Classroom of the Elite: Crimson Usurper (Volume 1)

Chapter 7.2

Ayanokouji's Point of View

I glanced around the classroom. What was I supposed to do now? If I said, "Hey, want to study with me after class?" would anyone even come? No, no, I doubt anyone would. I hope my negative thinking would be proven wrong. 

Sudou and I were close enough that he might, but I wasn't sure about the others. Well, with nothing to lose, I decided to try.

"Hey, Sudou. Have a minute?"

 I called as he headed back to the classroom after lunch. He was sweating and a bit short of breath. Probably played some basketball during his lunch break.

"Oh, that. I don't know. I've never really studied seriously before," he said

"Oh, yeah? Well, I have just the thing. I wanted to form a study group to meet every day after class, starting today. Want to join?"

Sudou stared at me, his mouth slightly agape.

"You serious? If the lessons are a pain in my ass, why would studying after class be any better? Besides, I have club activities, so it's pointless. Plus, you're going to be tutoring? Your scores weren't great, either."

"Don't worry about that last part. Horikita's the tutor."

"Horikita? I don't really know anything about her. Sounds fishy; I'll pass. I'll be fine cramming for the test the night before."

Sudou had refused to join, just as I'd guessed. If I persisted, it'd fall on deaf ears. Damn, was it really useless? If I tried to press him further, he might punch me. Maybe I should've said, 

'After tutoring for a while, the lessons won't be such a pain in the ass.'

 Perhaps there was no helping it. Maybe I should start with someone more manageable. I called out to Ike, who was playing on his phone. Wait, is Ike even manageable? Well, I guess he's more manageable than the other two.

"Hey, Ike, h—"

"Pass! I heard you talking with Sudou. Study group? No way. Not my thing. I'll stick to studying about girls and shit."

Girls and shit, or girls and shit...?"

"You do know you'll be expelled if you fail, right?"

"Well, yeah. I might have gotten failing grades before, but I'm doing much better now. I'll just cram the night before with Sudou."

Was he really fine with that? He didn't seem to grasp the danger of this situation. And it's a very dangerous situation for that matter.

"If the last test hadn't been such a surprise sucker punch, I probably could've gotten, like, forty points."

That's still bad...

"I know what you mean, but wouldn't it be better to stick together on this?" I asked.

"A high school student's free time is precious, you know? I don't want to waste it studying."

Then won't your precious adult free time not be precious?

He waved me off, completely focused on texting with some girl. Ever since Hirata had managed to get a girlfriend, Ike was desperate to find a girl of his own. 

"Who you texting?"

"An AI chatbot." We're really destroyed as a society... So nonchalant too...

My shoulders slumped as I returned to my seat. Maybe if I told Horikita I'd tried my best, she'd forgive me.