COTE: Hikigaya's Classroom of the Supreme Being

A month had passed since school started, and with May approaching, nothing had changed in Class D.

The students were as rowdy as ever, playing on their phones or talking loudly during class. Those who slept through lessons were considered the good ones, at least not disturbing others.

This class was a disaster.

It had been about a week since Hikigaya's encounter with Shiina, and in that time, she had persistently sought him out, bringing several books to discuss and frequently recommending mystery novels.

If Hikigaya tried to decline, Shiina would feign understanding but then look slightly disappointed, making it impossible for him to refuse.

This girl was definitely a strategist, Hikigaya thought. The way she manipulated the situation was eerily reminiscent of Sakayanagi. Was he just naturally outmatched by girls with white hair?

As he pondered this, the bell for the third class rang, and the homeroom teacher, Chabashira-sensei, entered the room.

The students, however, remained noisy, their energy undiminished.

Chabashira-sensei said nothing about the chaos, which irked Hikigaya.

If teachers at this school could get away with so little effort, maybe he should apply for a job here as a professional slacker after graduation.

"Quiet down, I need you to focus on your studies today," Chabashira-sensei finally spoke.

"Teacher Sae-chan sensei, what's going on?" one student called out, using a disrespectful nickname.

Chabashira-sensei didn't even react.

She wasn't exactly known for being chummy with students, but today, her indifference was even more pronounced.

"It's the end of the month, so there's a quiz," Chabashira-sensei said, handing out test papers.

Hikigaya quickly scanned his paper. It was a small test covering five main subjects.

"Why is this happening? I've never heard of an exam. How sneaky!" a girl complained.

"Relax," Chabashira-sensei said. "This quiz is just for future reference. It won't affect your transcript, so there's no pressure. But don't cheat."

…Another one of his cryptic hints, Hikigaya thought. If the quiz wasn't going to be recorded, why bother with it at all?

Still, Chabashira-sensei was known for never lying or omitting important details, so Hikigaya suspected there was more to this quiz than met the eye.

First things first: finish the test.

Hikigaya looked through the questions.

Each subject had four questions, for a total of twenty questions worth five points each. The content was surprisingly easy—almost at a junior-high level.

But when he reached the last three questions, Hikigaya frowned.

These were much harder, definitely not something a freshman in high school could handle. Sakayanagi might be able to answer them, but for most students, they were nearly impossible.

…Another clue, perhaps? Hikigaya mused.

These questions had to mean something; the school wouldn't include them just to mess with the students.

Hikigaya found solving the puzzle more interesting than the quiz itself, but handing in a blank paper would be too much. He decided to do his best on the rest of the test, aiming for a solid 85 points.

The last three questions were tough, but Hikigaya focused on the one in Japanese, hoping to at least earn some points there.

Before he knew it, the bell rang, signaling the end of the quiz. As Hikigaya was about to leave, Matsushita, who sat nearby, spoke to him.

"Hikigaya-kun, how did you feel about that exam?"

"…Simple and difficult at the same time," Hikigaya replied.

"Yeah, those last three questions were really tough. I even wondered if there was something wrong with them."

Matsushita's agreement with his contradictory statement confirmed that she, too, had noticed the odd nature of the quiz.

"It doesn't matter. You should be able to get 80 points or more?"

"Wow, you're quite the optimist, Hikigaya-kun, but no, I am not that smart," Matsushita said with a smile.

"Well, I'll see you later. I'm off to grab lunch."

"See you," Hikigaya replied, watching her leave.

Hikigaya frowned, puzzled.

Matsushita didn't strike him as unintelligent. If she were more relaxed, he'd consider her smart.

Additionally, she had been in the International Liberal Arts Department at Sobu during junior high, so her grades should have been solid.

However, in the past month, Matsushita hadn't slacked off in class; she only occasionally glanced at her phone, seemingly replying to messages from friends. This led Hikigaya to a realization.

It seemed Matsushita was intentionally lowering her test scores to match the performance of her friends. The Karuizawa group, to which Matsushita belonged, was the largest girls' group in the class, but they shared a common trait: they didn't study.

This might sound surprising, but it wasn't far-fetched. Yuigahama, Hikigaya's classmate from junior high, was someone who would suppress her abilities to fit in with her group and force herself to smile to maintain harmony.

It wouldn't be surprising if Matsushita was doing something similar.

Although Hikigaya found this type of so-called friendship to be absurd and worthless, he wouldn't interfere if it was Matsushita's way of surviving in her social circle.

...

Early in the morning on May 1st, Hikigaya woke up and checked his phone. The number of points displayed was still 897,000, the same as last night.

Class D had, as expected, accumulated zero points.

Ding—!

A message alert chimed from his phone. Hikigaya saw it was from Sakayanagi, which was unusual since Sakayanagi preferred face-to-face conversations.

Sakayanagi: [Good morning, Hikigaya-kun. Are you awake?]

Hikigaya: […I'm awake, but please don't ask about the points.]

Sakayanagi: [Hehe, I received 94,000 points this morning, just as you predicted.]

Sakayanagi: [By the way, how many points did you get?]

Stop asking already!

At that moment, Hikigaya could almost picture Sakayanagi's mischievous grin. She was indeed a little devil.

Hikigaya: […0]

Sakayanagi: [You're amazing. As expected of Hikigaya-kun. Your predictions were spot on.]

Sakayanagi: [Congratulations!]

Hikigaya: [?]

What is there to congratulate about getting zero points?

Sigh. It was frustrating to face this so early in the morning. Even though Hikigaya had anticipated this outcome, seeing it confirmed still made him feel a bit... regretful.

No, not really.

In the end, it was their fault.

Hikigaya shook his head, cleared his thoughts, and prepared for the day's classes.