The existence of the duty group leader and the point deduction system somewhat liberated the class monitor.
The class monitor no longer had to constantly watch over the class discipline, allowing him to focus on his studies or other matters.
Usually, when he had to leave for meetings, he would worry about the class getting rowdy.
Now it was different; he had a little assistant, which made him feel more at ease when attending meetings.
He was called out by the class monitor from the neighboring class for a meeting.
After being away for nearly a lesson, he didn't return directly to the classroom upon his return but went to the office to find the Class Teacher first.
The two huddled together, whispering for over half an hour before the class monitor and the Class Teacher returned to the classroom, one after the other, with documents in hand.
As usual, the Class Teacher tapped on the podium to gather the students' attention before speaking, "There's something I need to tell everyone. Please put aside your work for a moment. The class monitor just attended a meeting, and here's what it was about: We all know there's a short National Day holiday coming up in early October. Our school is planning to hold a sports meet before the National Day break. The class monitor went out earlier for matters related to the sports meet. Everyone should try to sign up and strive to achieve good results in the sports meet to bring honor to our class."
Shi Li wasn't particularly interested in the sports meet; to be precise, she wasn't interested in sports at all.
Hearing about the sports meet, she knew it was something that wouldn't concern her much, so she quietly lowered her head and continued reading.
Most of the students were similar to Shi Li, not interested in the sports meet itself but more excited about the prospect of no classes and endless eating during the event.
Only a small portion of students showed interest in participating in the sports meet, eagerly asking the class monitor for the list of events for this year's meet.
The students' reactions were all within the class monitor's expectations, as this wasn't the first time organizing a sports meet.
The class monitor asked the students who wanted to see the event list to be patient, assuring them they would get to see it soon.
He then announced, "Bringing glory to our class is something that should be rewarded. I've discussed with the teacher, and this time, students who participate in the sports meet and achieve good results will have the opportunity to earn bonus points for their group."
The mention of bonus points immediately piqued the students' interest.
Seeing the gleam in the students' eyes, the class monitor quickly dangled the enticing carrot, "First place in the sports meet will earn 2 points, second place 1.5 points, third place 1 point, and fourth or fifth place will earn 0.5 points."
These bonus points were substantial; a first place in the sports meet could be worth more than several first places in individual subject tests.
However, the top-performing students didn't express dissatisfaction or complain about unfairness. Firstly, the sports meet was an annual event, while there were ten exams a year, so they couldn't be compared.
Secondly, they didn't lack points, but other students in the class desperately needed them, many already in negative points. It would be best if they could balance their accounts through this sports meet.
As for some groups easily gaining points through the sports meet and potentially reversing their scores to enter the top-ranking groups, well, that would be their own capability.
After this policy incentive, the students' enthusiasm soared.
When it came time to sign up, it seemed as if they wanted to perform a triathlon at the sports meet.
Sign-ups were organized by groups, and the class monitor spent a long time processing these registrations.
Some students signed up for at least three events, while others went as far as five events.
With limited events available, every event had three to five students already signed up.
Each class only had one slot per event, and it wasn't possible to make an exception for their class to allow five students to participate in one event.
Looking at the long list of names for each event, the class monitor reiterated, "Because there's only one slot for each event, we'll use a competitive selection process. Before school ends today, we'll go to the playground to exercise a bit and select the top two students for each event. These two will be each other's substitutes. Barring any special circumstances where one student is unwell, we'll choose the student with the best performance right before the sports meet to participate."
Shi Li stroked her chin and thought silently, [I wonder if there will be a situation where someone wants to participate in the sports meet but isn't skilled enough, so they secretly drug the other person to harm them]
Everyone else: You're too dramatic! How many melodramatic novels have you read? Why do you always assume that in a situation where two people are chosen, one will definitely try to harm the other? Can't we just be one big happy family?
The class monitor pretended not to hear Shi Li's inner thoughts and calmly answered questions from other classmates.
Someone asked him, "Four people from our group signed up for the 4x400m mixed relay. If we get first place, does that mean each of us will get two points?" The thought of earning eight points for one event seemed delightful.
Other groups had similar plans and were waiting for the class monitor's answer.
The class monitor looked at everyone with a somewhat helpless smile and asked in return, "What do you think?"
The tone suggested it wasn't possible, but the student grinned and said, "I guess it should be okay, right?"
The class monitor smiled and said, "No, it's not. The maximum points for a single event is two points. In the situation you described, your group would ultimately receive two points, which would be divided among the four of you, giving each person 0.5 points. That's still not a small amount."
Indeed, the points weren't insignificant, but it didn't seem fair. The same points that one person could earn by winning first place now required four people's efforts to achieve.
If all four group members could win first place in different events, they could earn a total of eight points, which was four times the amount.
Everyone wasn't foolish; once they realized that group events would only earn two points, no one wanted to participate anymore.
Students flocked to the class monitor to remove their names from team events.
The class monitor asked the students to return to their studies while he went back to his seat to organize the list of participants for various events and prepare to take the students to the sports field for trials soon.
After organizing all the groups, the class monitor frowned; no one had signed up for the 4x400m mixed relay.
He stood at the podium and tried to drum up interest for a while, even stating that cross-group participation was allowed and the points earned could be divided among the four participants.
He then looked towards the students who had signed up for the 400m event, asking if they wanted to participate, but was met with unanimous refusal.
Then his gaze turned to the only group that hadn't signed up for any sports events. Noticing that the group members were all tall with long legs, they looked like they had explosive athletic potential.
More importantly, this group currently held the top spot on the points leaderboard, probably making them the four people in the class who cared least about points.
So he spoke up:
"Shi Li, your group members have long legs and feet, and look extremely adept at sports. How about the 4x400m mixed relay? Your group has two boys and two girls, making you perfect candidates for the mixed relay team."
Shi Li: Who said that having long legs and arms means you're definitely good at sports?!
