Gifted Academy: The Perfect Student

Chapter 71 Movements In The Background - Part 3

?As I walked back towards my dorm, I noticed that Class 2-E already had an entirely new cohort of students. The school certainly was quick with its turnovers.

On my way back, I was hurriedly approached by Hamasaki. She had been friendly with lots of her new classmates in 2-C and had already established herself as a leading figure. I could've guessed why she had come to me all of a sudden.

"Have you seen my student id card?"

She was looking for her id card, which was in my possession. I was going to return it to her eventually, but I wanted to figure out what the situation was first.

"Did someone steal it?"

It was a pretty out-of-the-blue question, but I wanted to see if she knew.

"Um, I'm not sure, I don't usually misplace things, but I don't think someone would steal it either."

"I haven't seen it. Where was the last place you saw it?"

"I think I had it in class 2-D a few days ago, we were comparing our student id card photos, and I don't recall seeing it afterwards."

Sounds suspicious.

I was more sure that Akasaka had stolen Hamasaki's student id. However, I still had no idea why she would do such a thing. From what I heard, I assumed that this was all premeditated. It seemed awfully convenient to be 'comparing photos' and then lose your id card and not have it returned for several days.

But then again, Akasaka's personality wasn't exactly great, so maybe she was just hesitant to hand it back. I still couldn't be certain of her intentions—it might be a better idea to confront Akasaka about it. The only problem was that she was rather difficult to talk to.

"I'll keep an eye out for it."

"Thanks, Mizuhara!"

Ultimately, this was really that big of an issue to me, so I decided to just leave it for now. If nothing occurs in the next few days, I'd just hand the card back to Hamasaki and pretend nothing happened.

The student id cards were somewhat important to us as they were used as identification around the school, and you needed to present them during tests. Aside from that, I assumed there were other uses for them that we had not yet learned.

Whatever the case, I was going back to my room to get some peace and quiet.

**

Almost as soon as I opened the door to my room, my phone vibrated with the sound of a notification.

What a pain.

I opened it and read the contents.

-

From: Kaoru Hiroto

To: 2-C

We need to discuss some important matters that have occurred recently; please come to room 06 in the library if you have time.

-

Well, I considered just skipping, but I wasn't exactly busy. Begrudgingly, I shut the door to my room and began making my way to the library.

Several people were already in the meeting room, so I just walked inside and took a seat. A few minutes go by as a few more students join us. Eventually, Kaoru begins the discussion.

"Alright, everyone, the reason I called you all here today is that quite a few students from class 2-C have suddenly lost their student id cards. I just wanted to ask everyone if anyone knows anything about what could be causing this."

Looks like I was spot-on with my observation.

It appeared no one really knew anything as nobody spoke up after Kaoru's request. After a few moments of silence, Furukawa spoke up, discussing the matter.

"Where did everyone last have their student cards?" He asked.

"We were comparing our photos with some of the students in class 2-D."

"I also lost mine while I was comparing id photos in 2-D," added Hamasaki.

It was pretty obvious what the common denominator was.

"It sounds like 2-D has something to do with this," said Kaoru.

"What are we going to do about it?"

"It might be a good idea to confront them about this," said Furukawa.

"I think we should ask them if they have any of our student ids as a start," suggested Kaoru.

There was agreeance within the crowd.

I didn't really want to participate in any of this, so I walked the opposite way when they left to deal with this issue.

Suddenly, I was approached by a short, blonde girl. She was practically silent throughout the discussion, as was I. It appeared she wanted to speak to me. I was able to remember that she was Kobayashi Lucy, the highest point holder in class 2-C, although not by a great margin.

"This is all pretty stupid, isn't it?"

That was an abrupt way to start a conversation.

"I suppose."

"Where are you going now?" she asked.

"Back to my room."

"Well, I want to go to this café, but I don't really want to go alone... you want to come with me?"

"Me? I'm sure you have other people who would want to go with you."

? "They're all busy dealing with this dumb student id stuff."

"Um, I suppose I could go with you."

"Cool, I want to quickly get changed before I go. How about I meet you in front of my room in twenty minutes."

"Sure, I guess."

"Alright! I'm in room #048. I'll see you there."

Well, I guess I'm doing this now.

I suppose I'd go and get changed into my casual clothes as well since she was also changing. I might go to the convenience store afterwards to get a bottle of shampoo—I had been using the shampoo I was given from the Facility, but it was just about empty.

I slowly made my way back to my room for the second time. Kimura still wasn't back yet. I guess he was busy dealing with class 2-A things or studying. It didn't take too long for me to get changed. I folded my uniform up and placed it beside my bed. I decided to check my bank account while I was here.

-

Your Account

Current Points: 3,914

Owed: 27,780

Owing: 12,000

-

I had a decent number of points and a stream of income. However, I still couldn't afford to be complacent. The previous exam showed that points were going to be an extremely valuable asset at this school. It was best to save points whenever possible.

I guess I'd just grab a small drink at the café.