The S**ttiest Gyaru in the Class Confessed to Me
The study break ended, and the test papers were returned.
Voices of joy and sadness could be heard from all over the classroom.
I was nervous too.
How did Ichika do?
Perhaps sensing my gaze, Ichika sent me a message.
“Japanese. 41 points. I passed♡”
…That’s good.
It looks like we’ll be able to go on the trip after all.
Once everyone had received their test papers, the teacher gave an explanation.
“Alright. Quiet, please. Starting tomorrow, we will be on summer break, but I have a few announcements to make.”
The classroom fell silent.
“First, this class achieved the highest score in math for the entire grade. Um, Katase Ichika san. 99 points. She came in first place, far ahead of the second place score of 95 points. Everyone, please applaud.”
The classroom buzzed with excitement.
Everyone must have been surprised.
Actually, I was surprised too.
Did Ichika really do that well in math?
I could hear whispers like, “It was just luck” and “Did she cheat?”
(Who would she cheat on to to get first place…are they stupid?)
When the commotion died down, there was scattered applause. It was still difficult to say that the reaction was very positive, but I was happy if it improved Ichika’s image even a little.
The teacher continued.
“And one more thing. Those whose names are called next have failed. You will need to take a retest. Akashi Shingo kun, ◯◯ kun, △△ kun, and Aira Sou kuun. Come to my office after class. By the way, as you may already know, the rescue system based on extra points has been abolished this year due to a directive from the Ministry of Education…”
Eh.
No way….
That can’t be true.
I looked at my answer sheet.
I got 25 points in math. It was definitely a failing grade.
After class, I went to my homeroom teacher’s office, where he explained what would happen next.
Those who failed would take a retest in a week. If they failed that, they would take another retest three days later. The passing score for the retest was 45 points. The second retest was scheduled for July 29.
In other words, if I don’t pass the retest in a week, I won’t be able to go on the trip.
What should I do…
“…How did it go?”
When I turned around, it was Ichika.
She had been waiting for me, worried about me.
“If I don’t pass the retest next week, the exam will be on July 29th. I’m sorry.”
When I bowed my head, Ichika hugged me.
It has a faint, pleasant smell, like sunny day.
“I’ll tutor you for a week straight. It’ll be fine ! !”
I was worried about Ikka earlier, but now I’m in this mess. How pathetic.
“Shall we go home together?”
“Sure.”
“Ichika, you’re good at studying, aren’t you? That’s a bit surprising.”
“That’s rude.”
“Sorry.”
“Actually, I’ve been good at math since I was a child. Everything else was in the 40s, barely passing.”
Ichika raised both hands like tulips and acted silly.
I was in a different class with Ichika last year, so I don’t know her grades. But even if it was just math, if she was first in the grade, it should have been heard in other classes.
However, I don’t remember Ichika’s name coming up as an excellent student.
“Are you trying not to tell the others in your class? Or have you been slacking off until now?”
“I’m disliked. If I do something halfway, people think I’m cheating.”
“Hmm.”
“So I tried to stay low-key, but even with average grades, people still say things. But I don’t want to worry my mom about my grades.”
Ichika stopped talking.
She continued.
“So, when I met Sou, I thought it would be bad if you thought I was cheating too. …So I studied. Because if I get first place, no one can say I’m cheating, right?”
“Did you study hard for me?””
Ichika nodded.
“Thank you. Then, can you teach me? But why are you good at math? …Is there a trick to it?”
“Math is something you can do if you listen in class, and once you memorize the four operations, the rest is just application. You can study on your own, right?”
“You mean thinking on the spot?”
“Yeah. In exams, there’s no time to prove everything step by step, so you practice the exam material in advance. The rest is just a simple task of spitting it out.”
“Is there anything else…any tips?”
“When I study on my own, I rarely write down the intermediate steps, so I often end up writing the answer directly and getting it wrong.”
“Can you do it without writing it down?”
“Actually, writing it down makes me slower… When I look at a problem, an image like a picture pops into my head.”
“By the way, did you have extra time on this exam?”
“If I just had to write the answers, it would have taken about five minutes. The rest was just writing down the equations I had in my head on paper. I’m really slow at writing, so I forgot to write one equation and lost points.”
Losing points for not writing the equations?
That’s practically a perfect score.
Ichika smiled at me.
There was no trace of sarcasm. For Ichika, it was probably just a normal thing.
She’s the genius type. She’s not suited to be a teacher. But she seems to have proven ability, so I have no choice but to rely on her.
Wait, maybe.
Is she just being modest about the other subjects too?
“By the way, what did you get in English and physics?”
Ichika crouched down.
“40 and 41… I might fail the next exam.”
Ichika held her head and messed up her hair. I fixed it while smiling.
“So, how about studying together sometimes? I’m not as good as Ichika, but I’m pretty good at Japanese…”
“Yeah ! ! Let’s do it. I don’t think I can go to university, but if I try hard, maybe I can go to the same school as Sou?”
“Sure. Let’s enjoy campus life together.”
“Yeah ! ! I wanna be with Sou every day.”
Ichika and I clasped hands and shouted together.
“Yay ! !”
The people around us murmured and looked at us.
But strangely, I felt good.
Maigetsu