Another Like Me - Part I (CoTE x OC) ✔

Chapter 08 - Ken Sudo

The class was lively, and everyone decided to take a break from the hectic 2 weeks they had and take it easy for a few days. It was surprising that Ike, Yamauchi, Sotomura, Sudo and Miyamoto —  all having a below average IQ — were confident of the answers they had written on their scripts. The sample question papers surely had done their job.

Speaking of which, I'm sure Kushida would be hell-bent on trying to crack the identity of her secret stalker. I'd have to lay low for a while. I also realized that she would most probably install some sort of ID identification software from the school's database. The fact that I had used it on her would give her a signal that if there is a way to hide your phone number, there is definitely a way to reveal it as well. I'd have to make sure not to make any illicit hidden contact with her again. A direct confrontation would be necessary in the near future. As long as I had her audio recording on me, she could not possibly do anything.

Kushida was a person who desired popularity. She was the polar opposite of Chiaki, who tries to lay low. She desires fame, friends, trust and secrets. This was a solid conclusion I had come to after analyzing her behavior. To listen to a stranger via earphones and do their bidding, without asking a single question, just to protect HER secret, was something that only a person who valued their social status highly would do. Even though there are several aspects of her attitude that I still do not understand, this was the summary I had gathered.

She was willing to any length to protect her secret. This would come back to bite her from behind, and this is something that I can use to manipulate the Class Angel. This little social experiment of gathering question papers was just to test how far she was willing to go. Now that I had a fair idea, I can start laying the groundwork for certain plans I had in mind.

"How did the papers go, Keisuke?"

I turned around to see Hirata looking at me with a confident smile. I had already prepared my answer for this question. It would look ugly if I bragged about doing well, but ended up with a 65.

"I'm not sure I did too well, there were a few questions I did not understand in the paper. I devoted quite a lot of time to the study group, so I didn't have time to do my own self-study", I said.

"How come? I thought you would be one of the top scorers this time around." Hirata had a worried look etched on his face.

"Don't worry about it", I said, patting him on the shoulder, "it's all good. I want everyone else to score well. We need to do what we can for the sake of the class."

Hirata, though a bit adamant, reluctantly agreed with me, and thanked me for all the help I had offered to the study group.

"Takeyama-kun! Thank you for helping us out! We were all able to do well because of you!", Inogashira-san, Sato-san, Onodera-san, and, behold, Matsushita-san.

"I'm glad I could help", I smiled and replied.

Before the conversation could drag out any further, I slung my bag over my shoulder and ejected myself from the conversation.

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(Day After Midterms; Chabashira, Sae POV)

There was a soft knock on the door of the Teachers Staff Room. Chie stood up from her seat to answer the door. The door opened, revealing a student from my class, Keisuke Takeyama.

"Good afternoon, sensei. Is it possible to talk to you for a while? I have a few questions regarding class", Takeyama said with a respectful bow.

"Ara~ Sae-chan, I didn't know you had such cute boys in your class! Hey, hey, what's your name? I'm Chie Hoshinomiya, homeroom teacher of Class B! So, you must be really popular in your class uh? Are you dati-". There was a loud thwack as I launched my clipboard on Chie's butt.