Seen Through the Eyes of Goodwill

Chapter- 12

Chapter- 12 (The renegade among us)

On the third day near midnight we had lost two spots that our class owned, we had been able to derive only half of the benefits a spot offered. This was an absolute failure on our part, although on the bright side our team got some rest from the constant travelling.

In the morning I explained to Hirata the whole situation, he did not seem that disappointed. Apparently he had noticed the toll it took on our team members to get four points every 8 hours.

When the girls returned for the morning roll call he announced the loss our class had suffered last night, but to my surprise everyone thanked us with a warm smile for our hard work, although there were some who were displeased on finding that out yet they did not speak anything among the majority that supported us.

The girls and guys grew calmer towards each other, seemingly time was the only medicine for them after all. Without any eye opening speech from Hirata the harmony was gradually returning, not that the loss we had suffered was negated yet not many cared about it at this point. A feeling of content budded in my heart, this all was not that bad after all.

After breakfast, Hirata grabbed everyone's attention to make an announcement.

"Everyone I am going to lay out the pattern of expenditure of points this week and also the amount of points we are left with. Those who are interested please form a circle."

The girls immediately formed a circle around him as guys joined with a slight delay, they were still a bit reluctant to make up with the girls yet I guess.

"Kouenji's retirement and the one time Ichinose missed the roll call are the only penalties our class has received till now, that adds up to 35 points." Hirata started with the loss we have suffered.

"Food and water combined were supposed to be consuming 20 points per day in exchange of two meals for the whole class, that would add up to 120 points but because we had decided to utilize river water for drinking purposes 50 points have been saved out of those 120 points. On top of that if we make it without food for the last day then we can save an additional 10 points."

He continued by adding food and water to the list.

"The toilet cost us 20 points and the extra stuff the girls ordered was worth 30 points."

Hirata took a pause after that, in that brief moment the bitterness returned to the eyes of the guys who were about to forget it. Not only did girls buy comfort behind our back but also took the toilet we had bought with 20 points with them to the waterfall. It would naturally leave a foul taste in the mouth on remembering it.

Why would Hirata throw the girls under the bus suddenly?

"I understand everyone is displeased by the fact that girls spent points without any prior announcement, but after they moved to the cave they have been foraging food at a higher rate than us. They substituted one meal of the day with the food they gather and only take up half of the meal we usually do, that is if you have noticed. Neither is trading comfort for food a wise choice nor are they saving enough points to earn back what they have spent, but at the moment we all should respect their resolve to correct their mistakes after realizing it."

All the girls kept their heads low and listened to Hirata silently, it seems so that at one point they had realized that what they did was not right. Some looked at the boys with upturned eyes while others still not willing to yield to that extent just averted their gaze. After a moment of awkward silence the boys loosened up before the charms of the girls.

"Very well, we should continue the count. It seems like we are making progress." Yukimura said in a gentle tone.

"Lastly, the spots that our search team claimed the first night was supposed to provide us nearly 80 points in total. But due to the unforeseen rainfall last night we ended up losing two spots, so the points we will get now is nearly 60."