Classroom of the Elite: Alter - Self-Test

Whilst walking to our classroom, Kushida and I engaged in small talk. Being the expert between the two of us, of course, she's the one who spoke first.

"So, Ayanokouji-kun, do you know anyone from your junior high who's attending this school?" she asked.

This should be a pretty natural conversation, but it's a really bad topic for me. Because I did not attend junior high, I thought about making a fake backstory that I would stick with if these kinds of topics ever come up in a conversation. However, I immediately discarded that line of thinking because it was too risky. If I start this with a lie, I should be a hundred percent consistent, but that's simply impossible.

I don't know anyone apart from Kushida and myself. Should I name a random middle school, it'll be harder and harder to keep that lie up as time goes on, even with an elaborate backstory. With all this in mind, I just came up with a half-truth in order to solve all my problems.

"Unfortunately, no. I just came back from abroad, after all," I said, like a line from a script.

A half-truth indeed. The White Room was a facility located deep within the mountains. Even if it was somewhere in Japan, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it another country.

"Ehh, so does that mean I'm your first friend here in this school?" she asked with glittering eyes.

Safe... Things would've been more complicated if she asked me the name of the country.

"Probably. How about you?" I replied and asked.

"We're on the same boat! None of my junior high friends made it to this school, you see." Kushida clapped her hands once in excitement.

I expected her expression to turn melancholic in her last sentence, but that didn't seem to be the case.

"I see. Well then, I'm looking forward to getting along with you this year," I said.

"Same here!"

If I was a normal person, I would probably be head over heels for Kushida already. Her whole schtick of acting really cute and friendly would break any man's emotional defense. I'd be lying if I said that my heart isn't racing at this moment. As expected of a social elite.

The two of us reached the classroom in no time. Like what I read from my research, time goes by a lot faster when you're talking with friends. Is this what they meant by it?

Well, I'd probably have this sentimental belief if I wasn't aware of how dopamine releases make your internal clock or subjective sense of time faster...

"Well then, I'd like to know some of my new classmates for now. I'll talk to you later, Ayanokouji-kun!" Kushida announced with vigor.

She's really going at it, huh? I want her to give me some of that enthusiasm and confidence, if possible...

I walked toward the seat that bore my nameplate. It was at the back of the room, near the window. A good place to sit, generally. Looking around, the classroom was approximately sixty percent full. During this free time, I should be working my butt off with making friends as soon as possible, but as expected, I just can't seem to find the right timing.

Right before I forced myself to stand in order to blend in with the crowd, a girl sat beside me.

Oh, I remember her. Back on the bus, she was sitting beside me from the opposite aisle while reading a book. The girl simply sat upright after placing her bag on her desk. She gave me the impression of a hard-to-approach honor student.

"Is there a problem?" she glanced, noticing my gaze.

Now that I got a good look at her face, she was certainly beautiful. If anyone tells me that she was a year or two older, I'd probably believe them. She gives off the vibe of a cool beauty.

"Sorry. I thought I saw your face before. Correct me if I'm wrong, but you were riding on the same bus as me earlier, right?" I asked.

"You might be right. If my memory serves me well, you were the one who offered that old lady a seat. I suppose I should thank you for ending that noisy commotion," she replied with a sigh.

"I'm Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, nice to meet you." I took this chance to introduce myself.

She paused for a second to stare at me. After a short moment, she sighed and opened her mouth.

"I'm Horikita Suzune," she replied.

Before I could decide on how to continue this conversation, I noticed the presence of someone at the classroom entrance.

"This seems like a rather well-equipped classroom. It would appear to live up to people's expectations, hmm?" Turns out, it was the blond man who argued with the office lady not too long ago.

"This seems like an unpleasant omen..." Horikita sighed once more.

Without paying attention to anyone besides himself, he sat on the seat labeled "Kouenji". It's like no one else was present inside the room. Apparently, the rude comments he made on the bus were accurate reflections of his opinions. His imposing nature prompted everyone in the classroom to draw away from him.

Oh crap. When I looked back towards the seat beside me, Horikita was already immersed in reading her book. I can see that she was reading Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment. Perhaps Horikita's taste in books was reflected in her personality. Anyway, I just missed my chance to befriend her due to the loss of conversational back-and-forth.

I can probably converse with her again if I try to talk about the book, but I think it's pretty disrespectful to interrupt her at this moment.

Alright. For now, I should survey every one of my classmates and plan on who I want to talk to when the chance arrives. I will base my choices on outward impressions. The top pick for the guys will surely be that one handsome boy in the front. Not only is he talking comfortably with his peers, but he also looks like he has the atmosphere under his control. For the girls, it would undoubtedly be Kushida. Other than her, there were a lot of other girls who initially looked like they were on the same level, but apart from the girl with waist-length blond hair, none of them seemed as natural.

While I was lost in thought, the first bell rang. At that precise moment, a woman entered the classroom. If I had to guess her age, a safe bet would be thirty despite her younger look. Her black hair was tied in a ponytail, and paired with her suit and delicate features, she looked like someone who firmly believed in discipline.

"Ahem. Good morning to you, students. I'm the instructor for Class D. My name is Chabashira Sae. I usually teach Japanese History. However, at this school, we do not change classrooms for each grade. For the next three years, I will be acting as your homeroom teacher, so I hope to get to know all of you. It's a pleasure to meet you. The entrance ceremony will be in the gymnasium one hour from now, but first, I will distribute written materials with information about this school's special rules. I will also hand out the admission guide," she announced.

The students in the front seats passed the familiar documents to the students behind them. Eventually, they reach my hands.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing School differed from other Japanese high schools in a few key ways. All students are required to live in dormitories located within the school's premises. Also, except for special cases, like interschool events, students were forbidden to contact anyone outside the school. Even then, you are only permitted to come in contact with other participants during the event. In addition to this; contact with your immediate family was forbidden without authorization. Naturally, leaving the school grounds without permission was also strictly forbidden.

On the other hand, the campus is equipped with many excellent facilities. With its own karaoke spot, theater, cafe, boutique, and more, you could easily compare this school to a small city, being more than 600,000 square meters in size.

This school also boasted another unique feature: The S System.

"I will now hand out your student ID cards. By using your ID cards, you can access any of the facilities on campus, purchase goods from the store, and so on. As you can already infer, it acts like a credit card. However, it is imperative that you pay attention to the points that you spend. At this school, you can use your points to buy anything. Anything located on the school premises is available for purchase," explained Chabashira-sensei.

I see... I think I have an idea of what's going on here...

Our points acted as a kind of currency. The absence of physical money would prevent a lot of financial troubles for students. Still, they are advised to keep an eye on their spending habits.

"Your student cards can be used simply by swiping them through the machine scanner. The method is simple, so you shouldn't get confused. Points are automatically deposited into your account on the first of every month. You should all have received 100,000 points already. Keep in mind that one point is worth one yen. No further explanation should be necessary." The classroom erupted after hearing her.

If it was my usual lax attitude, I would've done nothing other than praise the school and its budget. However, I can conclude that something else is going on here...