Classroom of the Elite (Ayanokoji Kiyone)

Volume 3 : Day 1; Starting Point

Ayanokoji Kiyone POV

Fierce words arrived from our homeroom teacher as we came leisurely chatting.

Chabashira : "From now on I will be calling the roll for class D. Students who have been called, please reply firmly."

We were instructed to form a line at the same time as our teacher started checking the attendance for the class while simultaneously holding a surfboard in one hand.

Chabashira-sensei wore the same jersey as the students. Rather than summer vacation, the atmosphere was closer to training camp.

Still, there were no signs of tension in most students.

Ike : *groan* "Oh c'mon, give us free time already. The sea is stretching in front of me, you know..."

Ike-kun muttered. It seemed like most of the students wanted to run off to the sandy beach impatiently.

Shortly after, a tall teacher came forward, getting up to the prepared white platform.

It was Mashima-sensei, the English homeroom teacher in charge of A class, famous for being a stubborn person. He might seem beefy at first glance due to his pro-wrestling-like physique, but he was quite smart and taught special subjects sometimes before.

Mashima : "First of all, I'm happy that you arrived safely to this place today. However, it's unfortunate that one student couldn't take part due to sickness."

Ike : "Ah, there's one sick guy who couldn't join this trip, poor thing."

Ike-kun said in a low voice so that the teachers couldn't hear.

But I totally agreed with him.

If it were a half-baked trip then that would be okay, but it's a different thing with this much luxury. I wonder if that person going to regret it after hearing about the trip from his/her friends later. I think he/she should have participated despite the fact that he/she was in a somewhat poor physical condition, even if he/she pushed himself to the impossible.

Nevertheless, the facial expressions of the teachers were rather severe for a trip.

Could it be that while for us students this is a vacation, will supervisors only treat it as a job?

No – it doesn't seem like it's going to be just that.

While Mashima-sensei was finding students in silence, I saw some adults wearing work clothes who started setting up a special tent a bit farther away. I could also see a laptop on a long table.

At the urban sounds that didn't match the rippling waves, the students began to look bewildered.

Mashima-sensei only uttered a cruel word, as if he was waiting for the air to change.

Mashima : "So, Let's go ahead with this academic year's first trial."

??? : "Eh? Trial? What do you mean?"

In that moment, when this matter popped up. It seemed like all the classes were ready to burst.

Till just now, no, even now, the students thought that it was just a class trip. They were gathering like they had been attacked unexpectedly. Our vacation in the summer holiday depended on the benevolence of the school. But this was, as I thought, just an illusion.

The change from relief to tension was too much.

Mashima : "The duration period will be of one week. It ends at noon on August 7. From now on, you are going to live on this deserted island for one week. It is a test to see if you can live all together as a group. Furthermore, this special trial has been designed in reference to real life corporate training. Even before we start, I am going to give you hints about what it takes to win this special test."