Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's POV

The day began bright and clear.

Through my window, the sun shone scintillatingly. Another day had begun, bringing in new hopes and aspirations with it. My room was illuminated up by the first rays of sunlight. The lovely birdsong of the dawn chorus wafted in.

I've just awoken from a long and restful slumber. To find out what time it was, I pulled my phone from the table next to my bed.

"6:30 a.m..." I mumbled unconsciously.

Well, I guess it's time for me to start getting ready for school. I got out of bed and draped the blanket over my thighs and feet. After that, I got up and began making the bed.

Once I finished doing so, I stepped to the window, rubbing my foggy eyes. The sky had a glossy sheen to it. The morning atmosphere took on a rosy tone as the sun rose higher in the sky. The area was irradiated by the golden fingers of sunlight.

I opted to have a breakfast of a cereal under the name of 'fruit loops.' I crouched to fetch the cereal box from my kitchen cabinet. I then went to my refrigerator, opened it, and took the gallon of milk from the upper shelf.

I grabbed an orange-colored towel, removed my pajamas, undressed myself, and went into the restroom after finishing breakfast. I walked into the shower, which was partially obscured by a glass pane.

I changed the temperature of the water from chilly to warm by turning the red metal circle counterclockwise. I grabbed a bottle of shampoo and began softly and gently brushing my hair. I then pressed a button on a soap dispenser and began scrubbing my entire body with it. For a little period, I was the cleanest human being on the planet.

I exited the shower after finishing cleansing myself and began drying myself by wiping the liquid off my entire body with the orange-colored towel. After that, I changed into my school clothes that I had prepared ahead of time before showering. I put on my boxers first, then my formal green slacks, a neat white shirt, a dark blue tie tied between the third and fourth buttons of my shirt, and finally my red school blazer, which I didn't bother to button up since I thought it would make me look too courtly.

I left the bathroom and went to the habiliment wardrobe to retrieve my black and white socks. As I grabbed my black sneakers from the shoe rack, I slipped my feet into the socks. I turned back and grabbed my school bag after I was finished putting it on. I double-checked my bag one final time to be sure I hadn't forgotten anything essential for today.

"Ittekimasu." I bowed slightly to no one in particular and bid adieu to my dorm.

The phrase "Ittekimasu", is typically used by a Japanese when they are about to leave somewhere, such as from the home or office. The closest literal translation would be "I'll go and I'll come back". But a more natural translation is something like "see you later".

The remaining people at home or in the office then reply to the person leaving with "Itterasshai", Literally meaning "please go and come back". The phrase is also close to "see you later", "have a good day", or "take care" but none of those expressions truly express the spirit behind the word.

"Ittekimasu" expresses that "I will be going now but do not worry, I will safely return" while "Itterasshai" indicates that "You will be leaving soon but please do come back safely".

You might be wondering why I'm even informing you about this. That is a question that I am also baffled about. Perhaps I've habitually started to treat this school as if it were my true home.

Indeed... Ever since my arrival at this institution, I've felt at ease and comfortable. The sophisticated and opulent structures, the sumptuous and lavishing amenities offered, the number of points we were entrusted with for the duration of our high school careers, and, most importantly, I had finally felt like a bird being released from its cage.

I was once a Cavia porcellus, or guinea pig is the common term, who had been cursed with a dreadful and heinous fate that I had to live with for the rest of my life. However, everything might be different now.

I had the potential to fight back against the horrible kismet that the White Room had bestowed upon me. Perhaps one day, I might even be able to grow and evolve as a human being. In my heart, I sincerely desired and prayed that maybe, just maybe, it would be possible for someone as callous and soulless as myself.

When I got close to the elevator, I pressed the arrow heading downwards button. I checked the clock on my phone while waiting for its presence to lay out the welcome mat for me. It was 7:10 p.m. at the time. Just fifty minutes until school is in session.

I decided to look at the texting software that the school had made available to us. There was a colossal amount of notifications in my direct messages.

