His classmates were chattering about something when he returned to class the next day.
He greeted them as usual, but he could sense the tension in the classroom and the change in the atmosphere surrounding Harmony.
He glanced at her legs and saw she was wearing stockings.
Without another word, he went to his group and gestured for them to follow him. Kenneth and the others instantly followed him into the hallway.
"Are you going to ask about what's going on?" they asked.
"Instead of that, are you aware of what happened yesterday to her?" he asked.
The three of them looked at one another before shaking their heads.
"Are you?" Kenneth asked.
"There was a case of tripping…" Luca began, trailing off as the three of them exchanged glances.
They were aware that people would trip her from time to time.
"…during gym class, while she was running causing some injuries," Luca finished.
Their faces turned grim.
The boys had a different gym class than the girls yesterday and they did not know what was happening on the other side of the class.
They saw her being tripped from time to time but they did not expect that it would develop to even tripping her while running.
"Have you tried checking on it? On the incident that the students were aware of?" Luca asked again.
They shook their heads in unison.
"Why?" he couldn't help but ask.
He considered them his friends, and even though they might not show the same kindness as he did, he had hoped they would at least not allow this much harassment toward someone.
"We barely know her. Whether she did it or not is not our concern," Justin replied honestly.
Luca sighed. He couldn't blame them, but he had hoped they would have checked into it, especially since the harassment had continued for a few days.
"But I did hope you would have checked on it since the harassment continued," he said.
The three of them looked at one another.
"We saw the harassment, but she didn't seem to be affected. Her eyes were not defeated or weakened. That is why we did not do anything. We thought that our involvement might escalate things," they explained.
Luca was not angry or disappointed; he understood their side of the story. He wasn't there to see everything, so he wanted to know their perspective. Hearing this, he understood why they hadn't taken action, especially after hearing Harmony's thoughts about the matter yesterday.
"Well, other than what happened during gym class, she was also pushed down a flight of stairs on her way to the clinic," he informed them of the rest.
Their grim expressions turned darker after hearing this.
"Then I suppose that there is a good reason for us to…" Gabriel began.
"…start looking into it now."
If it was the same as before, they knew Harmony would likely reject their help. But this time, the students had gone too far. They could no longer say the same things about her not needing their help or that they barely knew her. Harmony had already shown her stance from the beginning.
"I don't think she was the one who did it," Luca said afterward.
"Why?" Gabriel asked.
"That person did not want to be in the play. She acted very well, but she was so mechanical. Unlike Beatrice, who brought life to her role, Harmony seemed like a robot meant only to perform," Luca explained.
He had the same thoughts as Larissa when they watched Harmony's performance.
"As for the notes, I have not seen them, but she is the writer. There are many reasons for her to write a lot of details despite not being the character," he added.
"Very well, shall we start digging then?" Justin shrugged.
On the other hand, Harmony went to the clinic after class to have her wounds checked again.
"You seem worried about your wounds," Larissa couldn't help but comment.
This is the very first time she has seen Harmony get concerned over something about herself.
"I just don't want to leave any scars," Harmony replied.
Something that should be natural.
'She is still a teenage girl after all. Taking care of her skin should still be important,' Larissa thought.
But there was a different feeling towards it as well.
"It will be fine; no scars will remain. But for faster healing, I can prescribe you some ointment," Larissa offered.
Harmony nodded.
After a while, she returned to the classroom because she had left her assignment to be passed in the next day.
"Why can't we tell the teachers?"
"Nothing is working. She is just moving around, nonchalant about what she has done. This is so infuriating."
"I understand, but don't you think that, if we are talking about punishment, expulsion is too simple?"
The one who spoke sounded concerned and gentle, making her words seem almost plain evil.
"Tsk, why don't we increase it a bit? That way, she'd feel it more."
"No, it should not go too far, or the higher-ups would notice it. Let's leave it this way; she'd realize her mistake sooner."
Harmony stepped away while the rest of those talking inside the room walked out. Once they were gone, she went inside the room where only one person remained, still fixing her things.
"I don't care what you all do, but I can't have you taking these kinds of actions for too long," she spoke.
The student turned in shock upon hearing her.
"Miss President, I don't know about your grudge, but I think you are going too far with this," she added.
Patricia blinked, looking the same as before.
"And drop that act. It doesn't suit you," Harmony continued.
She walked to her chair intending to take her assignment.
"If you wanted to be the lead in the play, you could have raised your hand back then. I'm pretty sure—" Patricia began.
"Disgusting," Harmony interrupted.
Patricia looked hurt, "What… do you mean by that? If you heard what we were talking about a while ago. I'm sorry, but I'm not a saint. I can't be considerate to you."
"Even Satan would be embarrassed to be compared to you," Harmony smirked.