Morning classes for the day came and went as usual. I barely had enough mental fortitude to pay attention and not fall asleep. It's during those times that I wonder who had the idea to start school hours early in the morning. Maybe during the time it was first discussed, it was seen as a positive to have students wake up and attend school so early in the day. But now, you can't help but want to lie in bed for a couple more minutes and maybe laze around the house for a while to get yourself mentally prepared to put on your uniform and go to school
Come on people, modernity must be followed! Down with the oppressive early school hours!
Well, not that there's anything I could really do about the system. But hey, at least it's now lunch time; my second favorite time of the day. I used to exclusively eat my lunch in this cordoned off area behind the second school building. It's blocked off with construction equipment for the new school section that was planned last year but stopped midway due to some reason or other. I don't really care why it stopped. The only thing I do care about is that it's an isolated area that no one ever goes to.
It's the perfect lunch spot for a loner like me.
But ever since I ate lunch with Kurebayashi on the stairwell beside the gym, I've been alternating between the two. Yesterday was the stairwell, so for today I head towards the construction site.
As I exit the school building and head towards the back, the thought of savoring the special once-a-week porkchop meal got me salivating. Although it's name is once-a-week porkchop, it's really more like once-a-month because the old couple in the store rarely ever puts it on sale. I got lucky today and I'm going to take pleasure in every bite of it.
Rounding the corner, I stop myself as I hear some faint voices coming from the stack of old storage boxes right behind the building. I slowly approach closer, making sure I don't make any sound. Wouldn't want to catch any unwanted attention.
"You think you're so special just because you're all goody-goody with the teachers, don't ya?"
"Pandering to the school by doing lame stuff for them. How pathetic."
"Seriously, how lame can you get? So annoying."
I hear three voices all saying some nasty things. My view of them is still blocked by the boxes, but I can already tell this is a classic bullying scene. If I were to guess, these three girls must be ganging up on a single student. Humans are such animals. We think we're evolved, but we still cling to the animalistic drive to establish a pecking order by putting others down and clawing our way up. But that only applies to those who limit themselves into packs or herds. As a loner, I'm not obligated to submit myself to their social constructs. One positive for a reclusive lifestyle, I guess.
I briefly wonder if I could still make it past them without being noticed, but the way is too narrow for me to sneak by. Not much I can do about that. Guess I'll just settle for the stairwell today.
"I'm sorry. It really was not my intention to hurt him. It was an accident…"
"Huh? Who cares if it was an accident? You still hurt Suzuki-kun. That's unforgivable."
"Yeah! He's gonna miss the friendly match against Shinsei Academy because of you! Now our team's gonna lose for sure!
"Seriously, you're so lame. Kill yourself."
I stop dead on my tracks as I hear the voice of the supposed bullying victim. I recognize that soft and refined tone despite the shakiness and fear currently overtaking it. I turn right back around and move closer until I'm inches away from the girls, the stack of boxes being my only safe haven. While these boxes are stacked high enough to cover a full grown adult, it's not neatly done so there's a few gaps that I could peek through to see the scene on the other side.
It is as I thought. I see Kurebayashi pinned to the wall by two third year girls. Meanwhile, a really tall girl wearing a volleyball jersey is standing in front of her. She looks like the leader of the pack, judging just from her stature and size.
"Well? What do ya have to say for yourself now, miss goody two shoes?"
"Your sorry ain't gonna cut it. I know! We should just bash her head to call it even!"
"That could work. After all, it's only fair."
The tall girl goes into the cordoned off area behind the long wall of plywood that covers the construction site. After a short while, she comes back out with an iron bar in hand.
"Looks like this'll do. Now, hold her still."
I freeze in place. This can't be happening, right? This is straight out of a horror film! What sort of person would be crazy enough to attack a student in school?! I glance at the tall girl and back at Kurebayashi. Her eyes, usually filled with a gentle kindness, are now wide and shimmering with fear.
"P-please, don't do this… I'm sorry. I'm so sorry…"
"Yeah, you should be sorry. I'll make sure of that."
The tall girl has a wide grin on her face as she readies the iron bar. This is bad. I need to do something, but what? There's not enough time to go get help. And I'm not so sure I can fight off the three of them, especially that iron wielding behemoth. Should I just yell out as loud as I can? We're behind the school building, so chances are someone will hear me from the first or second floor.
"Hold her still. I want to get a direct hit on her head."
"Umm, Miyoko, maybe this is going a bit too far?"
"Yeah, we said we would only scare her, right?"
"Shut up! She hurt Suzuki. My dear, beloved Suzuki. I won't ever forgive her!"
As she raises the iron bar over her head, ready to strike it down on Kurebayashi, I take out my phone and begin to snap pictures with the camera. The flashes of light and clicking sounds made her stop her swing and now all four girls are looking at me, a look of shock on their faces.
I thought of taking pictures as evidence so I can at least have them reported for assaulting Kurebayashi. But when I saw her about to strike down, my body just moved on its own and charged at them. I have the pictures, but I'm now just standing here motionless, like someone from the first stage of the squid game.
"W-who are you supposed to be?"
The tall girl asked out loud. Okay, how should I approach this? I'm already in it, so I might as well go all the way. Though honestly, playing as the knight in shining armor, touting about justice and saving the weak isn't really my thing. Looks like there's no other way than to bluff and hope they back down.
"I'm no one, really. Just a guy passing by."
"That so? Then keep walking!"
"Yeah, stay out of this!"
The two other girls join in after regaining their composure.
"Well, yeah maybe I should. But seeing you three bully and assault a single girl is going to leave a bad taste in my mouth if I don't at least do something about it. So, why don't you all just scamper on out of here?"
"You seriously trying to tell us what to do?"
"Who do you think you are? You're so lame."
The two girls have let go of Kurebayashi and have now joined their leader's side. Once they're lined up, they begin to walk towards me all menacingly. What is this, a synchronized mob routine? I lock eyes with Kurebayashi for a moment and see a mixture of fear, worry, and relief. Looks like she also understands how bad the situation is.
"Whoa, hold up there. You do realize that I just took a crap ton of pictures of you three about to commit assault on a student."
I wave my phone at them, which is enough to make them stop their approach. The two girls look at each other, now with a hint of annoyance and worry on their faces. The tall girl, Miyoko I think was her name, doesn't seem fazed at all and continues to walk towards me; the iron bar in her hand scraping against the ground.
"You think that's enough to scare me? I could bash your brains in right now and smash your phone before you can even run to the teacher's office."
"Yeah, you could do that. But…"
I hold my phone out with the screen away from them and place my index finger on the surface, making it seem like I'm about to press something.
"One tap and those pictures will be all over the school's social media page. Within seconds, every teacher and student will know about what happened here and who are the ones involved."
After saying this, Miyuko stopped walking. Looks like I was right. She thinks there's no problem as long as she can get to me and erase the evidence. But the threat of the pictures getting uploaded puts me out of her reach. Now, I have full control of the situation.
And there's really only one option left for them.