The outcome of the matter didn't cause much of a stir.
Just as Hiratsuka Shizuka knew Sen Getsusa wasn't innocent, she could roughly guess what had happened: Hayami Mari was being bullied, and Sen Getsusa simply helped bully them back... right?
Surely, she wouldn't have gone too far?
In any case, the remaining two girls both had an attitude of 'I won't call the police, I won't pursue this, just please let me go, please'... Only Nakajima Saki was left with not much to say.
This girl could either truly report it to the police, escalating the matter entirely and involving an investigation; or, she could seek help from home, have her parents step in, or deal with Sen Getsusa privately... Otherwise, without surveillance footage, if one were to really get serious about this kind of thing, it would be very troublesome. And, in this country... sigh.
So, in summary, the school's procedures had concluded.
After sending them away, Hiratsuka Shizuka skillfully pulled out a cigarette and lit it.
Phew—
"Tell me, what exactly happened?" Hiratsuka Shizuka tapped the desk, waking the girl who was immersed in a card game. "Was it because of Hayami Mari?"
"Do you realize that it's lucky the other two girls aren't pursuing this? If all three of their parents came together and made a scene, you'd be in trouble."
Hiratsuka Shizuka wanted to give this wild girl a warning. The woman put on a stern face and cautioned her seriously, "I can guess the cause of the matter, but I do not approve of your methods, Sen Getsusa."
Sen Getsusa hummed a song, dragging the 9 of Spades on the screen.
"You got physical, didn't you? Do you really want to be locked up for a few days, or have you decided to become a delinquent?"
"When you encounter bullying or problems you can't solve, coming to me or another teacher will cause much less trouble than solving it yourself."
"Retaliation in kind is wrong."
Regardless, Hiratsuka Shizuka was a teacher first, and she disapproved of Sen Getsusa's actions a hundred percent.
The girl moved the Jack of Diamonds to another column and switched to humming a different song.
"Sen Getsusa!"
Bang!
The girl's absentmindedness infuriated Hiratsuka Shizuka. She slammed the desk and stood up abruptly, crushing her unextinguished cigarette butt into the ashtray.
A burst of fast-paced celebratory music came from the speakers.
Accompanied by drumbeats, the word 'Congratulations' appeared on the computer screen!
Hiratsuka Shizuka:... After a moment, the girl dropped the mouse.
"It's already settled, Teacher Hiratsuka." Sen Getsusa rubbed her shoulder and comforted her, "Don't worry, I just pushed her a few times."
Pushed her a few times?
Hiratsuka Shizuka huffed and poked Sen Getsusa's cheek with her finger. "You dare say you didn't get physical?"
Kicking... doesn't count, right?
How could that count?
The girl blinked with a pitiful expression, as if she had been greatly wronged.
Hiratsuka Shizuka nearly choked on her breath.
"Sen Getsusa! I'm warning you, if there's a next time, you will—"
"I will certainly leave the opportunity to Teacher Hiratsuka."
"Sen! Get! Su! Sa!"
"Fine, fine, I got it."
The girl stood up and yawned.
"How is Grandma doing lately?"
At the mention of Grandma, Hiratsuka Shizuka instantly quieted down. She nodded, a slight sense of relief appearing in her melancholy expression. "Lately, her condition has improved. From time to time, she can remember recent events."
...Nakajima Saki walked dripping wet down the school's long corridor.
Drip, drip.
A long trail of footprints was left on the reflective tiled floor.
Water droplets flowed from the ends of her hair into her collar, and soon seeped out again, making Nakajima Saki look utterly pathetic.
The corner of her mouth and the left side of her face were slightly swollen, and three of her fingernails had broken during the struggle.
"Sen Getsusa..."
Nakajima Saki lowered her head, muttering the name through gritted teeth.
She had never hated or feared someone so much.
The moment she was being drowned in the toilet stall, she almost thought she was going to die—intense adrenaline stimulated the girl's limbs. She thought that at that time, she must have been like a frog with its head held down, flailing its limbs helplessly and ridiculously.
"Sen Getsusa..."
And Sachiko and Yui... because they were afraid, they just left me like that, running away after quietly admitting fault?
Her hatred grew stronger.
Nakajima Saki pulled out her phone, the contact list stopped at 'Father'.
Amidst her hesitation, the crisp sound of high heels echoed from behind.
Clack, clack, clack, clack.
Moving from far to near, very... fast.
Clack, clack... clack.
The footsteps stopped.
In the dimly lit shadows, the voice was right at her ear.
"Nakajima-classmate?"
A sweet voice appeared behind her, and Nakajima Saki turned around.
Minagawa Akane.
The other woman was leaning forward with a worried look, her hand searching in her pocket.
"Here, wipe yourself off. What happened?"
She handed over a small pack of tissues.
This new music teacher was gentle toward everyone, as if there was nothing in the world that could make her angry. Whether it was students who bullied the newcomer with rude words, or jealous people who deliberately spread bad rumors—Nakajima Saki knew that a while ago, the rumors about Minagawa Akane were intensifying.
In the end, silently, all those rumors were extinguished within a week.
Nakajima Saki wasn't like those mindless people who thought this was purely due to Minagawa Akane's personal charm.
This music teacher who had been dropped in out of nowhere definitely had an extraordinary background and methods.
While thinking, Nakajima Saki took the tissues and wiped her face a few times casually. In a daze, she seemed to see a long centipede coiling up around Minagawa Akane's neck.
"Teacher Minagawa..."
The girl blinked.
Minagawa Akane smiled and handed her another one. "Did something happen? Nakajima?"
The centipede... was gone?
The place where the two stopped happened to be the music classroom. A brand-new nameplate hung on the wall. Looking through the glass on the door, the lights were on in the classroom, and several plush dolls were placed at the feet of the piano.
Nakajima Saki shook her head. "It's nothing. I should go home, Teacher Minagawa."
"Leaving early? What on earth happened?" The worried teacher pulled out her keys, opened the main door of the classroom, and invited Nakajima Saki in. "Want to talk?"
"No need."
Nakajima Saki refused with a wooden face, stuffed the tissues into her pocket, and prepared to leave.
"Oh, right. Sen... Getsusa, that girl is in your class, isn't she?"
Behind her, Minagawa Akane seemed to ask her with some hesitation, "Lately, she's been practicing vocals with me."
"She said a lot about Nakajima-classmate..."
Nakajima Saki, who hadn't walked far, suddenly stopped.
The girl turned and walked back toward Minagawa Akane, her cold face filled with endless anger.
Nakajima Saki suppressed the emotions in her voice and looked gloomily at Minagawa Akane. "What did she say?"
"She said some bad things about Nakajima-classmate..."
Minagawa Akane's tone was very sincere, like a friend of Nakajima Saki's, comforting the girl in an intimate and lovely way. "She's actually very jealous of Saki's looks and family—that Child, that Child's money comes from unknown sources, she's probably gone astray..."
Sighing over Sen Getsusa's future, Minagawa Akane patted Nakajima Saki's shoulder as if to comfort her. In her light-colored pupils, there were a few shadows that crawled past quickly.
"Want to talk?"
Nakajima Saki was silent for a moment, then nodded with difficulty.
Unknowingly, the fog in the corridor grew thicker.
In the monitoring room, the maintenance worker who had promised to restore surveillance tonight was sweating profusely, staring at the static on the screen in frustration.
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