The Prodigy - Classroom Of The Elite

"Hey there!"

"Hi! Sorry to interrupt, but did you have any plans?"

Hirata is one of those people who's always thinking about others. He's the kind of guy everyone gets along with, even if they don't want to. Though, I must admit, Horikita seems to be managing just fine on her own.

"No, not at all," I said, moving forward. But what I saw next caught me by surprise.

Matsushita and Mori had joined us too. I hadn't expected that, but now that I think about it, they were always hanging out with Karuizawa both in class and during lunch in the cafeteria whenever I went there.

"Hey!" They both greeted me along with Karuizawa.

While we weren't best friends, we had chatted enough times to feel comfortable hanging out together.

"So, where are we heading?" I asked.

"Kushida-san is the one who planned everything. We'll meet up with her first, and she'll let us know," Hirata explained.

With small talk and easy chats, we made our way to the spot where Kushida had told us to meet, and we could already see her in the distance.

After saying hello, she mentioned that a few more people would be joining us.

Those folks were Ayanokoji, Ike, and Yamauchi. It seemed Ayanokoji was coming too, which I thought was pretty cool. But honestly, I was curious why someone like him would hang out with Ike and Yamauchi.

Before long, we spotted them standing together, and Kushida led us over to meet them.

"Sorry we're late, but thanks for waiting!" Kushida called out as we approached the three guys. I waved at Ayanokoji, and he waved back.

It seemed like they hadn't expected us to join.

"Oh, hey, Kushida-chan! Wait, why are they here?" Ike asked, looking a bit surprised.

The 'they' referred to me, Hirata, and the others who had come along. Judging by Ike's expression, it seemed he was expecting only Kushida.

"Oh, I just bumped into them on the way, so I thought I'd invite them along. Was that not okay?" she explained.

Hold on a second, "bumped into us"? Hirata had texted me at lunchtime to join him, so this plan was clearly made earlier than that!

I glanced at Hirata, who just smiled back at me with a look that said, "I have no idea what's going on either."

Then suddenly, Ike and Yamauchi stepped aside and started whispering to each other, leaving us standing awkwardly.

The air got a bit tense as we stood there, unsure of what was going on or what they were discussing.

"Couldn't they have had their little chat before we got here?" Karuizawa whispered. Standing next to Hirata, I heard her clearly.

"I agree," I whispered back.

Hirata nodded and finally decided to speak up. "Um, if we're causing any trouble, maybe we can just split up?" he suggested.

To my surprise, Ike turned around with an awkward smile and said, "We don't mind at all, do we, Yamauchi?"

"Y-yeah, let's all go together. The more, the merrier, right, Ike?" Yamauchi added.

I couldn't quite figure out why they were acting so strange, but from their expressions and the way they were behaving, I could tell they'd been talking about us for sure.

"Well, obviously, that was the idea. Why are you three whispering about us?" Karuizawa asked directly, cutting to the chase.

But instead of answering, they went right back to their secret chat, and it was getting really frustrating.

After a bit, they rejoined the group, and Ike suddenly turned to Hirata with a question.

"I'm just going to ask, Hirata. Are you going out with Karuizawa?" Ike asked bluntly.

"Uh…where did you hear that?" Hirata replied, looking a bit surprised or even panicked. "Oh, you figured it out, huh? Yeah, we're dating."

I wasn't shocked since I already knew the whole story. I've become pretty good friends with Hirata and even with Karuizawa too.

While I was lost in thought, Ike suddenly threw a question my way.

"So, Hayashi-Kun, is it true that you're dating Horikita-San too?"

What a random question! A silly assumption, really. Suddenly, everyone was looking at me, even Hirata and Karuizawa turned to see my reaction.

"No..." I said, not yet. My straightforward answer, but I was definitely caught off guard by such a random question.

After that, I quickly figured out why Ike and Yamauchi were acting strange. From my observation, both of them seemed to have a thing for Kushida. Not that it mattered to me, so I didn't waste much brainpower on it.

As the conversation wrapped up, I realized this hangout didn't have any real direction or destination. We were just wandering around the school facilities.

The others even did some shopping, which I had zero interest in. I always preferred to shop alone, plus I was trying to save as many points as possible.

So, I tagged along while they went on a shopping spree, spending points like there was no tomorrow.

Hirata was loaded down with Karuizawa's shopping bags. She had already blown through 30,000 points.

"I just wish we got more points, you know? Maybe 200,000 or 300,000 a month? After buying cosmetics and clothes, I've nearly used up all my points," Karuizawa lamented, snapping me out of my thoughts.

She wants 300,000!? Honestly, even 100,000 seems like a lot to me. I have a feeling there's a reason for the amount we're given, and there might be more developments in the future.

Complaining about getting 100,000 points as a monthly allowance for high school students seems pretty out of touch, in a not-so-good way.

"100,000 is already more than what a high school student should have as a monthly allowance," I remarked. Hirata nodded in agreement, and even Kushida seemed to concur.

"I agree with Hayashi-Kun. 100,000 is pretty extravagant. It makes me a bit anxious. What will life after graduation be like if we keep spending like this?" Hirata pointed out.

He was spot on. If you get used to spending that much, adjusting to the real world, where you have to earn every penny through hard work, could be tough.

Personally, I've never been a big spender. Even though my family is well-off and I could spend freely if I wanted, I've never liked throwing money around. I don't understand why people feel the need to spend so much. Sure, enjoy yourself, but spending without a reason is just wasteful.

Hirata, Kushida, and I seemed to share the same view about the points. Meanwhile, Ike and Karuizawa were on a different wavelength, wanting even more points, which seemed a bit over the top.

"What about you, Ayanokoji-kun? Do you think that 100,000 points is a lot or not enough?" Kushida suddenly asked Ayanokoji, who had been walking quietly, lagging behind the group.

"Hmm, well, I don't really fully understand it yet. I'm not sure," Ayanokoji replied, and the conversation drifted away from our original topic.

Looking back, joining this group for a hangout might not have been my best decision. But I can't blame myself entirely; I thought it was just going to be Hirata, Karuizawa, and Kushida.

I didn't have any issues with Karuizawa's friends, but Ike and Yamauchi were incredibly annoying. I still wonder how someone like Ayanokoji ended up hanging out with them.

Eventually, the day came to an end, and we all went our separate ways, heading back to our own places.

When I got back to the dormitory, I reflected on what had been the most bizarre day yet. Despite the weirdness, I actually learned a lot about my classmates, so I'd call that a win.