There was the Ayanon group, who were going over some of the materials and quizzing each other questions regarding the subjects that would be on the midterm exam.

The other chat rooms were doing similarly. With the exception of two certain groups. Karuizawa's group of gals was one of them. Instead, they were discussing their future plans and what they would do after we finished our midterms at Keyaki Mall.

The boys' chat room was the other group. Instead, they were chatting about obscene pornography and women's bodies. Of course, I had very little libido for the other sex. Even if I did, I understood that it was basic common sense not to act recklessly upon my sexual inclinations.

If the females were to find out what they were talking about, they would be certainly disgusted and chastise them, labeling them perverts. Not wanting to be a single part of it, I reluctantly closed the app, heaving a sigh in the process.

The lift arrived precisely at the moment I was putting my phone into one of my pockets. As the door swung open, I was greeted by an unexpected crowd.

There was Horikita, who as usual was minding her own business, Onodera, who was waving enthusiastically at me as soon as she saw me, and... Kushida.

She flinched as soon as she realized I was the figure in front of her, and I could hear her start to hyperventilate a bit. Given what I did to her on the rooftop the day before, it was reasonable.

I gave her a brief glare, signifying that she needed to calm down. I didn't want to raise any red flags for either of us. She gave a tentative nod before swiftly reverting to her former demeanor.

It's impressive and astounding how quickly she can return to acting. If she were to present herself to the world, she'd most likely be lauded as an acting prodigy or something along the lines of that.

I could tell her fingers were twitching and she was shivering slightly but uncontrollably as a result of her proximity to me. That provided even more indication that she had begun to fear me more than anyone else in the school.

"G-good morning, A-Ayanokouji-Kun." She finally mustered up some courage and greeted me as meekly as a preadolescent puppy.

"Morning, Kushida." I returned her salute nonchalantly, not even bothering to spare her a glance.

The trip to the lobby was shrouded in a strange quiet. I'd strike up a casual discussion with Onodera now and then, but without Kushida as the anchor, it wasn't particularly substantial.

It's not that I can't engage socially with others; in fact, because to Eichiiro, my social skills have drastically ameliorated compared to a year ago. The issue is that I'm still quite lacking in it. You're presumably aware of the rationale for this. I'm not going to clarify the reason why once more.

Kushida seized the opportunity to take off as rapidly as lightning once the elevator had arrived at our destination She appeared to be doing everything she could to get as far away from me as possible.

Onodera, perplexed by Kushida's behavior, began to hasten her speed and attempted to catch up with her. She cried out to her several times, concerned for her well-being, but Kushida simply disregarded her and continued to walk away.

I considered striking up a chinwag with Horikita, but I realized I had been focused on Onodera and Kushida for too long and had missed the chance to do so. She was heading alone to the school's entrance route.

I stuffed my hands into the pockets of my blazer and walked into class with my normal careless posture. I arrived on the site after a few minutes of roaming about the campus. People were gathered inside with their study groups, most likely conferencing about the examinations one more time before we had to take them in a few moments.

"Ah, Ayanon, get over here!" Hasebe, the first person to notice my attendance, motioned for me to join her at her table.

My study group was currently convened there. Everyone had rigid and nervous expressions on their faces, especially Sakura. I walked up to her table from my desk, where I rested my bag.

"Good day, everyone." I tipped my hat to them and raised my palm moderately. "I trust that all of you've been working hard in preparation for today's exams."

"We have Ayanon!" Hasebe trumpeted proudly. "Honestly, I think I could even get a higher score than Miyacchi now." She made a snide remark and sneered at Miyake.

"Oi! Don't act so cocky just because you got one additional question right than me! I made a typo and you just got lucky!" Miyake retaliated.

"What are you two talking about?" Nene jumped in. "Obviously, I'll be the greater one out of you two." She declared in a haughty manner.

"Hey! If you two are so confident that you'll beat me, then what if we propose a bet?" Miyake offered, apparently very sure of himself that he'll be the one to come out victorious.

