Classroom Of The Elite

Chapter 5

On our second day of school-well, I suppose technically it was the first day of class-we spent most of our time running over the course objectives. Apparently, many of the students were quite surprised, if not a little disappointed, by how genuinely warm and friendly the teachers at this school looked. Sudou had already made a spectacle of himself by spending most of the class asleep. I thought that the teachers would notice, but they showed no signs of doing so. After all, it was up to every individual student whether or not he or she wanted to listen in class. I wondered if this was how teachers typically interacted with students once they left compulsory education.

I took in the relaxed atmosphere, and soon it was lunchtime. Students stood up and left with their new acquaintances, disappearing from my view. I couldn't help but feel slightly envious as I watched them. Unfortunately, I still hadn't managed to befriend a single one of my new classmates.

"How pathetic."

Only one person had noticed how I felt, and she met my pain with derisive laughter.

"What? What's pathetic?" I asked.

"I want someone to invite me along. I want to eat with someone!" Your thoughts are like an open book." Horikita said.

"But you're alone, too, aren't you? Haven't you thought the same

thing? Or do you intend to spend three years here without making a single

friend?" "That's right. I prefer to be alone," she replied quickly, without hesitation. It sounded like she was being honest. "Why don't you stop worrying about me and instead think about yourself?"

"Well, I..."

I certainly wasn't proclaiming my intention to be social. Honestly, at the rate things were going I might be unable to make any friends, spelling
trouble for my future. I'd likely end up alone again, and that would make me stand out. It could make me a target for bullying.

Less than a minute after the end-of-class bell rang, about half of the students had disappeared. Those who remained either secretly wanted to go. like me, were unconscious of their surroundings, or preferred being alone, like Horikita.

"Well, I was thinking of heading to the cafeteria. Anyone want to come with me?" announced Hirata as he stood. He was clearly one of those all- around good guys. I had to take my hat off to him. In my heart of hearts, I'd been waiting for a savior to bestow a chance like this upon me. Yes, Hirata, I will go with you, I slowly tried to raise my hand, and...

"I'll go, too!"

"Me, too! Me too!"

Girls gathered around Hirata one after another, and I lowered my hand. Why did those girls have to take his offer? This could've been my chance to make friends with Hirata! You don't need to jump all over him for lunch just because he's kind of handsome!

"How tragic."

Horikita's derisive laugh morphed into scorn.

"Don't just assume you know what I'm thinking," I said.

"Does anyone else want to come?" Hirata looked around the room, possibly feeling a bit lonely because no

other boys had joined him. Hirata scanned the classroom, and his eyes met mine. Over here! Notice me, Hirata! There's someone here who wants an invitation! Hirata didn't avert his eyes, just as I would expect from someone with a handle on his life who cared about the people in his class! He understood my appeal!

"Hey, Ayano"

Hirata began to call my name, but in that instant-

"Come on. Hurry up, Hirata-kun!"

A fashionista-type girl latched onto Hirata's arm. Ah... The girls stole Hirata's attention. They left the classroom together, all looking rather happy.

I remained alone with my arm outstretched. Somewhat embarrassed, I tried to play it off by pretending to scratch my head. "Well then." Horikita shot me another pitying look before departing the classroom, leaving me alone.

"That was pointless."

Reluctantly, I got up and decided to head toward the cafeteria by

myself. If I didn't feel like I could eat alone in there, I'd just score some

supplies from the convenience store.

"You're Ayanokouji-kun, right?"

On my way out, a beautiful girl suddenly called my name. It was Kushida, one of my classmates. This was the first time I'd actually taken a good look at her, and it caused my heart to start pounding in my chest like a jackhammer. She had short, straight, dyed-brown hair that almost brushed the tops of her shoulders. While it certainly wasn't crude, the school had recently approved rather short skirt lengths. I had a strong feeling that this was one of the more recent uniforms.

She was holding something in her hand. I couldn't tell if it was a pouch with a lot of key holders or what.

"I'm Kushida, from your class. Do you remember me?" she asked.

"Yeah, kinda. Do you need something?" "To tell you the truth, there's something I wanted to ask you. It's just one little question. Ayanokouji-kun, are you on good terms with Horikita- san?"

"I wouldn't really say we're on good terms. Just casual acquaintances, I guess. Did she do something?"

It looked like her business was with Horikita rather than me, which was

a little disappointing.

"Oh, no. Well, do you remember when I said I wanted to get along with everyone in class? That's why I wanted everyone's contact info. But... Horikita turned me down."

Ugh. Horikita was so oblivious. If such a positive, outgoing girl asked for your info, it would've been nice for you to throw me a bone and give me her contact info while you were at it. I could probably have gotten to know everyone in the class in almost no time at all.

"Weren't you two talking outside the school on the day of the entrance ceremony?"

Considering we'd all ridden the bus together, it was no wonder that she'd seen my meeting with Horikita. "I was just wondering what kind of person Horikita-san is," Kushida

continued. "Is she the type who'll talk a lot when she's with a friend?" She seemed to want information on Horikita, but I couldn't give her

any answers. "I don't think she's very good at interacting with others. Why are you asking about Horikita, anyway?"

"Well, during our introductions, Horikita-san walked out of the classroom, right? It seems like she hasn't talked to anybody yet, so I'm a

little worried about her."

Kushida had said that she wanted to get along with everyone when she introduced herself. "I understand what you're saying, but I only just met her yesterday. I

can't really help you."

"Hmm. I see. I thought that you two must have been old friends before starting school here. I'm sorry to have asked you such a strange question."

"Oh, no, it's all right. Anyway, how did you know my name?" "How? You introduced yourself the other day, didn't you? I

remembered." Kushida had listened to my hopelessly lame self-introduction.

Somehow, that made me really happy.

"Well, it's nice to meet you again, Ayanokouji-kun," she said.

Although I was a little bewildered by her outstretched hand, I wiped my palms on my pants and shook hands with her.

"Yeah, nice to meet you," I said.

Today was probably my lucky day. Even though there'd been some low points, some things had gone well. Since humans were creatures of convenience, the positives quickly overrode the bad memories.