Unveiling the Mastermind - Classroom of the Elite Reaction

Prologue

"It's probably just stuff to do with our second year, right?" Shinohara responded

"We have already had plenty of explanation on the changes for our second year" Keisei disagreed, "And I can't see any need for private viewing if that was the case."

"Yeah, the hell's up with that, why would we need private rooms just for a video?" Sudo asked.

"Well, it's possible that some of the content may be difficult for some students to watch, or may contain sensitive issues." Yosuke explained, "But I can't think of anything specific that the government would want to show high schoolers."

Horikita had been sitting silently, mulling over the issue in her head. For some reason, her expression was one of deep concern. Maybe she had cracked the puzzle. Finally, she spoke up.

"I'm worried that they may include student matters," she said bluntly.

The students of Class D looked at her, confused by her statement.

"What do you mean by that Horikita-san?" Yosuke asked.

Horikita sat back in her seat and pondered for a few more seconds before giving her thoughts.

"The most intriguing part of Sensei's explanation was the part about the necessity of private viewing. As Hirata-Kun said, it is therefore likely that these videos will contain content difficult for some students to watch. Obviously, the fact that the teachers weren't informed of the video's content rules out educational material, as well as content that would directly affect the school's structure. Even if they had no say, the teaching staff would at least be consulted first."

Class D hung on her words and seemed to understand her logic. That was a welcome improvement.

"That leads to the question - why are these videos necessary for the students? If neither education nor school information is the goal of these videos then what effect are they intended to have? I believe that two options are possible. One is that we will be receiving some kind of news about the world outside the school. Two, the content of the videos are somehow connected to the students themselves."

A wave of unease swept the room and the students awaited Horikita's next words.

"Option one is unlikely as one of the school's defining traits is its restriction from outside contact and also limited knowledge of worldly affairs. It would have to be something rather big for the school to inform us of it and I don't believe the teachers would be quite this calm if a war had just broken out, for example."

A few students found humour in Horikita's statement and smiled despite their growing nervousness.

"That leaves option two; content connected to the students. This would also explain why separate rooms would be necessary. If sensitive information were to come up about a student then that student would likely want some privacy. The only hole I can see in this theory is why the government would be the ones providing these videos if they were about the students of this school. However, this is the best explanation I could come up with based on the information we were provided."

The class growing unease climaxed and worried voices filled the room.

"What are they going to show about us!"

"Why would they bother doing this?"

"Sensitive information? They aren't going to, like...expose anything are they?" Kei finally spoke up, her voice a little quieter than usual. It didn't look like anyone was in the right mind to notice.

"Eh, what do you mean expose?" yelled Shinohara, her eyes widening at her friend's words.

Finally, Yosuke stepped in to calm the panic.

"Okay everyone, calm down for the time being. I am also worried about what these videos may contain but the chances of the school hurting its students unnecessarily aren't high now, are they?

His voice was calm but firm enough to force attention onto his words.

"Let's just see what is in store. I'm on the same page as you; if these videos do contain information sensitive to the students of our class then we will deal with it as it comes. I know it's tough but even if that's the case, I will make sure that nobody is hurt by what is shown."

There was obviously no way that he could make that guarantee but his words settled the hoard. If Horikita was correct then this situation would be harder on Yosuke than anybody else in the class. He has grown tremendously in the past year and now has people around him he can rely on. However, secrets can be compared to landmines in people's minds - step in the wrong place and the results are disastrous. If something were to come out then Yosuke would have a lot on his plate.

"Hey, shouldn't we start heading to the gym, you guys!" Kushida's voice seemed even cheerier than normal. Maybe her act was off.

The whole class made their way to the gym. I suspected that Horikita was right. The likelihood of students' secrets being revealed was high. The question on everyone's minds was why? They didn't have the information that I did so this may seem completely incomprehensible to them, but if the situation was the one I suspected then I would be in for two weeks of trouble.