"WAAH!!!!" a high-pitched voice wailed throughout the corridors. Surrounding a bulletin board on one of the marble walls, students observed a list of names and subsequent details following them. Yet the owner of the cry of disbelief didn't marvel at these details but instead feared them. "HOW DID I FAIL?!?!" Squeezing her way through the crowd, Hana moved towards the source of the wailing, the general tone of voice familiar to her.
"Excuse me, sorry, friend in peril," she apologised as she politely pushed her way through. "Oh no," she muttered as she saw her friend Miyuki on her knees, grovelling at the sight of the first-years recent assignment results.
Top Star Academy handled exams and assignments similarly to most traditional Japanese schools, with results being posted for all students to see. Each cohorts' results were posted in their respective class building with a list going by homeroom results and a combined list of the entire class' results. Whilst some would consider their scholastic results being displayed for all to see invasive, others and the academy especially, considered it great incentive to improve academic results and inspire friendly rivalries. Usually, there wouldn't be too much fuss regarding results, however in instances where Miyuki is involved, theatrics were bound to follow.
"Are you ok?" Hana asked, bending down to assist her friend.
"Oh Hana!" Miyuki cried out, turning around and burying her face in her friend's chest, squeezing onto her shoulders. "How could this happen? I worked so hard." Miyuki continued to wail as Hana tried her best to comfort Miyuki, though the concerned eyes of their peers washed a sense of embarrassment over her.
"Come on Miyuki, it can't be that bad," she reassured, looking at the results herself to see what the matter truly was. Her eyes looked up to find Miyuki's homeroom class standings and then she started scrolling her eyes until she came upon Miyuki's name. "Oh..." she uttered, her voice now realising why her friend was in such distress. At the bottom of Miyuki's homeroom list was the name 'Miyuki Jorutta' and next to it the result '52% - D'. "Well, um, at least you didn't actually fail, a D is still technically a pass" Hana sympathised but her attempts yielded no happiness on Miyuki's part.
"But it might just have been a failure! Look!" Miyuki whipped out her phone and opened the 'Grand Prix' application. The screen lit up and Hana's eyes widened as the tradition UI she and her fellow students had become accustomed to, looked different. Instead of the gold glittery background and detailed white lace circle, the colour palette was greyed out. Even Miyuki's single ribbon charm lacked colour, blending into the monochromatic theme. The only colour to be found was on the tabs at the bottom with 'Exams' now in red. As Miyuki clicked on it, her academic details popped up, revealing her results for all of the academy's past exams and assignments. Hana didn't want to pry too much, considering how she would feel if someone looked through her results, but she couldn't help but notice the overall percentage for Miyuki's grade.
"Wait, but that means..." Hana began to conclude but Miyuki finished the thought for her.
"Yep, my average grade has dropped below the threshold; I can't participate in the 'Grand Prix'!" she cried, once again burying her face in Hana's chest seeking comfort. Hana brushed her hand over Miyuki's head to comfort her as Akira and Tori rushed to the centre of the commotion.
"What's going on?" Akira asked, pushing her way past the group. "Oh..." she said, noticing Miyuki and Hana in a heap on the floor.
"What happened?" Tori added in, kneeling down to Miyuki and Hana. Amidst her cries, Miyuki grumbled and whined, wheezing for breath and mumbling a language now all her own. "Um, did you understand that?" she asked Hana, who redirected Tori's attention to the grade board and Miyuki's phone. Instantly, Tori understood the situation and with a quick glance at Akira, transferred the knowledge.
"Got it," Akira nodded. She turned around to face the horde of students whom were trying to investigate, raising her arms to protect her friends from them. "Ok, that's enough. Nothing to see here, move along. You can see the results later or on your phone." As Akira moved everyone away, murmuring began spreading amongst the students, and they're words were loud enough to reach Miyuki's ears.
"What was that all about?"
"It's just a grade isn't it?"
"I thought she was one of the top first-years, how could she get such a bad score?" Needless to say, their concerns matched her friends' questions as well, but their inquiries were put on hold once faculty arrived.
