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

Chapter 44.5 - Teacher Troubles

Word Count - 2525 words

The current group in the Pallet consisted of Horikita, Hirata, Karuizawa, Ayanokoji, and surprisingly, Sudo. After his mess-up in the Sports Festival, he seems to have come to terms with his emotions and values, and now is genuinely interested in contributing to the class.

I found this change in attitude admirable.

"What have we found out about this exam till now?" Karuizawa-san started the conversation. "It seems pretty simple to me."

"It indeed is very simple," Horikita said. "But that doesn't explain something very important."

"Which is?"

"The short test that we'll be having next week, on our third year junior high school level syllabus," Horikita elaborated. "It doesn't explain the need for this test."

"Maybe we're just being tested?" Karuizawa-san pondered. "Maybe it has nothing to do with this Special Exam."

"I disagree. I feel that this exam is extremely important in regards to the upcoming Paper Shuffle. Sensei confirmed so herself. It seems that this short exam might be the key to acing this Special Exam."

"Hold up. Can you like, explain it in words such that an idiot like myself can understand?" Sudo groaned, and looked at Horikita.

"Very well. I meant that the pairs in the upcoming exam will be most likely made considering our results in the short test," Horikita explained.

"But that is purely speculation, right?" Hirata joined in. "We have no proof that that really is the case. And even if we do assume that the pairs are decided based on our results, what is the criteria for deciding the pairs?"

"It could be anything, to be honest. Maybe the top students will be paired together. Or maybe this exam is just a farce, and the pairs will be made according to alphabetical order. I don't think we can be sure."

The group fell into silence, and racked their brains to come up with some sort of protocol that would help decide the pairs. I sighed.

"I am positive that the first and last, second and second-last, etc., people will be paired together."

The group turned to look at me.

"Certainly, that is a possibility," Horikita pondered. "But what is the basis of your claims?"

"It's simple. Chabashira-sensei had made it clear that in the past, when the same exam had been conducted, there were only a maximum of one or two pairs expelled from the school. That could mean only one thing — the school makes the most balanced pair possible."

"Woah, slow down," Sudo said, and you could almost see the steam rising from his ears as he tried to use his brain for the first time. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"In other words, the school pairs up the student who scores the highest, and the student who scores the lowest," I explained. "That would also explain why there were only such less pairs expelled in the past. It is because most of the worse-off academic students were paired along with the honor students."

"Wait, if what you're saying is true, then the average students are in more danger, aren't they?" Karuizawa-san asked.

"It would seem that is the case," I said. I leaned back on the chair. "But now that we know this, we can use this to our advantage and tweak the rankings in a way that seems fit."

"You're saying we should alter our performances on the test?" Hirata asked me.

"Precisely. The students in our class who have low academic abilities, such as Ike-kun, Yamauchi-kun and Sudo-kun, need to just appear for this test. Score a big zero, is what I mean."