Classroom Of The Elite Year 2 Volume 9

Part 3

The two of us arrived at the cafe where the study group was meeting after school.

"Hey everyone, sorry I kept you waiting."

Saying so, Horikita joined her classmates in a natural manner. Noticing her movements here, I'm impressed at how much she's improved.

"Kiyotaka, you came too!?"

Facing a notebook with a frown, Kei noticed us and smiled.

"Sorry, but I'm just here for a quick visit."

"But..."

Kei showed a clearly dissatisfied expression, but no further complaints followed.

I think it was largely due to the fact that I had told her in advance that I would not be helping her out with studying.

"Oh, sorry I'm late!"

Right after we arrived, Sudou hurriedly ran into the café.

"It's really hard to balance studying with club activities, isn't it?"

"It's not that big of a deal. I'm used to it."

Sudou's gaze was caught by Horikita for a moment, but then he sat down on an empty seat nearby.

Then, he placed his bag on his lap and took out a set of study materials.

He then took out a rectangular case, and pulled out a pair of glasses from it.

"Huh? Sudou-kun, do you wear glasses?"

"Yeah, I just started to. I've been wearing them when I study. Ah, they don't really have a degree or anything, though."

If a person has good vision, they usually don't use corrective devices such as glasses.

However, good eyesight does not mean that one cannot or should not wear glasses. Studying is a close-range battle, unlike basketball which requires a wide field of vision.

Adjusting your focus when looking at things is a big burden.

Just like most of the other students, Kei was surprised to see Sudou in studying mode like this in the study session.

"What's with all the staring?"

"You just have a different image with your glasses on. You really are studying more now, huh?"

Shinohara nudged her boyfriend Ike while showing admiration for Sudou.

"Of course, I'm trying my best too now!"

"I know that. Sudou-kun has quite a lead on you, though."

"That's, well, yeah..."

Ike tried to argue back, but he nodded in response to her stinging words.

"Ah, sorry. I shouldn't talk about other people like that. But, you know, do you have any tricks to keep going for a long time? I used to be at a similar level too, and I was wondering if you could give me any tips. It must be hard to balance basketball and studying at the same time, right?"

The other students nodded in agreement with Shionara.

To the students with lower academic ability, students like Yousuke, Mii-chan, and Horikita must seem to be in the realm of prodigies and geniuses.

They would not be able to put what they learn from such high-level students into practice.

They are smart from the start, so they must seem like they can do anything.

In this respect, Sudou started out with the lowest academic ability in his class. It is only natural that she would want to know the key to his growth.

"Tricks, huh?"

Sudou crossed his arms in a somewhat troubled manner.

Horikita was the main reason that Sudou originally started studying.

He wanted to be smarter and become a man worthy of Horikita, but Sudou would probably be very reluctant to talk about that here.

"Ah, umm... Right."

Sudou was about to start speaking after a while, but he started sorting things in his head. He was still a bit awkward, but he began speaking:

"The weird thing is, studying has actually become fun for me. Then, basketball became more interesting too. ...Umm, I guess it's something like that?"

He began to explain why he is able to do both, and that there are other advantages as well.

"At first, I didn't like studying. I got sleepy right away, and I couldn't solve the problems. But you know, the more you learn, the more you realize how useful studying is for school."

"But, you know, Ken. Studying is useless for the future, isn't it? Especially depending on your occupation."

Ike asked Sudou about a doubt that everyone must have had at least once in their lives.

"I'm going to be a professional basketball player myself, so I thought studying was just a pain in the ass, but what if I don't make it as a pro? What job can I do if I don't even study? I could probably do a job that anyone could do, right?"

There is no need to name a specific profession, but his options would be more limited than those of an average person.

"Even if I don't make it as a pro, my options will be broader if I keep studying, right? I could also go to university and study something more specialized. Well, I have no concrete plans yet."

You can have more than one dream.

"Studying is an investment in your future. That's how I think of it."

Sudou's path to becoming a professional basketball player, which he has been pursuing for many years, may fail. If he finds another big dream and holds on to it however, he will never fail in life.

This is the short story of Sudou, whose thinking has grown through his studies.

What might have been sneered at in the past was listened to earnestly without making fun of by anyone around him.

That's how much weight and truth was born by his words. Sudou sat back down with an embarrassed expression on his face, and hurriedly opened his notebook.

"That's, that's enough, right? Let's get studying already."

Sudou, who should be more tired than anyone else after working hard in his club, said this without showing any sign of exhaustion.

He isn't the type to make good speeches, but that's why his words and attitude full of truthfulness strike a chord with people.

The students in the lower positions such as Shinohara and Ike must also be moved by this.