All or Nothing

Volume 1: Chapter 3 Part 1

Part 1

Lessons passed by without trouble, but the unanimous special exam was still present in Class B's mind. They had not discussed anything about the exam since Chabashira explained the premise. That was why when it was time for lunch, Hirata immediately left his seat and walked up to the podium, gaining the attention of every Class B student.

"Hey, before we all go for our lunch break, I would like to hear everyones opinion on this special exam. I think doing it now rather than later will be best for everyone. What do you all think?"

"I agree, Hirata-kun."

"Good idea, let's discuss it now."

"Yeah yeah."

"Oh ho ho. I'm the perfect human being. I do not need to be here for your discussion. But I shall humour you all and stay."

Swathes of support for Hirata's suggestion rang throughout the classroom. Surprisingly, even Kouenji agreed to the idea and stayed in his seat.

"Thanks everyone. Now, does anyone have any thoughts they want to share on the special exam?"

The first person to raise her hand to answer was none other than Kushida.

"Um, this special exam means that there are going to be separate opinions on things that could be presented as part of a vote. And that's going to cause trouble, right?"

"Yes, unfortunately. I don't think it would be a special exam if there wouldn't be even a little bit of trouble."

Nodding her head in understanding, Kushida continued with her idea.

"Then I think it would be better to have a clear leader in case there's a situation where our choices don't match each others. I think if we follow the options that the leader eventually decides on, we can pass this special exam without any problems."

If there were more options in one of the voting questions, it was likely that opinions would be more divided than if there were only a "for" and "against". This in turn would cause more debates over why certain people didn't support one option.

What Kushida was proposing was a way to mitigate that risk by having someone politically take charge. Like a communist leader who would force people to choose one option if arguments occurred.

"That is a good idea. I agree with you, Kushida-san. But it's going to be a big responsibility for the leader. Unless someone here is willing to nominate themselves for that position, do you have any idea who that person should be?"

However, while Kushida's idea was a welcoming plan, who the person that was going to take charge was a little difficult to decide on. The position of leader for this special exam would need not only someone who was capable of organising the entire class but someone who was really ready to take such a huge responsibility.

Some of the students, including Hirata, were asking themselves if there really was someone like that.

"Well... If you don't mind, could I suggest it be you... Horikita-san?"

"Me?"

Slightly surprised to hear her name be thrown at the suggestion by Kushida, Horikita raised her eyebrows as she looked at Kushida. The girl under such a gaze only nodded with a smile as she replied.

"Yes. You've been our leader many times in many special exams before. And more importantly, I thought you would be the best person who could bring everyone together so that there would be no unfairness. Of course, it's a big responsibility, as Hirata-kun said, and if Horikita-san says it's okay, then..."