The Odd One Out

Chapter 2.1 - A Somewhat Normal School Life

It was the second day of school, and I was sitting in my chair. I arrived right on time so that I wouldn't have to participate in any unnecessary conversations, but I still couldn't avoid curious looks from my classmates.

We spent most of our time running over the course objectives. Many students were genuinely surprised by how warm and friendly the teachers at this school looked. During class, I heard many students chit chatting, playing around with their phone, or even sleeping. Sudou already decided to make a spectacle of himself by spending most of the class sleeping. The teachers showed no sign of stopping them though. Therefore, they are probably letting us behave like this, to then deduct points from our class points the following month.

Looking around the classroom, I noticed four cameras, one in each corner. Although they were in obvious places, I'm surprised most of the class didn't even notice. But knowing them, they were probably just happy they could do whatever they want in class.

Fools.

My seat neighbor seemed utterly concentrated though. I looked at Horikita as I saw her pen effortlessly glided on top of her notebook. She had already filled four full pages by the time lunch came by. Considering all we did was talk about the course, that's somewhat impressive. Talk about determination.

As for me, I did have my notebook open, but let's just say I was too lazy to take notes.

After all, I already knew everything. These were things I had learned in the White Room, and trust me, I couldn't forget anything that happened in that place, even if I wanted to.

It was then time for lunch break, so most of the class head outside to eat with their friends. I haven't quite decided what I'll do yet, but right now, I should probably thank Horikita for giving me half of the points she got from those upperclassmen.

"Hey Horikita, thanks for the points yesterday," I told her.

"You're welcome. Now if you don't have anything to say, you can leave," she said as she took out her bento box from her bag.

Just as I thought her character development started. Sigh.

"Hey Ayanokouji, mind if we eat lunch together?"

I turn around to see Hirata inviting me for lunch alongside a few girls from our class. I guess that's what happens when you're popular.

How come I'm "popular", but this type of thing doesn't happen to me?

"Sure, where are we going?" I replied.

The reason I agreed was so that I could gather more information about my classmates. Information, as they say, is key. For example, in war, a lack of intel basically just means defeat. Information is a game changer in anything, be it sports, conflicts, or even school. Memorizing a lot of information is like having a cheat sheet in your head. At least that's how I see it.

"I was thinking of grabbing a lunch set from the cafeteria. Sounds good to you?"

"Sounds good."

With that, I started heading towards the cafeteria with Hirata, Karuizawa, Satou and Matsushita. I noticed Karuizawa walking extremely close to Hirata, while the other two girls stayed back to have a small talk with me.

"So... Ayanokouji-kun, how do you like this school so far?" Satou asked me.

"Mhm. It's okay, I guess. Nothing has happened so far so it's still a bit early to say," I replied.

"You know, when I hear your monotonous voice, I somehow feel 10 times smarter," Matsushita pointed out.

"I know right! Not only is he smart, but he's also really cool! You know, Ayanokouji-kun, ever since the big news broke out, I always wondered what you were like and in truth, you're way cooler than I expected!"