"Let's each put in 10,000 private points because there are three of us. Everyone will provide 30,000 points to the person who achieves the highest marks on the midterm tests. How does that sound?" Miyake inquired.

"Only 10,000? Why not 20,000?" Nene spoke up.

"20,000?! Are you an impulsive gambler or something?! Hell no! I don't want to lose a large number of points just because of a bet!" Miyake protested and made a fuss about it.

"I have to agree with Miyacchi on this once." Hasebe voiced her opinion on the matter. "As much as I'd like to get my hands on 60,000 private points, I think that would be way too much for something as trivial as this."

"Ugh, fine... I'll settle with 10,000 points." Nene groaned and surrendered grudgingly.

"Great! No chickening out okay? That applies to both of you!" Hasebe pointed both of her index fingers to Miyacch- I mean Miyake and Nene.

"You have my word on that."

"Ma'am, yes ma'am!" Nene stroke a cute pose.

For a long, we spoke about midterms until the bell sounded, signifying the start of our first exam. Everyone dispersed immediately and returned to their seats.

"Good morning, Class B," Chabashira-Sensei waltzed into the classroom and addressed the entire class. "No absences, huh? That's only natural, I suppose. This will be the first stumbling block for all of you in staying in school. Are you all ready?"

"Chabashira-sensei, everyone has been studying diligently for the past few weeks. No one in our class, I believe, will fail." Hirata made a daring statement.

Chabashira-Sensei commented on his attitude, "You appear quite confident, Hirata. The issue is, can you back up your allegation with evidence?"

"I'm sure that none of us will be forced to drop out due to the midterms. We'll prove it to you!" Hirata exclaimed, his face lit up with zeal and determination.

"That's excellent, frankly." She flashed out a smile as she nodded in response to Hirata's reply. "Your academics will be built on the foundation of this midterm exam. You'll have your finals in July after you finish this. Do your best because if everyone passes, the school will reward you with a bewitching vacation during the summer break."

"A vacation?" Ike was the one to pose the query.

"That's correct," she replied, "a wonderful holiday on an island surrounded by the gorgeous blue sea.

An island, huh? I'd never traveled outside of cities before. Of course, going to New York was an exception. I doubted the school would provide us with something so pleasurable, but if they did, I was looking forward to it.

After receiving the news, some of the boys were trembling with joy. There were even a few who were openly drooling. It was brutally evident that the majority of them were picturing girls in swimwear.

"W-What is this pressure...?" I heard Okitani mutter.

Even Chabashira-sensei took a step back from the obvious tension among the students... which was mostly emanating from the boys.

"Everyone, let's give it our all!" Ike shrieked.

"Yeah!"

The entire class's morale improved two or thrice as a result of Ike's mistaken keenness. I debated whether or not to join them in cheering, but Horikita's scary look convinced me to remain silent.

She tapped the tests against the table to line them up before passing them out. The first period is dedicated to social studies. I surmise you might call it the easiest of all the subjects' tests. If anyone trips up here, the rest of the tests will be a hardship.

The exams were quickly distributed to everyone. When the teacher gave the signal, everyone began at the same time. I rapidly scanned the entire test while looking over the issues. I looked to see if the questions were comparable to those on previous tests.

Godsend.

I made a little triumphal pose. All of the questions were recognizable. I didn't pay close attention to the problems, but I didn't see any differences either.

It was crystal clear that if I memorized all of the answers, I could achieve a near-perfect score. That is if I were a typical student. But even if I didn't review the materials, I could still probably get a perfect grade with very little effort.

I didn't notice any students who appeared puzzled or agitated when I looked around the classroom. The majority of the students appeared to have done some last-minute studying.

The Japanese and chemistry sections of the test were resumed during the second and third periods. I noticed something else when I was working on the queries.

Horikita's lessons are very similar to the topics covered in the test. She was able to precisely identify the types of questions that would be asked based on the class lessons. The quiet girl in the seat next to me, who continued to scribble down answers, was more impressive than I had anticipated.

