The principal's office smelled strongly of sweet perfume.
"What was the reason for your fight, Saionji? Tell me." The principal took a deep breath and sat down on his leather chair.
If I explain the incident exactly as it happened, the chances of him taking my side will steadily decrease. Most people's greatest weakness is their conscience.
"Suzuki came up close to my face and made fun of my deceased parents in a low voice."
The principal suddenly got up from his chair and walked over to Suzuki. No matter how much Suzuki tried to deny it, the principal wouldn't believe him.
"How could you do something so immoral?!"
"But it's not true..." The principal kept cutting Suzuki off.
"Shut up! Don't you dare talk back. Apologize right now."
At first, Suzuki resisted apologizing, but after a few threats from the principal, he reluctantly bowed his head and apologized in a very low voice.
"You can still file a formal complaint if you wish, Saionji."
"There's no need, sir. Thank you, an apology is enough."
I really love this concept called conscience. It can serve as an excuse to get out of many situations. I straightened my collar and cracked my knuckles, then slowly walked out of the principal's office.
As soon as I walked out, the girl standing to the right of the door greeted me. She began to speak in a worried voice, rubbing her hands together at the same time.
"I was so scared that something serious happened to you."
"As you can see, I'm perfectly fine. I didn't get hurt." I was rubbing the palm of my left hand against the spot where I had taken the punch.
"I wish I could have done something."
"What's the reason for your worrying about me? Do you like me? Besides, what exactly could you have done anyway?"
"L... Like you? No, of course I don't!" She clasped her hands at the hem of her skirt, blushing deeply.
"Then don't interact with me too much."
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" The girl looked down and walked away from me with quick steps.
Before I could even take a step with my right foot, someone with a large hand grabbed my left shoulder. When I turned around to look, standing there was a tall, well-built, handsome student with blonde hair.
"I heard about your fight."
"How wonderful." I tried to leave, but he grabbed me again.
"You're not very gentle to girls, are you?"
"I'm like this with people in general, not just girls. Besides, framing this as a matter of being 'gentle' is pretty poor."
The male student's face suddenly fell. He now had a neutral expression.
"I see... I see. Of course, you're one of those people who are a bit different."
"What do you mean by 'different'?"
"One of those trying to isolate themselves from society."
"What does that have to do with this?"
"It has a lot to do with it. You're deliberately keeping your distance from people."
"First you use 'gentleness' incorrectly, then you jump to a conclusion like that from a single action of mine. Are you an idiot?"
The male student couldn't maintain his neutral expression any longer. His mouth twitched slightly, and his brows slowly furrowed.
"Honestly, I'm not surprised you cause trouble for people."
"I'm not causing trouble. People are just obsessed with me." Placing a faint, strange smile on my face, I tried to walk away again.
But this time, he grabbed me harder.
"Are you not going to let go of me?" I looked at him normally over my shoulder.
He slowly pulled his hand off my shoulder, then turned around and left.
"Consider yourself lucky that we're in front of the principal's office," he shouted as he walked away.
I had gone down to the school yard. This is my favorite place in the school. I can more easily observe and listen to the behaviors and conversations of most people.
The people playing soccer in the yard for weeks are the same, and the people sitting and chatting are the same. People don't change their behavior easily. I think for them to give it up, they either need to be crushed in the thing they love or they need to get bored of it. In this school, the first option is very difficult because they are just playing for fun. And the boredom part seems very unlikely, as they do the exact same thing for days on end.
I was thirsty from talking so much. As I was heading toward the cafeteria to buy water, another girl stopped me. I don't know if I have a human magnet on me or something, but it's beyond me why so many people have started crossing my path just to talk to me.
The girl had black hair, round glasses, a short stature, and a cute face.
"I heard about the fight today. If you're going to engage in such behavior again, you must do it outside of school."
She adjusted her glasses, which were slipping down her nose, with her thumb.
"Because you are damaging the school's prestige. And that might affect my graduation."
"What's your name?"
"You can call me Himejima."
Instantly, a light bulb went off in my head. I had seen this name before on the exam leaderboard. This girl was ranked number one in the school.
"And I'm Saionji. I'll keep what you said in mind." Raising my hand slightly, I started walking away.
...