I considered immediately returning Aiko's student id, however, I wanted to use it to compare with my own to see if I could see any correlation.

The student id card consisted of a picture of the cardholder, their name, their date of birth, and their student number. There wasn't really anything too interesting on the cards themselves so I wondered why Aya would steal such a thing. There was still the possibility that it was pure chance and she had just picked up the lost card.

It was too early to make an assumption so I decided to just keep the card for the time being.

*

Classes restarted the next day and I walked into class 1-C, my new class for the time being. There were a few empty seats so I just chose a random seat near the back. I didn't bring anything with me so my table was empty—after attending a few classes, I realised that I didn't really need to learn anything.

It was easier to move around without having to carry books and stationary so I stopped bringing them around altogether. The teachers didn't care at all, I guess that was the mindset of this school—with expulsions handed out left and right, all the students had plenty of motivation to work hard.

I would find out that today was another special day.

'At this school, we do exams a little differently. Everyone will be receiving a message from the school detailing the conditions of the first academic exam. This one will be pretty gentle as it is the first one you'll be doing at this school besides the special exam a few days ago. Be warned that the midterm exams will be a lot more harsh.'

As soon as the teacher finished her briefing, a notification popped up on all of our phones.

-

National High School

Here is the information for your academic exam:

The exam will consist of four topics, the ones you have been learning in class; Maths, English, Science and Humanities. Each exam will be out of 100 marks. Class rankings and scores for each exam and the overall result will be displayed.

In each class:

Rank 1 - Gain the option to either transfer to the class above or receive 100,000 points (Class A student can only pick option 2)

Rank 2-10 - Receive 20,000 points

Rank top 50% - Receive 5,000 points

Rank bottom 3 - Lose 10,000 points

Rank Bottom 1 - Move down a class (Class E student loses 50,000 points)

~

If two or more students receive the same score, the result will be decided by weighting the results in this order:

1. Maths

2. English

3. Science

4. Humanities

Any further draw will result in both students receiving the same lower rank. (e.g. #5 and #6 will both get #6)

-

The school was definitely letting us off easy with this exam. There were way more rewards compared to punishments. The class change rule was pretty interesting, I assume that the school was intending to set a precedent that class changes are likely very common.

Anyhow, the rest of the classes for the day went without any major incidents, most people were studying harder than usual.

As I walked back towards my dorm, I noticed that Class 1-E already had an entirely new cohort of students. The school certainly was quick with its turnovers.

On my way back, I was hurriedly approached by Aiko, she had been friendly with lots of her new classmates in 1-E and had already established herself as a leading figure. I could've guess why she had come to me all of a sudden.

'Have you seen my student id card?'

She was looking for her id card, which was in my possession. I was going to return it to her eventually, but I wanted to figure out what the situation was first.

'Did someone steal it?'

It was a pretty out-of-the-blue question, but I wanted to see if she knew.

'Um, I'm not sure, I don't usually misplace things but I don't think someone would steal it either.'

'I haven't seen it, where was the last place you saw it?'

'I think I had it in class 1-D a few days ago, we were comparing our student id card photos and I don't recall seeing it afterwards.'

Sounds sketchy.

I was more sure that Aya had stolen Aiko's student id. However, I still had no idea why she would do such a thing. From what I heard, I assumed that this was all premeditated, it seemed awfully convenient to be 'comparing photos' and then lose your id card and not have it be returned for several days.

But then again, Aya's personality wasn't exactly great, so maybe she was just hesitant to hand it back. I still couldn't be certain of her intentions—it might be a better idea to confront Aya about it, the only problem was that she was rather difficult to talk to.

'I'll keep an eye out for it.'

'Thanks, Rin!'

Ultimately, this was really that big of an issue to me so I decided to just leave it for now. If nothing occurs in the next few days, I'd just hand the card back to Aiko and pretend nothing happened.

The student id cards were somewhat important to us as they were used as identification around the school and you needed to present them during tests. Aside from that, I assumed there were other uses for them that we had not yet learned.

Whatever the case, I was going back to my room to get some peace and quiet.

**

Almost as soon as I opened the door to my room, my phone vibrated with the sound of a notification.

What a pain.

I opened it and read the contents.

-

From: Kaoru Hiroto

To: 1-C

We need to discuss some important matters that have occurred recently, please come to room 06 in the library if you have time.

-

Well, I considered just skipping but I wasn't exactly busy. Begrudgingly, I shut the door to my room and began making my way to the library.

Several people were already in the meeting room so I just walked inside and took a seat. A few minutes go by as a few more students join us. Eventually, Kaoru begins the discussion.

'Alright everyone, the reason I called you all here today is because quite a few students from class 1-C have suddenly lost their student id cards. I just wanted to ask everyone if anyone knows anything about what could be causing this.'

Looks like I was spot-on with my observation.

It appeared no one really knew anything as nobody spoke up after Kaoru's request. After a few moments of silence, Kai spoke up, discussing the matter.

'Where did everyone last have their student cards?' He asked.

'We were comparing our photos with some of the students in class 1-D.'

'I also lost mine while I was comparing id photos in 1-D,' added Aiko.

It was pretty obvious what the common denominator was.

'It sounds like 1-D has something to do with this,' said Kaoru.

'What are we going to do about it?' Asked someone.

'It might be a good idea to confront them about this,' said Kai.

'I think we should ask them if they have any of our student ids as a start.' Suggested Kaoru.

There was agreeance within the crowd.

I didn't really want to participate in any of this so I walked the opposite way when they left to deal with this issue.

Suddenly, I was approached by a short, blonde girl. She was practically silent throughout the discussion, as was I. It appeared she wanted to speak to me. I was able to remember that she was Lucy Fujiwara, the highest point holder in class 1-C, although not by a great margin.

'This is all pretty stupid, isn't it?'

That was an abrupt way to start a conversation.

'I suppose.'

'Where are you going now?' She asked.

'Back to my room.'

'Well, I want to go to this café but I don't really want to go alone... you want to come with me?'

'Me? I'm sure you have other people who would want to go with you.'

'They're all busy dealing with this dumb student id stuff.'

'Um, I suppose I could go with you.'

'Cool, I want to quickly get changed before I go, how about I meet you in front of my room in twenty minutes.'

'Sure, I guess.'

'Alright! I'm in room #048, I'll see you there.'

Well, I guess I'm doing this now.

I suppose I'd go and get changed into my casual clothes as well since she was also changing. I might go to the convenience store afterwards to get a bottle of shampoo—I had been using the shampoo I was given from the Facility but it was just about empty.

I slowly made my way back to my room for the second time. Haruto still wasn't back yet, I guess he was busy dealing with class 1-A things or studying. It didn't take too long for me to get changed, I folded my uniform up and placed it beside my bed. I decided to check my bank account while I was here.

-

Your Account

Current Points: 39,104

Owed: 277,800

Owing: 120,000

-

I had a decent number a points and a stream of income, however, I still couldn't afford to be complacent. The previous exam showed that points were going to be an extremely valuable asset at this school. It was best to save points whenever possible.

I guess I'd just grab a small drink at the café.