Nice job, Horikita. I would give you a thumbs up physically if I could, but I'd probably get in trouble for and attract some unnecessary attention if I did that in the middle of such a time.

Then it came time for the fourth period. Math. All of the unusually difficult issues from the mock test are, without a doubt, included in this one. They probably have no idea what it means, but if they memorized the answer, they should be able to do well.

After some time had gone, we finally completed our Mathematics exam. Finally, students will be able to relax as break time sprung in.

"This is an easy pass!

"I feel like I'll get a 120 at this point!"

Ike looked to be in a good mood. Yamauchi seems relieved as well, judging by his smile. They were smiling while holding the old test questions in their hands for a final review.

Meanwhile, my study group had collected around my table because Miyake sat directly in front of me, and sauntering to another member's desk would be too much labor for the two of us when we're already so close to each other.

Not in that kind of sense, of course.

"How did you all do," I asked.

"I think I did fantastic actually! Those outdated test questions really helped me a lot. I should probably thank Horikita after all of this is done." Miyake scratched his head indifferently.

"That's true..." Sakura took the initiative and said something. "If it wasn't for Ayanokouji-Kun, I'd probably fail the tests." Sakura self-deprecatingly assumed.

"Don't think so lowly of yourself, Sakura-San! I'm sure you'd have passed even without our help." Nene made an attempt to comfort her by patting her back.

"Hey, Sudou, you okay? You're looking really high strung right now." Yamauchi's words reverberated around the classroom.

"You did study the materials, right Sudou?" I left my study group and barged into their discussion.

"Sudou is doing nicely. He's just double-checking to make sure that he hasn't memorized anything improperly." Matsuo casually responded for him.

"Oh, sure." Sudou shifted his gaze to us. "Last night, I was on the verge of getting into trouble. It's a good thing I had Matsuo with me."

"Yeah. He summoned me to his room since he was worried about how he would do on the exams. And, being the gracious and kind-hearted individual that I am, I accepted. However, while studying English, this bastard kept falling asleep. I'm not sure what would have happened to him today if I hadn't slapped his awareness out of him." With a smirk on his face, Eichiiro made fun of Sudou.

"As much as I hate that smug countenance of yours, yeah he's telling the truth. I owe a huge debt to him."

"Heh," Eichiiro scoffed. "You can pay me back by passing this midterm. Also, you have to buy me three bowls of ramen from that Japanese restaurant the next time we hang out at Keyaki Mall again."

"What?! But those are so expensive for ramen bowls!" Sudou complained.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, Sudou." Eichiiro cheekily wagged his index finger. "You know the rules, and so do I.

"Tch," Sudou clicked his tongue in frustration. "Fine, you win Matsuo. I'll pay."

"Hehehe, I'll always come out the victor in the end." Eichiiro boastfully declared.

Everyone ultimately took the final two exams when the bell sounded. Everything remained the same, as predicted.

Once the time limit had run out, I passed my exam sheet to the front, and our midterms had finally concluded.

"Everyone did a wonderful job. You all appear to be self-assured. I have high hopes for the results." Chabashira-sensei then departed from the classroom, carrying our test papers in the process.

"IT'S FINALLY OVER!" Yamauchi screamed with significant jubilation in his tone.

"LET'S GO!!!" Ike joined in and rallied the boys.

"Hey hey, we should go to Keyaki Mall right now!" I heard Karuizawa and the girls say noisily.

Class B was ecstatic to see our midterm exams come to a close. As a token of appreciation, many of them invited their instructors out to dinner. My study group and Yukimura, of course, chose to eat lunch at a well-known restaurant in Keyaki Mall. All we can do now is hope for the best and wait for the results of our exams.

-------------------

Chabashira-sensei was taken aback when she entered the classroom and looked around. The results of the midterms were awaited with bated breath.

"Sensei. I heard the results would be released today, but when will they be revealed exactly?" Hirata was the one who brought up the subject of the elephant in the room.

"Hirata, there's no need for you to be so worried about it. You most likely received a passing grade." Chabashira attempted to reassure.