5.4
“I’M GOING TO GET another coffee,” said Hasebe.
“Me too,” said Miyake. More than thirty minutes had passed, and Yukimura still hadn’t looked up from their papers. It seemed like his review and plan of attack was going to take a while yet.
Hasebe and Miyake went to the counter with their empty cups. Pallet had a policy that, if you brought your receipt back on the same day, you could get another cup for half price. The coffee was inexpensive and delicious, and the café offered the perfect amount, so it was becoming quite popular amongst the first-year students. Hasebe and Miyake were already on their third cups. Yukimura, still focused, had half of his first coffee remaining. He was intensely focused on the textbooks, notes, and test papers, calmly marking things down as he went along.
“Seems like hard work,” I said.
“I’ve never really taught someone else how to study before. I mean, a long time ago, I taught this one junior-high idiot to pull an all-nighter, but I couldn’t stand it. I wasn’t able to concentrate on the material, because he didn’t have the fundamentals down,” said Yukimura.
He briefly set down his pen and looked up at the ceiling.
“Even now, I can’t forget the time I wasted. I thought it was so stupid, trying to teach people how to study. When you and Horikita rounded up those guys who were about to fail, and held those study sessions, honestly, I was laughing at you. The same goes for Hirata’s group. I mean, doesn’t it seem like a waste? Nearly everyone who hates studying just can’t study in the first place. I felt like teaching them to cram for a couple days was useless, since they’d just go back to how they were before.”
Rather than coming off like he was spewing vitriol, it seemed more like Yukimura was simply expressing his honest thoughts.
“So, why did you decide to help tutor?” I asked.
This test was unlike anything in junior high; his anecdote and our current situation couldn’t really be compared. If we didn’t study enough for our upcoming monster of a test, then that was the end of it.
Yukimura was taking on some significant responsibility. If Hasebe and Miyake did get expelled, he might blame himself. That was the kind of person he was.
“I was useless in the sports festival. I got tripped up by the thing I dismissed as unimportant. Ultimately, the only difference between me and other students is what we’ve given up on, be it athletics or academics.”
Ike, Yamauchi, and Sudou couldn’t study. Yamauchi couldn’t do sports. No matter who specialized in what, the school had determined that those two areas were of equal importance, which was probably why Yukimura had come to this conclusion.
“Just being able to study isn’t enough for this school. Just being athletic isn’t enough. If you combine those two things, that still isn’t enough. Even people like Horikita and Hirata, who are gifted both academically and athletically, definitely can’t make it through the challenges ahead with just those skills alone. Intuition, insight, and taste. We have to rely on those traits, which are essential for living in society. Working as a team is vital. That’s the only way we win,” said Yukimura.
He had probably suffered through several hardships before he came to this school.
“So, I decided to help. I’ll do what I can to contribute.”
In order to do that, he would use his specialty to his advantage by holding a study group.
“Also, I was self-centered. I thought I’d be fine as long as I could study. All I worried about was myself. I was just like my selfish mother. That’s why I took a good hard look at myself, and… Ah, that’s not important. Forget it.”
He looked down. “If I had to tutor Ike and the other guys, I’d probably have a much worse time of it. Miyake and Hasebe both take their studies seriously, so it might be easy. Besides, they’re already good at science. It shouldn’t be too hard to cover the rest. I don’t know much I’ll be able to help, but we’ll probably see at least some improvement.”
Such positive thinking. Well, Yukimura probably realized that this was where he could do the most good. Even I could tell that Hasebe and Miyake took their studies seriously and had decent attitudes. They could focus and understand the material. Seeing that, Yukimura wanted to match their efforts.
“I’m going to the bathroom,” I said.
Hasebe and Miyake hadn’t returned. Since it seemed like it’d be a little while yet before our study session started, I got up to leave.
The real reason was that I felt Ishizaki and his friends gazing at me.
Also…I felt someone else’s presence. I didn’t have the clearest view, but indeed, someone was secretly watching me. Yukimura was preoccupied at the moment, so I walked straight over and sat next to my new stalker. She didn’t seem to notice me stroll up.
“What are you doing out here, Sakura?” I asked.
“Hyaaah?!” Sakura practically jumped out of her seat in fear. “I-It’s just a coincidence, Ayanokouji-kun!”
“A coincidence, huh?”
“Yes, a coincidence.”
“Well, I thought you were looking over at me from time to time.”
“Well, that’s… I mean… I’m sorry.” Sakura immediately apologized. She wasn’t confident enough to carry out the lie.
