Elite Class

Tensions are high as the students of the Advanced Nurturing High School enter the second week of this special exam taking place on an uninhabited island. Students from all grades are getting ready to make their final moves, and so is Acting Principal Tsukishiro. Who will come out on top? And who will be packing their bags to leave the island--and the school?

As the second semester begins, two additional events are announced: the school's sports festival and its first-ever cultural festival! But before these two can kick off, an unexpected special exam will be held. The rules seem simple, but the questions might be heavier than anyone expects... Are the students truly ready to cast their final votes?

As Ayanokouji and his classmates begin their second year at the Advanced Nurturing High School, they're greeted by a fresh gauntlet of exams and a fresh batch of rather unique first-year students. They'll have to get to know each other quickly, because the first special exam pairs the first-years with the second-years on a written test--with only the second-years facing expulsion if their team performs poorly! Worse yet? It seems one of the new first-years is also from the White Room. Can Ayanokouji avoid expulsion while sussing out the identity of this hidden foe?

Ayanokouji's relationship with Karuizawa deepens, while the aftershock of his perfect mathematics score ripples through the school. Horikita asks to join the student council, and is accepted by Nagumo. And summer vacation brings with it no rest, but another special exam--a reprise of the earlier deserted island test. Except this time, it'll be a battle royale with all three grade levels duking it out against each other!

Students of the prestigious Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School are given remarkable freedom—if they can win, barter, or save enough points to work their way up the ranks!

The exam is over and the students' summer break has started aboard a luxury cruise ship! Unfortunately, it's not all fun in the sun. Ryuuen is on the hunt for the person that attacked Kinoshita and Komiya on the island, and for some reason, the entire third-year class seems to be watching Ayanokouji very, very closely... Can everyone enjoy their vacation despite the rough waters ahead?

The special exam on an uninhabited island has begun! For two weeks, students will do their best to visit checkpoints and complete challenges to gain points with their groups. Well, except for Ayanokouji, who has opted to tackle this exam on his own... or has he? Nanase, a first-year student from Class D, breaks off from her own group and asks to tag along with him, but there doesn't seem to be anything in it for her. Just what is this under-classman's goal?

Class D has conquered the midterms, but their celebration is cut short when three Class C students falsely accuse Sudou of assaulting them! With their friend facing expulsion, and the class’s points on the line, Ayanokoji, Horikita, and Kikyou must team up to gather evidence to prove his innocence.

Having survived their final exams, Ayanokoji and the others are looking forward to an idyllic school-sponsored summer vacation aboard a cruise ship. But nothing is ever quite as it seems with the Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School, and the cruise turns out to be the cover for a series of special tests! What grueling new challenges await them out at sea?!

Despite the school's tampering, Class C made it through the special exam without anyone being expelled. Now, they face the final event of their first year--the graduation ceremony. Horikita struggles to decide what to say to her brother before he leaves, while Ayanokouji puts in motion his plan to deal with Tsukishiro, seeking allies in the form of the other homeroom instructors. Meanwhile, his classmates' suspicions about him grow--including one girl who might be getting a little too fascinated by him.

Still reeling from the shock of their first expulsion, the first-years head into the last special exam of the year--a seven-event gauntlet that sees Class A facing off against Class C, and Class B against Class D. With each class's elected commander facing expulsion if they lose, Ayanokouji volunteers for the role to quell his classmates' suspicion about the events of the last exam. And with Sakayanagi captaining Class A, making this the right place and right time for their long-anticipated personal showdown--he might just need that Protection Point before too long.

School may be on vacation, but the scheming never stops! Christmas draws near, and Karuizawa and Satou compete for Ayanokouji's affections while new student council president Nagumo makes his first sinister moves.

It's spring, and for the first time in the school's history, no one has been expelled after the third semester exams. As a result, the Advanced Nurturing High School sets a cruel test--each class must choose one of their own members to be expelled. Chaos consumes the first-years as Hirata tries and fails to keep the class from turning on each other, Ichinose strikes a costly bargain with Nagumo, and Ryuuen's classmates seem ready to throw him to the wolves. Can Class C make it out of this unscathed--or will they be undone by traitors within?

The second semester kicks off, and the students hit the ground running--literally, with a school-wide sports festival! With Class-D's future on the line, Ayanokouji has to decide how far he'll go to avoid the limelight--and reckon with the consequences of letting everyone glimpse his true abilities on the field!

Sakayanagi puts her plan to crush Ichinose into motion, spreading rumors of her alleged criminal history through the school like wildfire. With Class B at a loss, and Ichinose herself uncharacteristically reluctant to fight back, can Ayanokouji step in to save her reputation? Meanwhile, Kushida makes contact with student council president Nagumo in what might prove to be a very dangerous alliance, indeed.

The second half of the special summer test finds the students duking it out aboard a luxurious cruise ship. Divided into 12 groups patterned after the signs of the Zodiac, all four classes are faced with a devilishly difficult test of their thinking skills. They may have survived the island, but they're not out of hot water yet!

The third semester kicks off in high gear with a special boot camp deep in the mountains. Forcibly separated into groups along grade and gender lines, the first, second and third years alike must work together to survive the rugged terrain. Even worse? The leader of the group that comes in last will be expelled. Can Class D make it back to campus intact, or is this where they finally say goodbye to one of their own?

In this challenging work, Christopher Lasch makes an accessible critique of what is wrong with the values and beliefs of America's professional and managerial elites. The distinguished historian argues that democracy today is threatened not by the masses, as Jose Ortega y Gasset ( The Revolt of the Masses) had said, but by the elites. These elites - mobile and increasingly global in outlook - refuse to accept limits or ties to nation and place.

In Second Class, working-class Americans of all races, political orientations, and occupations share their stories—cleaning ladies, health care aides, cops, truck drivers, fast food workers, electricians, and more. In their own words, these working-class Americans explain the struggles and triumphs of their increasingly precarious lives—as well as what policies they think would improve them.

The end of the second semester is near, and Ryuuen's manhunt for Class D's mastermind is only getting more aggressive. When he and his goons decide to torture an answer out of Karuizawa, Ayanokouji decides it's finally time to step forward--if, that is, Karuizawa doesn't break under the pressure first!