Chapter 8.2

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?

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.

“What are you going to do about the midterm?”

“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 ***, 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 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. 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.

“Hey, Ike, h—”

“Pass! I heard you talking with Sudou. Study group? No way. Not my thing.”

“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.

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

“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.”

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

“No good,” she said.

“Uh, what do you mean by that?” I asked.

“I said ‘no good.’ You really didn’t think it would be that simple, did you?”

Damn it. She’d completely ignored my appeal. How shameless.

“No, of course not. I still have 425 plans remaining,” I grumbled.

I looked around the room. Contrary to the tension of class, lunch had a friendlier, albeit noisier, atmosphere. I needed a method to get reluctant students to buckle down and work. Also, I needed a way to get them to study during free time, not during class. Normally I wouldn’t involve myself, but they were in danger of expulsion.

I was sure that Sudou would participate if given the chance. Now I had no choice but to find some kind of incentive. I needed him to think there’d be a juicy bonus he’d get by studying. I’d require something concrete and easy to understand. Something effective.

And then it hit me!

Blessed with a divine revelation, I turned, wide-eyed, to Horikita.

“Even though you’re the tutor, getting Sudou and Ike to study is no easy feat. I’ll need more of your abilities. Can you help me?” I asked.

“‘More of my abilities’? What exactly am I supposed to do?”

“How about this? If they get a perfect score, you agree to be their girlfriend or something. They’ll definitely jump at the chance if we offer that kind of incentive. Girls are great motivation for guys.”

“Do you want to die?” she asked.

“No, I’d rather live.”

“I listened because I thought you had a serious plan. I was an idiot to think so.”

No, I truly believed that’d be effective. It’d be the biggest impetus to study they’d ever had in their entire lives. However, Horikita clearly didn’t understand men.

“Okay, how about a kiss? If they get a perfect score, you give them a kiss.”

“So, you really do want to die?”

“No, living would still be preferable.”

Something sharp jabbed the back of my neck. Damn it. Horikita definitely didn’t acknowledge the value of my methods. It would be exceptionally effective, though. Well, that meant I had to go back to the drawing board. As I considered this, I noticed someone quite conspicuous. It wasn’t Hirata, but another person who might easily rally the class around her: Kushida Kikyou.

She looked great, of course, and she was bright and energetic. She was so sociable that anyone, regardless of gender, could chat with her freely. Also, Ike was madly in love with Kushida, while Sudou and the others at least had a good impression of her. On top of that, her test scores were relatively high. She was absolutely perfect.

“Hey!”

Just as I called out, I remembered that Horikita didn’t want to be friends with Kushida. I stopped there.

“What is it?” Kushida asked.

“Oh, uh…it’s nothing.”

Horikita fundamentally disliked mingling with other people. When Kushida and I had tried to enact Operation Friendship, it had made Horikita furious. Horikita probably wouldn’t approve of Kushida’s involvement. I’d put my plan on hold until Horikita returned to the dorms.

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