Adam entered the classroom with the professor.
Most of the students were already inside.
The whispers that had followed him through the corridor reached the classroom before he did. Some students looked at him openly. Some looked away the moment his eyes moved in their direction. A few smiled like they had just found something interesting to watch.
The professor walked to the front and placed his book on the desk.
"Adam has returned to class," he said. "The college has reviewed his matter. There is no need for anyone to disturb him about it."
The words were not loud, they were enough.
The classroom quieted down.
Adam noticed it.
The professor was not simply allowing him to sit. He was drawing a line for the others. That was useful, but it also made Adam feel the shape of the new situation more clearly.
When he had entered the college earlier, he had gone to the office first.
The dean had spoken politely.
Too politely.
