Classroom of the Elite: Wishing Well

Chapter 1: This Side of Paradise

What is a wish?

In the purest sense of the word, a wish is a desire for something to happen. It might be out of one's reach or unlikely to occur, but it is the ethereal thread that weaves the fabric of human hopes and aspirations.

Wishes encompass human emotion, from the mundane to the extraordinary. From a fleeting thought to the driving force in pursuit of perfection. Wishes offer a glimpse into the soul and a glimmer of dreams and aspirations.

To wish is to be human.

Buildings, trees, and people, all passed by the bus—just like the books said.

All humans have wishes. Some wish for lifelong prosperity, others wish for great physical prowess, and still others wish for ripe, thoughtful minds. At the same time, wishes can be futile. Some wish for children, although their low fertility ensures they will never have children. Some wish for perfect love, never considering if that hypothetically perfect partner would wish for them.

Some wish to rise to gain the approval of their family, and thus emulate their family. Some were bro-cons and sis-cons, according to the Internet.

Some wish to become the strongest tyrant, striking fear into the hearts of those around them, while secretly caring about those they dominate. A tsundere, according to the Internet.

Some wish to hide past crimes, although they secretly agonize over small crimes like shoplifting.

Some wish to crush false genius, touting themselves as the true genius, while hobbling on a disabled leg and having the stature of a petulant child.

Do I have wishes?

The answer was simple. To wish is to be human. But to wish is also to have a weakness—to be defective.

In that place, those who had wishes were discarded. I was not discarded. Therefore, I do not have wishes.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see that no one else was paying attention to the scenery that was flying by. It was a clear sign that they had seen it thousands of times before.

We were heading to Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing Highschool, with the express goal of creating the future leaders of Japan. It was funded by the government and boasted a one hundred percent acceptance rate to any college, company, or organization. Of course, this was based on my prior research, and what Matsuo had told me.

The bus was crowded, though, and an unstable, elderly woman wobbled in front of me. The bus shook, and she nearly fell over, but she impressively managed to keep her balance.

A young, well-built man had sat down in one of the priority seats. He wore the same uniform as mine, indicating he was a highschooler, and could possibly be in my class. He was combing his long, blonde hair, and leaning back without a care in the world.

"Excuse me, but shouldn't you offer your seat to her?"

My eyes shifted slightly, as another, younger woman stood next to the elderly woman. This one was an office worker, I could tell, with a glance at her attire.

"And why is that?" the young man retorted, a wide grin on his face that indicated he was enjoying the confrontation. He quirked an eyebrow, looking at the woman questioningly.

"You're sitting in a priority seat. One should always offer priority seats up to the elderly. Can't you see how she is struggling?" the office worker retorted. There was a clear tonal shift in her voice, from disbelief to conviction containing just a hint of that disbelief.

"Ah, but those are merely societal obligations, are they not?" the blonde-haired man wiggled an index finger at the office worker as if he were taunting her, "I have no legal obligation to offer up my seat at this moment. I am currently in this seat; therefore, I determine if I will give it up. And my answer is no."