“Is there anything you want to talk to me about?” If it wasn’t urgent, she could just have called or sent an email. She wasn’t the type to hang out at Pallet with friends. “Did you want to join the study group?”
“Wh-wh-why do you say that?!”
“Well, I see study materials in your bag.”
This was odd. Naturally, you’d only have all of your notebooks with you if you were going to study. Quite a few students were hitting the books on their own. However, Sakura would never choose to study in such a crowded place.
“Ah…um!” Sakura panicked and tried to close her bag, but it was too late. The way she was acting screamed that she wanted to participate.
“Well, why not sit with us? I’ll ask everyone else.”
“B-but I…I’ve hardly ever spoken to them before.” Sakura wasn’t good at interacting with people, so she couldn’t approach our table. I understood that much.
“Well, you probably came here for a specific reason. I mean, the Sakura I know likely wouldn’t come all the way to Pallet and risk bumping into people pointlessly,” I told her.
Being in public still wasn’t easy for Sakura. She’d probably been tempted to leave or run back to her dorm, but managed to keep herself here. That meant something was going on in her mind.
“Well, you decide, Sakura. It’s not totally up to me. We have to consider how Yukimura, Hasebe, and Miyake would feel,” I said.
Sakura might be dejected to hear me say that, but her passivity could be bad for her. If I wanted her to step up and grow, the best plan of action was to keep my distance and watch over her. Then again, I felt as though communicating with Miyake and Hasebe was relatively easy, compared to the rest of our classmates. I’m sure Sakura felt the same.
“It’s okay if you want to think about it. We’ll probably be here for another hour,” I told her.
Though it might have been a little cold of me, I left Sakura and returned to my seat. The place was popular, but if I spent too long standing beside her, Hasebe would take notice. Yukimura glanced at me and said nothing. After about two minutes, Miyake and Hasebe returned.
“Did you finish checking everything?” Miyake asked.
“Just a little longer,” replied Yukimura. He picked up the pace.
“Ah, that reminds me. There’s something I want to ask you, Ayanokouji-kun,” said Hasebe.
“Knock it off, Hasebe,” said Miyake. Well, this sounded ominous.
“Come on, it’s fine. It’s not like it’s the end of the world if someone hears,” said Hasebe.
“That’s not the problem. There’s a time and place for this,” he replied.
Very ominous.
“Well, classes are done for the day. Isn’t right now the absolute best time to talk?” Hasebe countered.
Miyake shook his head, as if he didn’t know what to do. What in the world was Hasebe up to?
“Ayanokouji-kun, are you going out with Horikita-san?” she asked.
“Nope.”
“Whoa. Not even a pause to think about it? I’d say it sounded like that answer was pretty well-rehearsed. Kinda suspicious, don’t you think?”
“Several people already asked, that’s why. It’s not like Horikita and I are always together or anything,” I answered.
“I suppose. But you know what they say—rumors about love are half truths, half lies.”
For a solitary girl, Hasebe really seemed interested in romance. I suppose a sensible man in this situation would see whether Hasebe had a boyfriend. Of course, I wasn’t going to do that. More specifically, it was impossible for me to do so.
“Okay.” Yukimura suddenly lifted his head. It seemed he’d finished checking everything. “I feel like I’ve figured out where you two struggle. I’d like to propose a detailed study plan.”
He handed Miyake the test papers, his comments written in the margins.
“I tried coming up with some sample humanities questions for you to work on. I’ll have Hasebe go through the same problems later, so don’t write your answers directly into my notebook. The time limit is ten minutes. There are ten questions in total,” said Yukimura.
Miyake took the notebook without complaint. He knew Yukimura was doing this to help him. After he’d struggled for ten minutes, he passed it to Hasebe so she could do the same. Yukimura had probably designed these questions to pinpoint their weaknesses.
When the twenty-minute testing period ended, Yukimura immediately began writing down their scores.
“Seriously, you two…”
He returned their answer sheets, letting out an exasperated sigh. Miyake and Hasebe had each gotten only three answers correct and six incorrect, and each scored half points on one question. What was really surprising was that they managed to get the exact same questions right and wrong.
“You don’t just have similar strengths. You also tend to memorize things in exactly the same way,” said Yukimura.
“Wow! Doesn’t it feel as if this is kind of like fate, Miyacchi?” Hasebe asked.
“No, it doesn’t.”
“Oh, come on. You never play along. But, uh, isn’t this kind of a problem?” she asked Yukimura. She was starting to panic a little, but it wasn’t entirely something to worry about.
“Actually, this situation is convenient. It’ll only take half the effort to solve.”
