'I don't understand...'

This was obviously not the result that Kai was expecting. He frantically looked around, trying to figure out what just happened. Akane looked towards him, she also began getting stressed after seeing Kai's expression.

'Why were the different to the preliminary vote?' Asked Akane.

'Some people must have been lying about what they were voting for.'

Well to be exact, I was the only person who was lying.

The entire class was confused as to what was going to happen now. People began noticing the point deduction notification for the invalid vote on their phones.

'What the hell? Who didn't vote? Because of you, I've lost 5000 points.'

There was some grunts in unison, as others also were angry due to the result.

This was getting boring, I decided that it was time to go back to my dorm.

*

On the way back to the dorms, I was stopped by a girl. She seemed to be in a hurry, she spoke so fast it was hard to understand what she was saying.

'Hey-hey-hey, what class are you in?'

'I'm in class-E,' I replied.

'Damn! Why can't I find anyone from the higher classes?'

'What's wrong?'

'I need to borrow points! Our class ch... Wait, why am I still speaking to you?'

The sudden cut-off was awkward as she looked at me with a glare that is reserved for insects. It seemed I was not someone she was looking for. Without even a salutation, she briskly walked off with her back to me.

That was a little mean.

**

As I entered my dorm, I was greeted by Haruto who was sitting on his bed.

'You're a shrewd one aren't you?' He applauded.

'I don't know what you mean.'

He reclined onto his back and put his arms behind his head. The soft mattress squeaked as he lent down.

'Oh well, at least I can have a rest while this exam goes by.' He stated.

I made my way into the bathroom and decided to have a shower. The school provided a shower in every dorm room which was quite convenient. I didn't turn the heat up very high but I could tell that the water had a very large range of temperatures. As the water rained onto my back, I heard a notification on my phone.

I'll check it when I get out.

After a few more minutes, I dried myself with the white towel and walked over to my phone.

-

To: Rin Takamiya

From: Aiko Hamasaki

Meet me in karaoke room 08.

-

Is this a date?!

Except something feels a little off. I wasn't going to decline but I'm pretty sure that this meeting definitely has ulterior motives. Oh well, I'll figure it out when I get there. It was somewhat odd to be receiving a mail instead of a text.

I put my clothes on and left the dorm once again.

'—You're off already?'

'Yeah.'

I began walking towards the karaoke rooms which were in the mall. During my morning stroll a few days ago, I was able to figure out that there weren't very many private places the gather at the school. I noticed security cameras in nearly every corner of the school. The only places which could allow for private un-monitored meetings were the dorm rooms, toilets and karaoke rooms.

It was a ten minute walk to the karaoke centre from my dorm.

'Hi, what can I do for you?' The employee greeted me.

'I'm meeting up with someone in room 08'

'Okay, just go through.'

The inside of the centre was quite dark, only being lit by a few coloured lights. It had a very exquisite feel, with the lush red carpet and various decorations from chandeliers to fish tanks. It was quite a large place, especially when it's only made for around 400 students.

Before long, I reached room 08. I briefly knocked on the door before it quickly opened. Aiko welcomed me.

'Come in.'

I walked inside and noticed Kai and Akane sitting on the couch.

Oh boy, this was awkward.

'This is the boy you were talking about, Aiko?' Asked Akane.

'Yeah.'

'Well now that everyone's here, let's begin,' announced Kai.

I still wasn't exactly sure what was going on but I had a general idea. It was definitely something to do with the special exam.

'I think there are people who have grouped against us,' said Kai, 'so I suggest that the four of us should work together for the time being.'

Akane nodded her head to Kai's statement.

'What exactly are we going to do if we do work together?' Asked Aiko.

'Firstly, we will all pass this exam, then, we'll find out the traitors in the class.' He answered.

'I'm not sure about that,' continued Aiko, 'Three of us are already nearly past or past the 40,000 mark, I don't exactly see how this will benefit me.'

'This alliance will help us through future special exams when we have them.'

'That's too superficial, we can just talk about that when it matters,' replied Aiko.

'If we can agree to work together now, it'll make it a lot easier to collaborate in the future.'

