Monday, 22nd June.

After that eventful weekend, I was almost glad we were back at school.

However, I was also dreading it, since what lied ahead was a gruelling week of finals— or in other words, the start of our very first special exam.

An intense battle between the 1st Years would be fought through paper and pen. Hopefully, what I prepared will be enough for us to win.

As I made my way to class, I noticed something unusual. No one was in the special wing hallway.

I shrugged it off, thinking I had come early, but when I checked the class, no one was there either.

Strange... I know I come to school earlier than most people, but I can usually rely on Nora being here before me.

Did everyone else in E Class decide to desert the special exam...?

I took out my phone and called Yukina.

"Moshi moshi, Yuu?"

"Hey. Where are you right now?"

"I'm on my way to school. Why?"

"...there seems to be no one in the classroom."

"Eh? What do you mean?"

"I'm the only one here. Not even Nora-san came."

"What? There's no way, he always comes to school before anyone else!"

"I know, but I don't see him."

"Do you think... something bad happened?"

"It's hard to say. Maybe Machida-san tried something again?"

I wouldn't put it past him to brutally attack Nora on the day before finals week to put him out of commission. It'd cripple E Class since we'd be losing our trump card.

"...I'm going to contact him. I don't like the feeling of this."

"Yeah, good idea."

"I'll call back when I get an answer."

"Sure thing. Good luck."

Yukina ended the call, going to see if Nora was okay. I sighed, taking my seat.

"Seriously, what's going on...?"

While killing time by reading the latest novel of Chess King I borrowed from the library, someone had finally entered the classroom.

"...huh."

It was none other than Ikesugi Kaoru, one of the big three loners. Like me, he had a confused look on his face seeing no one else in class.

The air grew stale as we stared at each other like aliens. Ikesugi slumped his shoulders in disbelief. To try and make things less awkward between us, I greeted him with a wave.

"Hey, Ikesugi-san."

"...Takanori-san, what's going on?"

"I wish I could tell you, but I don't have a clue either."

"This has to be some kind of sick prank... there's no way everyone would abandon us on the first day of finals week."

Ikesugi grumbled, slamming down his bag.

"It would certainly be a predicament. I know Yukina is coming to school, so if no one else shows up, then it's an automatic 22 failures for our class."

If that were to happen, D Class would gain a whopping 660 class points. They'd instantly shoot up to 957 Cl and overtake B Class.

It'd also put them in range of overtaking A Class too, since they'd only need 50 Cl to surpass them. That could easily be earned through winning the special exam altogether, which after failing 22 students at once, was very likely.

In other words, if our class really decided not to show up for this special exam, then we had essentially given D Class a one way ticket to A Class.

"Damn those guys, thinking they can do whatever they want and get away with it... where's their sense of responsibility? They're not in this class alone, damn it."

Ikesugi muttered bitterly to himself, thinking I couldn't hear him. Though, I have to admit, I understood his frustration.

Even so, as a class compromised of failures, it wouldn't be surprising if nearly all of them suddenly decided to give up. As the punching bags of the school, we've been beaten down and made fun out of for three months straight.

Now that something truly important was just around the corner, it's no wonder they'd run away. The pressure of it all and the feeling of inadequacy would've finally caught up to them.

"Pop pop, wass all dis sheggery den, bossman?"

Breaking my train of thought was John, who had also arrived to class confused.

"Oh thank god... someone actually showed up."

Ikesugi breathed a sigh of relief.

"Big man ting, wass going on? Did da classdem decide to do a labour strike or what?"

While it was reassuring to see John here, I'm not sure if he's exactly the kind of firepower we need right now.

"I've got no clue. Neither does Takanori-san."

"Dead."

John rocked up and sat down next to me, giving me a fist bump.

"Yo, my mans Taka, how you doing bruv?"

"I'm doing fine... you?"

"Peng innit. Mans feels ready and fresh for dis exam ting, ya done kno!"

At least he looked confident to pass.

"How were the study sessions with Yukina?"

"Mans gonna be honest bruv, mans didn't clock a word she was spitting. Mans was too busy looking at her bunda, like sheeeesh!"

"...I'm sorry?"

"Ya kno, da bunda ting. Dis bit, da best bit uv da babe, yea?"

John elbowed me in the ribs, grinning. This is one part of roadman culture I don't understand...

"Any case, mans did da math ting pretty gud, but mans struggled bare hard on da Japanese stuff. Dis literature ting ain't for mans, mans could barely keep awake when she was reading it to mans and all dat."

