomed across the page as he barely took the time to read the questions before jotting down his answer. Seems like this won't be an issue for him either. Horikita was furiously writing with a furrowed brow. Her tensed shoulders indicated the pressure she was under. No doubt, she'll only be able to answer a few of the questions before the time is up.

My gaze wandered over to Yosuke. He also seemed to have the idea of checking on the class, and our eyes met for a brief moment. He shot me an appreciative grin when he realized that I'd also been scoping out our classmates. My intentions weren't nearly as pure as he'd assumed however. He really doesn't understand the kind of person I am at all.

Kei rested her head in her hands. She didn't seem to be aware that she was emitting a low moan.

The decision I'd been pondering locked into place as I decided to get this over with. I quickly answered all the questions the way I'd decided to, and flipped the papers upside down. The instructor met my eyes, and gestured for me to bring my test up. I slowly approached the front desk and laid my papers atop the smooth, white surface.

I returned to my desk and sat quietly for the next half hour until everyone else had handed in their tests.

__

Everyone glanced towards the door as it opened with a creak. Sudo stepped into the room, averting his gaze from the rest of us. Both his eyes were rimmed with large black and blue bruises. His shoulders slumped as he fought back tears, not wanting to be seen crying in front of others.

"Thank you for bringing him back," the instructor said to the guards. "I'll take over from here."

Sudo slowly made his way over to his desk, taking a seat and looked down, still refusing to meet anyone's eyes. None of his usual spirit was present in his actions. I actually felt kind of bad for him. Maybe I should do something to help him.

"You, boy," the instructor said, pointing at me. "Come up here and demonstrate a proper utilization of the law of quadratic reciprocity.

Now, what should I do about this? I could comply, and provide an overly descriptive demonstration of complex mathematics. Doing so might earn me the praise of the instructor and the admiration of Kei, Horikita, and Yosuke. However, I'm not the type of person who does things for the purpose of praise and admiration. Instead, this might be a good time to start the next phase of my plan.

"I refuse."

Horikita looked at me oddly. Was she remembering how I used the exact same wording the first time she tried to force me to help her ascend to class A? Things really have changed since then. Silly concepts like class rankings matter little when your life is on the line. Hopefully, Horikita regrets the way she tried to use me now that she has a better understanding of where I came from.