"Yes!"
The red-haired boy's face lit up when he saw his 39 in English. Finally, he could relax. He even stood up and shouted in excitement. Ike and Yamauchi, his fellow "idiot trio" members, also jumped up to celebrate.
Honestly, they looked like three monkeys going "ooh ooh ahh ahh" in some kind of wild victory dance. It was hard to watch.
"Haha! See that, sensei? As long as we get serious, midterms are nothing!"
Ike boasted proudly. After all, he had scored above 70 in every subject this time, which was a huge achievement for someone who usually barely passed—yeah, right!
Did he really not know how he got those scores?
Dead-fish-eyed Hikigaya couldn't help but roast him internally.
At the same time, he noticed that Horikita, who had been tense the whole time, finally seemed to relax. After all, none of the scores on the sheet were marked as failing.
But was that really the case?
Hikigaya sighed.
Horikita seemed to have noticed his sigh. Her face stiffened, and she immediately turned her eyes to the English scores. She didn't need precise calculations—just by glancing at the sheet and seeing that nearly 90% of students had scored above 80, she could estimate that the passing line was probably around 40.
Crap!
Just as she was about to calculate the exact number, Chabashira-sensei picked up a red pen and drew a line across a certain name.
"Yeah, this test was pretty easy for most of you. But..."
Her earlier smile was completely gone as she coldly looked down at the red-haired boy who was now frozen in shock.
"But no matter how easy something is, an idiot can always find a way to make it difficult. Sudou, you failed."
"Huh?"
"What… what just happened all of a sudden?"
As Sudou's close friends, Ike and Yamauchi couldn't believe what they had just heard. The lively atmosphere in the classroom instantly dropped to freezing, like the middle of winter in Siberia.
"There's nothing complicated about it. Sudou failed his English exam, so he'll be expelled."
Chabashira-sensei delivered the news in a cold, emotionless tone.
"What?! No way! That's impossible! I passed, didn't I?!"
Sudou shot up from his seat, slamming his hands on the desk and glaring at Chabashira-sensei like a bomb ready to explode. He pointed at the score on the board and shouted, "Hey, don't joke around! The failing mark is 32, right?! I got a 39, so I passed fair and square!"
His anger completely erased any sense of respect between student and teacher, but at this moment, no one seemed to care. The more furious Sudou became, the more obvious it was how nervous he actually was.
"Oh? Then let me ask you this—who told you the failing mark was 32?"
Chabashira-sensei responded with a smirk.
"What?! It's 32! It was 32 last time too!"
Sudou slammed his fist on the desk, making a loud bang.
"That's right! Sensei, you said it was 32 last time!"
Ike and Yamauchi immediately backed him up.
Chabashira-sensei let out a disappointed sigh, then shifted her gaze to Hikigaya. A bad feeling crept up his spine.
"Hikigaya, explain it to these idiots."
"…"
What the hell? Why me? Is this personal revenge?!
Feeling utterly betrayed and under the pressure of forty pairs of eyes, Hikigaya reluctantly stood up, looking like a man walking to his execution. "I… I don't know. But I think Horikita might have an idea."
Without hesitation, the dead-fish-eyed boy passed the burden to Horikita. She shot him a sharp glare but didn't refuse. Instead, she calmly stood up and faced both the class and Chabashira-sensei.
"During the last quiz, Chabashira-sensei did say the failing mark was 32."
"See?! Even that smug Horikita says so!"
Yamauchi immediately turned to Chabashira-sensei, completely unaware that Horikita behind him looked like she was ready to stab him. Hikigaya barely held back his laughter—was this a friendly fire moment? Good thing he dodged that bullet.
"But!!!"
Horikita forced down her frustration and continued, her sharp gaze enough to cut through steel.
"But that was for the quiz, not the midterms. Chabashira-sensei never said the failing mark for the midterms was 32."
"Hey! Horikita, whose side are you on?! How could you betray your own classmates—mmph!"
Before Yamauchi could finish, Hirata, who had finally had enough, covered his mouth.
What a completely useless teammate.
"Chabashira-sensei, may I ask what the failing mark for this English midterm was?"
"You may. The answer is 42."
Horikita's face showed no surprise at all. She glanced at the high scores on the board and let out a bitter smile.
"So… the average score for Class D's English exam was 84. If you divide that by two, you get 42, which became the failing mark, right?"
"That's right. That was the failing mark for this midterm. Sudou passed all his other subjects, but his 39 in English put him below the threshold. So unfortunately, Sudou, prepare to be expelled."
Chabashira-sensei confirmed Horikita's explanation.
"You've got to be kidding me! I worked so hard for this! Damn it!!!"
Sudou lost control, kicking his chair with a loud crash, startling the students around him.
"Sensei, isn't there any way around this? Failing one exam leading to expulsion is just too much. Is there any way he can retake the test?"
As the class leader, Hirata pleaded with Chabashira-sensei.
Even though Sudou always disliked him and often picked fights, Hirata still stood up for him at this moment. Some were surprised, while others just thought, "Ah, that's so like Hirata." Of course, not everyone appreciated it—one particular person was even on the verge of exploding.
Hirata really was D-Class's angel.
"Unfair?"
Chabashira-sensei smirked, as if she had just heard something ridiculous. She looked down at Hirata and the students below.
"I thought you had already realized how ruthless this school is, but I guess you're still naïve. And now, after the exams are over and everything is settled, you come to me talking about 'unfairness'? You really are selfish, only thinking about yourselves. Do you actually think you matter?"
"The most useless thing in the world is 'regret after the fact.' No matter what you say or how much you protest, the failing mark for this midterm exam is 42 points. That's a fact, and it won't change."
She glanced at the board where everyone's English scores were displayed and sneered.
"If you want to blame someone, blame yourselves for scoring so high."
Everyone finally realized—if their English scores hadn't been so high, Sudou's 39 might have been enough to pass!
But just as Chabashira-sensei said, the most useless thing in the world is "regret after the fact."
"The first class is about to start. If there are no more questions, I'm leaving."
No one could argue with her explanation. There was only silence and confusion. Seeing this, Chabashira-sensei didn't bother saying anything more. She had already given them all the hints they needed. But just before leaving, she couldn't help but glance at Hikigaya.
"Damn it, you're all useless! I shouldn't have wasted my time going to that study session! What a joke!"
Suddenly, Sudou kicked over his desk in frustration. He was like a lit fuse—ready to explode on anyone who dared to get close.
So, he still hasn't reflected on himself?
Hikigaya looked at the red-haired boy with disappointment. When Sudou was studying hard before, Hikigaya thought he had finally changed. But in the end, it was nothing more than an illusion.
The midterms were at the end of the month, and today marked the start of June. Two months had passed since they entered this school—had he really not grown at all?
Even a pig would have gotten fatter after two months. How could a person not change even a little?
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