If Hasebe and Miyake’s academic skills and tendencies were that much in sync, then Yukimura could basically think of it as actually teaching one person. Of course, there’d be at least a few minor differences between them, but everything would proceed more smoothly than expected.
“Do you think this is going to be easy?” Miyake asked.
“Well, that depends on how much effort you’ll put in. Even though the questions I came up with were kind of basic, your scores weren’t good. It makes me a little anxious, frankly. I’d like us to meet up seven or eight times before the final. Rather than tutoring constantly, it’ll be good to give you some time for self-study, too. Are you three okay with that? Miyake, you might have conflicts with club activities, right?”
“Since the final exam is getting closer, we’ll probably take a break from club activities, but let me ask for the time off,” replied Miyake.
Yukimura nodded. That just left Hasebe.
“Okay, so let me just ask one thing,” she said. “Won’t this just feel like typical studying? I mean, I don’t like studying or anything, but if this is just reviewing stuff, I think I can do it on my own. So, how does a group help? Obviously, I understand that having a smart person tutor me is good and all. But I came here because Miyacchi recommended it, and I’m still on the fence.”
“I doubt your anxiety stems solely from my teaching methods,” remarked Yukimura, having read between the lines. “This isn’t a normal study group. If this were a regular test, the school would prepare the questions. But this time, another class will write them. These questions won’t be standardized and easy to study for. With other students making problems, there are unknown variables. It’ll be difficult to anticipate them. That’s exactly why studying’s necessary.”
Miyake was convinced. “Yeah, you’re right. I’m sure Class C will try to trip us up.”
“Yeah,” Yukimura said. “Well, the questions might seem impossible for us to imagine right now, but what if we identify the people coming up with them? Personally, I think Kaneda will do it.”
I’d heard that name before.
“He’s that one creepy weirdo with the glasses, right?” asked Hasebe.
“I don’t know if I’d put it like that, but yeah. He’s the best student in Class C,” said Yukimura. It was reasonable to assume that the best student would make the questions.
“But if Class C is trying to trick us, won’t Ryuuen or maybe Ishizaki come up with some, too?”
“No way. Without a thorough understanding of the subject, they won’t be able to come up with anything. Take you two, for example. Think about subjects you’re poor at, like the humanities. Do you really think you’d be able to create a tricky question?” asked Yukimura.
“No. I wouldn’t even be able to think of a question.”
“Yeah. Besides, what kind of social studies problems would even be on the test?”
“Exactly. At best, you’d think of the most obvious problems. It would be a challenge to come up with obtuse or tricky questions no matter how you tried. Even if you scoured the textbook for the really difficult parts, if you didn’t establish the problem properly, the school would probably turn it down,” said Yukimura.
He made good points, but they weren’t quite strong enough to instill confidence.
“It’s ultimately up to the school to decide whether to use a question, right?” I interjected. “In that case, don’t you think we should clearly understand the line between a question that’s acceptable and one that isn’t?”
“True,” said Yukimura. “We wouldn’t have to struggle if we knew that.”
“So, if Class D deliberately submits a number of extreme questions that border on going too far, then we see what’s accepted. Wouldn’t that give us a solid understanding of what’s okay and what’s not?” I asked.
“That’s certainly a good idea,” said Miyake.
“You’re really smart, Ayanokouji-kun,” said Hasebe.
“We’ll probably need to come up with provisional questions as soon as possible so we can identify the school’s standards. I’ll try to create questions myself, but would Horikita and Hirata be willing to help out?” Yukimura asked.
“I dunno. I’m just spitballing here.”
“Well, that’s not good. You’re the only person who can get in touch with them, Ayanokouji,” Yukimura said. Miyake and Hasebe nodded in tandem.
“Well, I’ll do whatever I can. Just don’t expect too much of me,” I replied. Did Horikita and Yukimura both intend to make me their middleman?
“Yeah. Okay.” Hasebe smiled, her doubts about the study group gone. “Well, I’m not in any clubs, so I’m good. Let’s decide when to meet based on what works for Miyacchi.”
Miyake looked over at Hasebe in surprise. “I thought you were going to back out, Hasebe. This is unusual. You don’t normally want to get involved with other guys,” said Miyake.
“If it were just me getting expelled, I wouldn’t care. But I don’t want to drag you down with me, Miyacchi. You know? It’d be bad if I didn’t actually study this time around.”
“Well, I suppose this is enough for today. The first study session is the day after tomorrow.” Yukimura brought things to a close. Was he planning to explore their problem areas today and tomorrow, then devise countermeasures? I couldn’t be sure.
As we got up to leave, I realized Sakura still hadn’t come over to talk to us.
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login