Ichinose was stunned. I would not have noticed if her tone was not surprised. "What do you mean? Are we going to compete with the other classes?"
"It is highly possible. You see, I scouted around a little. And there is a stark difference in abilities and discipline, ranging from classes A to D. Class A is superior in academics to our class, and they have more talents in the class. Meanwhile, the number of troublemakers is also highest in class D, and none in class A. Thinking of that, there is definitely a hierarchy."
"Even if there is a hierarchy, why would we have to compete?"
"This school judges students based on their proficiency. But judgment needs standards. The most likely thing I believe is that the school will use class competition, and as such, no actual standard will need to be shown. Just rankings."
"Is that so?"
"Do not worry! Friendships can coexist with rivalries..." I said matter-of-factly.
"I see. Thank you. I came here to thank you, and ended up being helped yet again."
"If you want to show your gratitude, I would rather you improve as a leader."
"Do you think I am fit to be... the leader of our class?"
"What?" I asked, surprised.
"It's nothing."
"Why would you be hesitant to be a leader now?"
"It is just, you seem to know much more about people than me. It just seems unfair for me to lead when you can lead it better."
"Ichinose-san... This school is not everything."
"What is that supposed to mean?" She asked, perplexed.
"It means that making the inefficient choices is viable if it leads to growth. Besides, I would rather have a leader who continues to grow with the class, rather than a leader who spouts lessons all the time... Don't you think such a leader would be better for our class?"
"And if I make a mistake?"
"So what? You will only learn something new."
"But I do not want to fail everyone."
"Do you think everyone deserves to grow?"
"Of course"
"As long as you fail in this school, it will not lead to starvation, deaths, loan sharks, or the whole shenanigans. All it will lead to is a setback. As such, each failure is an opportunity to grow; all the while, the risks of something bad happening are minimal. As such, I do not see failing as a bad thing. As long as we can strike back."
She seemed stunned for a second. It seems she never thought from this perspective. Failures are good, as long as the leader can balance them.
"How can you trust me so easily?" She said in a daze, almost a murmur to herself.
"It's nothing. I guess I will take my leave, Shikakoi-kun."
"Ichinose-san, can we exchange contact details?"
"Huh?! Isn't that a bit sudden?"
"Don't think of it that way. I would not have asked for it if talking to you about the points was a thing we could expose to everyone."
"Oh! Yeah, right." She said as she took out her phone from her pocket.
After we exchanged contact details, she left, and I relaxed on the bed.
Finally, alone!
After that, I proceeded to do arbitrary coding problems for the whole day. Carpel tunnel, my old friend. Missed you so much!
x-x-x
As days went by, Ichinose seemed to be putting in effort to change the class atmosphere. People stopped being late if it became very embarrassing, and being absent also became a taboo because "everyone was very worried about you. Please consult us if you are in trouble" are words that collapse hope of getting away with being lazy. If anyone tried using a phone in the class, it became an unspoken rule to ask them, "Is there an emergency?"
I did not expect such strong results. It seems Ichinose can bring results if she puts her mind to it.
Also, Ichinose-san seems to be holding a large share of everyone's private points. Everyone except me seems to be pooling money into her account. As the rumour suggests, she has been sent about 50,000 private points by every student, of course, except me. The reason must be that she is already feeling my contributions to the class, and just could not bring herself to ask me. Plus, I was broke after the very first day.
After the classes end, I stalk... ahem ahem... follow Sudo around to record the evidence of systematic bullying. And as such, the first month ended.
x-x-x
Then came May 1st.
The class atmosphere was filled with confusion; everyone was checking their private points.
"Hey, you too?"
"Yeah, why did we only receive 86,000 points?"
"What is going on?"
"Did the school make a mistake?"
"I don't know. Maybe!"
"Let's just wait for Hoshinomiya sensei to come."
"Yeah, that would be right."
As such, after their respective groups, cliques, whatever, whatever's discussions ended. They all opted to wait for Hoshinomiya-sensei. Such sensible people!
As the silence stretched across our class, the winds outside became a soothing melody. HAHA, see that poets.
Anyways, that is when I heard a sound of a door opening. Hoshinomiya sensei came into the class with a voice filled with authority. And everyone's silence only seemed to enhance it.
Then, when Sensei saw that everyone was simply waiting for an explanation, she seemed to be proud of her class. Not that I can be sure of it.
"Everyone, please hear attentively. The points allotment is 100% accurate. There is no doubt that the points given are less than they are supposed to be, and there is no chance that the school has overlooked this class and simply chose to give less."
"Then, sensei, why have we only received 86.000 points?"
"In this school, your grades and performance evaluation are reflected through the points you are given each month. The school's assessment of you is that you all have seemed to lose the value of 14,000 points that were to be given with the already given 86.000."
"But sensei, we had never been warned about this from the start?"
"Didn't I say that students are judged based on their proficiency. Did you really think the school would give you 100,000 yen?"
"I am sorry for interrupting."
"It's okay! So, let me continue. The system that is responsible for assessing the students and assigning points every month is called the S-System."
She said as she wrote some scores on the board.
CLASS A: 940 cp
CLASS B: 860 cp
CLASS C: 490 cp
CLASS D: 0 cp
"Sensei, what are the criteria that are considered for evaluations?"
"In real life, evaluations are conducted without notifying the criteria. Or else, you can just act on the criteria without actually being what they need. Similarly, we are not allowed to reveal the criteria of assessment."
"Is there any way to gain class points?"
"Yes, there will be. One upcoming opportunity would be the midterm exams. However, do take notice that if you fail the midterm, you will be expelled."
After that, the day went almost normally, if not for the gossip of the S-system. Also, the students, this time including me too, pooled around 70,000 pp in her account.
x-x-x
(T/N: In canon, Hoshinomiya sensei drank too much the previous night to give a proper explanation, whilst seeming confident. However, this time, she was excited to reveal these things to the class B and thus came with perfect composure. Why she was excited was because she ran into a scheming Kanzaki and Shikakoi.)