COTE Alternative

Vol. 1: Chapter 9.1 - Establishing a Friendship

"All right, settle down everybody! The one hour Ayanokouji purchased was up, so you'll all be going back to classes now." Chabashira-sensei declared.

As Horikita and I went back to our designated seats at the back of the classroom, I passed by Chabashira-sensei and whispered 'Thanks for the assist' to her ear.

Everything mostly went according to plan. While there were some unexpected events that I didn't see coming, it went better than I initially expected.

I thought that I'd have to try a little harder to earn the class' trust, but thanks to Hirata, Kushida amd Horikita's support, it went above and beyond what I initially predicted.

While it could have gone a bit smoother (the constant interruptions by the class were getting really close to actually annoy me), I didn't have too many complaints about how everything went down.

And now all that's left was...

"Hah..." I let out a sigh as I collapsed onto my desk, just a few seconds before Hoshinomiya-sensei arrived to teach her Science class.

While I did mention how it went way smoother than I thought it would be, that didn't mean that I didn't have any trouble.

I mean, prior to this, I had no genuine experience with public speaking. For some odd reason the instructors at the White Room, never bothered to add Public Speaking or any social activities to our curriculum specifically.

If that old man really wanted me to rule over Japan or something, then he should have added any of those subjects to out curriculum.

That was why virtually no friendships existed within our curriculum.

Though... I could remember a girl who tried so desperately to forage friendships with somebody anybody. Her face blank, her hair erased and her name forgotten.

If I recall her name was...

"Well that went better than expected. I'd like to apologize then Ayanokouji-kun. You do have the capabilities to lead around a group of idiots. I'm sorry for doubting you." Horikita mused.

That brought me out of my recollection quickly. While I couldn't sense any disrespect in her words, I still couldn't figure out what she meant.

Wait, was this sarcasm?

Karuizawa mentioned the term one of her visits to my room. It was in response to me not understanding the underlying meaning behind her words.

When I said that I have never experienced such a thing before, only recognizing it in books, Karuizawa practically rolled off her chair, laughing on the floor.

Suffice to say that was an interesting experience.

I still couldn't properly distinguish the difference of sarcasm. But give me some time and I'll fully master it and get back at Horikita for all the sarcastic comments that I think she said.

"Well such an ability is quite useful to have isn't it?"

For the first time ever, Horikita actually smiled and giggled. If she had done that more often then she would have become one of the most popular students in the class just from her cuteness alone.

"Well I can't argue with that statement now, can I?"

With that, Horikita turned back to the teacher, diligently writing down notes as she did so. It wouldn't bode well for her if she doesnvt follow the same regulations that the rest of the class did.

Speaking of the class, most of them were now actively listening to the discussion, writing down important terms and such on their notebooks. Nobody was actively trying to talk to any of their classmates following the reveal.