Welcome to Arkansas

Very Cowboy High School came into Nekoman's view as he approached the school by foot. This would mark the last ever "first day" of school given that he was a senior. The day he would experience could only be described as utterly typical for what he would normally see occur here. Otherwise, he'd just be lying to himself.

"HEY RANK 2!"

"..." 

Futardia shout out a nickname which most might think complementary but it is given a whole new context once the type relationship between them is known.

"You are very ugly." states Futardia simply.

"That is not my fau-"

"AH please stop talking. I can't listen to anyone who has a GPA below 4.82."

Futardia obtained rank 1 for their class in the prior year with a GPA of 4.83. Nekoman was gapped by 0.02 making him have a GPA of 4.81.

ding dong

The chime of the bells indicates five minutes before the school day starts. Since it's the first day, every student must flock to the auditorium where the headmaster gives a speech and makes announcements surrounding the upcoming semesters. By the time the bell makes a second ring indicating 9:00 a.m., school hours officially start and nearly every person working and attending this school is seated within the auditorium. Shortly after, a grizzled man with an enormous cape and a streak of white within his ruffled brown hair makes an appearance on the center of the stage. 

"It is me... MITCH MACKS!!!"

"WOOOOO!" everyone yells in response.

Grandmaster Macks, or Mitch if you know him personally, is quite popular and adored by people around the world due to him being perfect in nearly every regard: appearance, intelligence, strength. This year contains his 101st birthday as well which is quite a remarkable age for any human.

"I have an important change to announce... heh heh..." says Macks. "Previous GPAs... DON'T MATTER ANY MORE FOR SENIOR RANKINGS!!!"

"What!!?!?" everyone yells in response. Very Cowboy High School is a fiercely competitive school where all the students are extremely cutthroat when it comes to maximizing the GPAs they earn over the years.

"The reason for this is because I want to have a fighting tournament to determine class rankings. Why? Because IT SEEMED FUN!!!" 

"WOOOOO!!!" everyone yells despite feeling conflicted earlier. Why? Because it's Mitch!

"I will discuss details at a further date. For now, head on to your classes. Thank you for coming here today."

As Macks wrapped his declaration up, everyone began to leave the auditorium. 

Fighting tournament? A test of strength seems to be considerably more dependent on genetics compared to intelligence. Will this hurt my chance at obtaining valedictorian?

Nekoman's intrusive thoughts following the event was briefly interrupted by Futardia.

"Neko, you heard what he said right? It'd be super cringe if you thought you'd be able to beat me. My triumph over you is guaranteed merely due to my will."

The varying goals at which both sought happened to come into conflict with each other. Nekoman wants to be valedictorian while Futardia wants to surpass Nekoman. By this logic, at the end of the school year at least someone has to lose.