The group of failures

Its the first weekend of May. Ike and the others started listening to the teachers silently. Only Sudou kept sleeping through class, but no one tried to stop him. Because no one find a reliable way of increasing our points, Sudous habits were not fixed.

However, Sudou still received the ire of a lot of the classmates every day.

Im sleepy too. Because its the period right before lunch, its hard to stay awake. I also stayed up late watching a movie. Itd be great if I could fall asleep now

W-whoah!?

As I was nodding off, my right arm experienced some severe pain.

What is it, Ayanokouji? You suddenly shouted. Is this your rebellious age?

N-no. Sorry, Chiyabashira-sensei. Some dust entered my eye

Normally, the students wouldve started whispering, but they stayed quiet and sent me glances instead, still being wary of the points. Rubbing the sore part of my arm, I glared at my neighbor. In my line of sight, I saw Horikita holding a compass needle in her hand.

This isnt a normal situation. Why does she even have compasses on hand? I dont even think theres a reason to use them during class. As soon as class ended, I went up to Horikita.

There are things that are OK to do and things that are not ok! Compasses are dangerous!

Are you mad at me?

You made a hole in my arm! A hole!

What are you talking about? When did I poke Ayanokouji-kun with a compass needle?

Youre holding a dangerous weapon in your hand.

Are you saying I stabbed you just because Im holding something in my hand?

I woke up not because of the class, but from the pain.

Be careful. If they saw you dozing off, our points would be subtracted.

Horikita started being wary of such things in order to get us out of class D. Protesting to the school resulted in nothing for her. Ah, it hurts. Dammit, if Horikita dozes off during class, Ill do the same thing to her.

As everyone stood up to go to lunch, Hirata started to talk.

The test that Chiyabashira-sensei mentioned is coming up soon. Everyone understands that theyll have to drop out of school if they receive failing marks. So, I think that it would be best if we form study groups.

It looks like the hero of class D decided to start a charity project.

If you neglect your studies, youll immediately receive failing grades and drop out. I want to avoid that situation. Studying isnt solely for avoiding that situation, because there is also a high possibility that our test scores are reflected on our points. If we get high grades, the assessment of our class would probably go up. I asked some of the people who got good grades to help out. So, I would like people who are worried about their grades to come participate in the study group. Of course, everyone is welcome to join.

Hirata stared at Sudou while he made his speech.

Tch.

Sudou averted his eyes, crossed his arms, then closed his eyes.

Every since Sudou rejected Hiratas invitation to do a self-introduction, their relationship has been bad.

From 5 oclock today until the day of the test, I plan to study every day for 2 hours in this classroom. If you have any thoughts of participating, please come. Of course, its fine if you have to leave halfway. Thats all.

As soon as he said that, several of the students with failing marks stood up and went to Hirata.

Sudou, Ike, and Yamauchi were the only ones that didnt go up to Hirata. Ike and Yamauchi hesitated for a moment, but in the end, they didnt approach him.

I wasnt sure whether they were afraid of Sudous bad mood, or if they were simply jealous of his popularity.