"Well, the exams we have today are Japanese and English. I wish you luck."

"Thanks bruv, same goes. Mans can't wait for dat English ting tho, mans gonna smash it like mans gonna smash your mum!"

John laughed, thrusting his crotch. What a crude joke...

My phone started ringing while in my pocket. It was from Yukina. I picked it up and answered the call.

"Moshi moshi?"

"Ah, Yuu!"

"Did you find out about Nora-san?"

"Pssst, Taka, pass da weed big man!"

While I was on the phone, John was joking around and saying that fairly loudly in the hopes the person on the other side could hear him. It was a pretty common prank to play on friends in England.

"Yes, I did. Are you with someone right now?"

"Oh... yeah, John-san's with me. He came only a few minutes ago."

"Aw, fam, why you gotta bait mans out like dat? Pass da weed anyways, big man!"

Despite being exposed, John continued the joke anyways.

"Oh! Well, you and him should head down to our actual classroom."

"But... I am at our classroom?"

"No, no, not the one in the special wing. I mean the one we're supposed to be in normally."

"...I'm sorry?"

"The school finally finished fixing E Class! Apparently they did it over the weekend. That's where everyone else is."

Hearing that, I facepalmed. It seems neither me, John, or Ikesugi got the memo.

"Of course, that makes sense..."

"Yeah. As for Nora-san though..."

Yukina's voice dropped slightly.

"Something bad did happen?"

"Well... sort of. Kou-san said she saw him leave the house this morning, but no one's actually seen him at school today."

"Maybe he's in the cafeteria?"

"No, he skips breakfast according to Takenaka-san."

"Then how about the library?"

If there's one place Nora would be, it's there.

"Fujimura-san went over already to check, but he wasn't in there either."

"What? Where could he be then?"

"I don't know. They're looking for him right now, but so far they've come up empty handed."

"Have you guys tried checking B Class?"

"No, not yet."

"I see. Alright, let me and John-san handle that then."

Yukina sighed.

"...let me guess, you're going to confront Machida-san?"

"Yeah. He's the only one cruel enough to try something against Nora-san, especially since he has a motive for it."

Knowing how brutal that guy was, he wanted to squash any chance of E Class doing well in the exam. He absolutely couldn't accept Nora doing better than the entirety of B Class again.

"Then let me come with you. That guy is dangerous... there's no telling what he'd do if you confronted him."

"No. If anything, that's more reason for you to stay out of this. You know how he's like."

"You mans talking about throwing hands wid dat B Class donny?"

I signalled to John to stay quiet. John nodded, putting a finger to his lips in understanding.

"Still... I can't stand the thought of seeing you getting dragged around by that guy again! I don't want to see you hurt, Yuu..."

Yukina was still hung up and feeling guilty over events that happened in the past. I wanted to reassure her that she didn't need to let that sway her into putting herself into dangerous situations for my sake.

"I'll be fine. I'm not the same pushover as I was a month ago, you know?"

"Still..."

"Plus, John-san will be with me. I won't be alone."

"Wait, mans will?"

John pointed at himself confused.

"I don't know... it still sounds too risky."

"It'll be more risky if you're there and Ritaka-san is present. Remember what he tried to pull last time? I don't want to see you get hurt either."

Yukina went quiet.

"...fine, I'll compromise."

"Compromise?"

"Instead of joining you, I'll wait for you outside of B Class. That way, I can keep an eye on the situation from afar."

"Sure. That's fine."

Since it wouldn't put her in imminent danger, I didn't mind.

"I'll see you at B Class then."

"Yeah. See you."

I ended the call and turned to John.

"You ready to scare some B Class goons into talking, big man?"

"Mans dunno wass going on, but mans ready to shank dese wasteman up!"

John grinned, whipping out a plastic spoon.

"We're going to have a pleasant conversation with Machida-san about Nora-san."

"Did dat wasteman try something on dat sweet one again?"

"I don't know. That's what we're trying to find out."

"Aight, mans gets dis task innit. Among us ting, esskeetit skrr skrr!"

As we left, we passed by Ikesugi. I guess I should tell him about what's happened.

"Ikesugi-san, our classroom got fixed. That's where everyone else is."

"...of course they didn't bother to tell us."

Ikesugi sighed, dissatisfied with their attitudes. Like me and John, he followed us in exiting the special wing classroom.