Aiko still wasn't convinced. She acted different to my initial impression of her—I was expecting her to be a lot less rational.

I didn't exactly want to join this alliance either. The 'traitor' they were referring to is likely me and I don't really see what there is to gain from joining.

'Well, Rin, since you're also here, what are your thoughts on working together?'

'I don't want to get involved in anything too diplomatic, I just want to have a normal school life.'

Kai sighed.

'Alright, well I don't think we're getting anywhere. You guys wanna sing something?'

'Yes, I do!' Exclaimed Akane.

She snatched the mic and remote off the table and began scanning through the songs on the television. Aiko looked up at the songs and shook her head a few times.

'Alright, I'll sing a song as well.' Aiko finally declared.

'Yay! Lets to a duet! Kai, join us as well!'

Kai was less enthusiastic about the invitation.

I didn't really want to sing either. I considered just leaving, but I didn't want to seem rude. Kai and I stayed seated as we watched the girls singing songs for the rest of the night.

About an hour later, the girls had had enough of singing.

'Alright, well I'm going back to my room now,' said Aiko.

'Same here.' I decided to leave as well.

'Let's do that again another day, Aiko!' Akane offered.

Aiko and I left and made our way back to the dorms. It was relatively late now, the sky was a rich purple colour as the sun set behind the horizon.

On my way back, I suddenly felt my phone being flooded by notifications.

All of the notifications were very similar—the students of class-B were asking for loans, frantically.

-

To: First-years

From: Ester Hamasaki

I am requesting for a loan of points from anyone who is interested. I am willing to double anyone's points after the exam. Text me if you are interested in providing a loan.

-

They were all something like that.

Perfect timing.

*

The next morning, I strolled into the classroom and noticed a crowd of people gathered in front of the board. I guess the highest point owners were displayed once again.

It was the second day of the special exam.

-

Class 1-A

1. Amaya Ami - 119,655 points

2. Inoue Akiko - 117,009 points

3. Oliver Moran - 99,273 points

Class 1-B

1. Naegi Saka - 290,177 points

2. Aya Linda - 107,213 points

3. Ester Hamasaki - 106,022 points

Class 1-C

1. Lucy Fujiwara - 69,222 points

2. Kaoru Hiroto - 68,901 points

3. Touma Suzuki - 67,565 points

Class 1-D

1. Kohei Tachibana - 58,172 points

2. Andria Katsuki - 45,090 points

3. Aya Akasaka - 44,377 points

Class 1-E (My class)

1. Aiko Hamasaki - 58,800 points

2. Yamada Gait - 51,672 points

3. Nendo Kakushi - 45,121 points

Class 1-F

1. Yogi Fukuda - 942,060 points

2. Yahiko Nakamura - 15,177 points

3. Hayashi Yoshida - 1 points

-

Nothing was extraordinarily surprising—aside from the class 1-F standing.

I wasn't sure where Aiko was getting her points from but I'd assume she was borrowing them from someone from the upper classes.

Also since I wasn't on the leader board, I shouldn't be receiving any suspicion.

As expected, there is significant outcry in the class about the number of points owned by Nendo and Yamada.

'Where did you guys get all your points?!'

'There was some anonymous person who gave them to us.' Yamada answered.

'That's not fair!'

He didn't mention the heavy fees involved.

It was also going to be significantly more difficult to acquire loans from the upper classes. As Kai predicted, Class-B was going to be bidding for points and they have much stronger purchasing power compared to students of Class-E.

I was somewhat curious as to what Class-F was doing. Based on their point amounts, I assumed there was some sort of dictatorship or maybe all the students trusted Yogi with their points. He suddenly managed to gain around 400,000 more points. My assumption is that he chose option two and took all the points for himself. Something seemed suspicious about that class.

I'll observe the results after the special exam concludes.

I opened my bank account and contemplated what I'd do today.

-

Your Account

Current Points: 40,001

Owed: 277,800

Owing: 120,000

-

There were free meals provided by the school during this special exam, so there was no need to spend any points during this period.

We'd have class as normal for the rest of the day, however, tomorrow morning will be utter chaos.

The stress levels of many students were quite high throughout the day.