"Ugh, so damn annoying."
The moment Amane spoke, the entire class fell into a deathly silence.
Chabashira-sensei felt the beginnings of a headache throbbing in her temples.
She knew it. She never should have expected Amane to play along and help move things along smoothly.
But Amane's approach…It made Chabashira-sensei start to wonder if she was really cut out to be a homeroom teacher at all.
Every student in the class, boys and girls alike, was left utterly dumbstruck by Amane's words.
They simply couldn't fathom it. The Amane they knew, the one who always seemed so sweet and simple, was actually capable of saying something like that.
"Amane, you just…"
Kushida tried to jump in, ready to twist Amane's meaning. But Amane caught on immediately.
"What I said was, 'It's so damn annoying.' Honestly, all of you. You didn't do well on your own exams, so you go begging for mercy, yet you still have the nerve to act so self-righteous about it."
"If you could muster that same energy to beg for spare change on your knees after being expelled, then maybe I'd actually think slightly higher of you."
Amane shrugged. It should have been a rude gesture, and with her height, the motion looked a little unnatural on her.
But her natural poise and cute face completely overshadowed those flaws. If you ignored the mocking look on her face, you could almost say the gesture suited her perfectly.
"Well, well! Not bad at all! With you here, I doubt there's anything happening worth worrying about."
Koenji laughed heartily, rose from his seat, shot a meaningful glance at Amane, and strode right out of the classroom.
Everyone found it a bit strange.
But Koenji always did his own thing, so no one paid much attention to his departure just then.
"Miyako, it's not like you're being expelled…"
"I know I'm not. Which school rule says I can't make sarcastic comments? Yamauchi-kun, you're the one facing expulsion, reduced to desperately begging Suzune, aren't you? If you got down on your knees and pleaded with her right now, just like Hirata did, I could let you stay. How about it?"
Amane's words stopped Yamauchi dead in his tracks, just as he was about to lash out at her.
"Amane, you're joking, right?"
Wang Mei Yu tugged gently on Amane's sleeve, clearly trying to get her to stop making such an unsubstantiated claim.
"I'm not joking at all. I'm dead serious.Yamauchi, seeing you so pitiful, I'm giving you this one chance. Get down on your knees right now, kowtow to Suzune, and I'll be merciful enough to let you avoid expulsion."
Amane's gaze cut through the crowd, landing squarely on Yamauchi.
"Hah? W-what?! How could I possibly kneel to a girl! And what makes you think you can keep me here? Even Chabashira-sensei can't manage that! What gives you the right?"
Yamauchi's face was pale as he shouted his defense. There was no way he'd kneel to Horikita, a girl, in front of everyone just to avoid being expelled.
Besides, the whole 'I won't let you be expelled' thing sounded like complete nonsense.
Yamauchi was sure Amane was just trying to mess with them.
"Because I am Miyako Amane."
Amane pulled a strange, badge-like object from her pocket and pinned it to her chest. Placing a hand over her heart, she fixed Yamauchi with an icy stare.
"You're putting on quite a show. You think I'd play along with your little make-believe game? Well, I expel you, Yamauchi Haruki, in the name of… hah, nice try!"
Yamauchi clutched his stomach, laughing hysterically, and elbowed Ike, who was standing beside him.
Ike had a feeling Amane wasn't lying.
But for a girl to say something like that… it just seemed too far-fetched.
"So, you're refusing? Let me be clear. This is your only chance."
"I don't want your bogus chance! Save it for yourself when you get expelled!" Yamauchi firmly rejected Amane's so-called mercy.
"My, what a shame. Since you refuse, I suppose I'll just have to send you on your way."
Amane unpinned the badge, gently polished it, and slipped it back into her pocket.
She then took out her phone and dialed Horikita Manabu's number.
"What is it?"
His voice came through the line, though it sounded a bit muffled. Besides some background noise, there was also the faint, almost imperceptible sound of chewing.
"President Horikita, I assume you've heard about the situation in Class D?"
Amane skipped the pleasantries and got straight to the point.
Hearing the topic, Horikita Manabu immediately stopped eating.
"I only just received the notification."
He replied cautiously, trying to gauge Amane's purpose for calling.
And also…
How Horikita Suzune felt about the fact that the class she was supposed to be leading was about to lose fifteen students at once.
What a laughable class, Class D was.
"And when do you plan to start dealing with this matter?"
Horikita Manabu frowned.
Procedure dictated that they would notify the class once the student council was prepared to handle the situation.
Amane's inquiry was against protocol. But after a moment's thought, he decided to answer truthfully.
"The earliest would be the 28th of this month. At the latest, we'll conclude the matter before the 30th. It won't affect the distribution of points next month… Though, if I recall correctly, your class is banned from receiving points next month anyway."
Amane, on the other end of the line, felt a wave of exasperation.
Just give me the timeline. Why digress? Way to rub salt in the wound.
"So, the student council isn't prepared to handle this yet?"
"Correct. The matter arose too suddenly. We have no preparations in place. I was informed while I was eating. Preparing the necessary documents and conducting the investigation will take at least two days. Are you calling to plead for them?"
A look of understanding dawned on Horikita Manabu's face.
It was probably his sister, too ashamed to ask him directly herself, who had asked Amane to call and beg on her behalf.
Really.
Did she think he, Horikita Manabu, was the type to be swayed by something as trivial as family ties?
Hearing Horikita's words, even Yamauchi covered his mouth, not daring to breathe too loudly. At this moment, if Amane just said 'yes,' she might just save them from expulsion.
But instead, Amane frowned.
"Your efficiency is seriously lacking. Can't you at least call a preliminary meeting, let everyone show their faces, and then do your investigation?"
Her tone left Horikita Manabu puzzled.
Since when did people pleading for favors get so demanding?
"The student council doesn't have precedent for that. We will notify your class representative for a meeting once our investigation is complete. It's too early now."
He fell back on a standard, formal reply.
"Horikita Manabu, cut the bureaucratic crap. Your little sister is being bullied by those expulsion-bound losers right now. They're demanding that Suzune must plead for them, that she has to keep them from being expelled. Right now, they're even trying to use class opinion to pressure her."
The moment Amane's words landed, the students facing expulsion panicked.
They might have wanted Horikita to plead for them, but they never forced her! This was slander!
On the other end of the line, Horikita Manabu paused for a brief moment.
"If she can't even handle a trivial matter like this, how does Suzune expect to reach Class A? Tell Suzune she should file for withdrawal along with those expelled students. She shouldn't embarrass me at this school."
Horikita Manabu, having delivered what he thought was a cool line, moved to hang up.
"But Suzune's about to cry, you know?"
Horikita Suzune, hearing Amane spreading such rumors about her to her brother right in front of her, flusteredly tried to grab the phone.
"I am not crying!"
But a voice came from the phone first.
"...Very well. A meeting to decide on the disciplinary action for the Class D expulsions will be held after school today. Class D must have at least three representatives present as observers. Chabashira-sensei, as the homeroom teacher, is required to attend."
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T/N: I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.