"What is going on here?" a male teacher asked, addressing the commotion.
"Oh Mr. Oji, sorry about this," Hana apologised, Miyuki still clutching onto her clothing. Once Miyuki's eyes took notice of her homeroom teacher, she leapt towards him, crushing him with her tight grip.
"Mr. Oji, how could I have failed?!?!" she whined. The three girls felt bad as the teacher began struggling to not only remove Miyuki from her grip around him, but also justify the grade he had given her.
"Miss Jorutta, please, this is very inappropriate." Finally, after assistance from Akira and Hana, Miyuki was pried from the teacher and he took the time to address her formally. "If you'd like to discuss your grade, I can make time for you now," he explained, brushing his clothes clean of creases.
"Really?" she asked, her cheeks now bright red and her eyes puffed from all the tears.
"But I ask that you calm down, this type of behaviour is not befitting of an idol nor a young lady," he firmly stated. Miyuki turned to her friends who were motioning actions to help her calm down. Akira gave signals to straighten her hair and clothes, Hana suggested brushing her face clean and Tori did some breathing exercises. After quickly doing all they suggested, she regained some sense of dignity.
"Yes sir, I'm sorry." Her eyes were still watering but she seemed to have control over it. After believing she was capable of listening to his feedback, the teacher escorted his student to his office, whilst Miyuki's friends shared looks of concern, unable to take their eyes off of the grade that affected their friend so badly.
----
"How is that?" Ken asked, pouring Miyuki a cup of sweet tea, adding a sliver of citrus flavouring to cut through the intensity. Miyuki picked up the porcelain teacup and clasped it with both hands, pressing her lips softly against the brim and taking a small sip of the drink.
"It's delicious," she answered. Placing the cup back on the teacher's desk and admiring his office. Academy staff had several offices on campus with a general common room within the administration building, a conference room in their respective staff housing and personalised offices in whichever building they taught. Because Ken Oji was a first-year instructor, his office was located on the first floor of the first-year building. In order to enter, one would have to enter the staff lounge and then proceed down a small hallway with offices opposite one another. Ken's was at the end of the hall and had a general homey feeling. The inside was primarily mahogany wood with fresh plants adding colour and fresh scents. Behind his desk was a large bookshelf with personal belongings and rows of folders concerning curriculum and student details. He turned to grab the folder labelled 'Exam Results – First Year- World Idol Culture' and after flicking through results, he pulled out Miyuki's exam.
"Miss Jorutta, I understand you are upset with the result that you were given but concerning your work, your awarded grade was the best I could give," he explained, flipping through the pages of her exam. Miyuki couldn't help but look as markings in red ink covered the paper, her original writing almost replaced by the amount of feedback. "To pass this exam, you needed to study up on idol cultures from around the world and be able to write and extensive analysis in comparison to Japanese idols. We covered many topics and styles from traditional American popstars to Bollywood actresses," he elaborated, flipping once again through the pages of her exam. "Yet all you wrote about were the current generation of Japanese idols. I can tell you were trying to answer the exam topic because you wrote here: 'Idol culture in the world is expansive and dynamic with different cultures representing different styles of performance and activity. Although the term 'idol' is not traditionally used all throughout the world, it is most prevalent in Japanese culture, especially when recognising the increase in idol activities or Aikatsu,". Hearing him read it aloud, Miyuki came to see his decision. "From there you started to elaborate on the differences between Japanese idols who study and those who enter the career with no formal training. If you were asked to write about the history and diversity of idols in Japan, then I would have to give you a perfect grade." He waited for Miyuki to give him an answer, but she just sat there with her head lowered, taking in all his criticisms. Seeing how defeated she was, Ken rotated his computer monitor to face Miyuki, typing on his keyboard and clicking on some folders before a spreadsheet came up. "These are your results for the year, your practical exam results are phenomenal, quite honestly the best in not just our class but potentially your entire year. However, your theoretical results; your exams and assignments are anything but. It's almost hard to believe that these results belong to the same person. I understand that some students have their strengths and weaknesses, but this is almost polarising."