However, what was even more surprising was when Julia, her eyes slightly glassy, lifted her face and locked her gaze with Navarro, her look incredibly sorrowful. "I think... someone made me fall on purpose," she whispered softly, her eyes never leaving Navarro.
Everyone in the class, who had been watching the whole incident, now turned their attention to Julia's gaze.
A few students whispered to each other, trying to make sense of what Julia had just said and the way she looked at Navarro.
***
Navarro, feeling the weight of Julia's gaze on him, froze, his mind racing in confusion. What does she mean? he thought, startled. He looked back at Julia, still wearing an expression of bewilderment. Deep down, something felt off, but he couldn't quite grasp the meaning of it all.
Julia's stare intensified, as if silently saying, "You tripped me, didn't you?" Even though Julia hadn't spoken a word about it, her expression and the way her eyes kept locking with Navarro seemed to convey an unspoken message. Some of the classmates also started to pick up on it, whispering, "It looked like she was tripped, right?"
Suddenly, while Aiden was still busy gathering the scattered brushes and paint bottles, he sprang up quickly and slammed the equipment down on the desk with a loud noise that startled everyone.
"What do you mean, Julia?!" Aiden shouted, his voice rising with emotion. "Why are you looking at Nero like that? Are you accusing him?!"
All eyes instantly turned to Aiden. Julia, shocked by the outburst, flinched. Tears began to stream down her face. With a trembling voice, she quickly shook her head repeatedly, trying to explain, "No... that's not what I meant..." Her words caught in her throat, as if she couldn't find a way to explain the misunderstanding.
But Aiden, already too angry, couldn't contain his emotions any longer. "I saw you, Julia!" he snapped, frustrated. "You tripped on your own! Nero didn't do anything! He didn't even seem to care about you! So don't drag someone else into this just because you're embarrassed!"
Navarro, who had been silent up until then, was taken aback by Aiden's emotional outburst. His eyes widened, unsure how to react.
Before things could escalate further, Mrs. Lusi's loud voice cut through the tension in the class. "Enough! Both of you!" she shouted. "If you don't stop, I'll take you to the student council!" Her command silenced the room instantly.
Hearing the threat, Navarro quickly rose from his seat and grabbed Aiden's arm, who seemed ready to explode again. "Calm down, Aiden. Calm down," he said in a low voice, trying to deescalate his friend's anger.
Aiden, still breathing heavily with rage, tried to shake off Navarro's grip, seething. "I won't stand for Nero being accused like this!" he said angrily.
Navarro met Aiden's gaze with a calmer look. "There's no accusation, Aiden. Julia was just shocked because she fell. It's all a misunderstanding," he said, trying to defuse the situation.
Aiden, still unsatisfied, nodded slightly, though his gaze remained frustrated. His eyes flickered toward Julia, who was still sitting on the floor, looking utterly miserable as she struggled to hold back her sobs.
With a deep sigh, Aiden finally turned toward the teacher and said, "I'm sorry, Mrs. Lusi. I shouldn't have caused a disturbance in class."
Mrs. Lusi gave a small nod, her voice firm as she responded, "Sit down, everyone. Julia, clean up this mess right away!"
With the help of a few classmates, Julia eventually returned to her seat next to Navarro. Her eyes were still a bit swollen, but she tried to calm herself down.
As Navarro was about to sit back down, Aiden suddenly stopped him. With a serious expression, Aiden locked eyes with him and said shortly, "I want to switch seats. I won't let Nero sit next to that girl."
Navarro simply nodded in agreement, resigned to Aiden's decision. "Okay, no problem," he replied, though he was a bit confused by his friend's sudden and drastic change in attitude.
Still uneasy, the two of them moved to switch seats. Navarro sat further ahead, while Aiden took a seat beside Julia's desk, making sure not to sit near the girl who had nearly sparked his anger earlier.
The economics lesson finally came to an end, with Mrs. Lusi assigning homework on microeconomics. "I want you to analyze at least three examples of microeconomics in everyday life. It's due next week," she said, packing up her belongings.
The class president, Bintang, stood from his seat and gave a formal parting remark. "Thank you, Mrs. Lusi. I hope our assignment will be useful," he said, followed by the murmured chorus of students echoing a collective farewell. Mrs. Lusi left the room with her usual confident stride, leaving the students to prepare for their next class.
However, before anyone could make their way to the door, Aiden suddenly stood in the doorway, blocking the way. His face was serious, his brows furrowed, a far cry from the friendly expression he usually wore. The class fell silent. Several students exchanged confused glances, unsure of what to make of Aiden's unusual behavior.
"Hey, Aiden, what's the meaning of standing there like that?" a student from the front row asked. His voice was uncertain, but curiosity was clearly getting the better of him.
Aiden didn't answer right away. His gaze shifted between Navarro, sitting at the back, and Julia, who was silent with her head lowered. Finally, Aiden directed his attention to Bintang, the class president. "Bintang, you're in the student union, right? The security division, right?" he asked firmly.
Bintang nodded, though his expression showed confusion. "Yeah, I'm in that division. Why?"
"I want to see the CCTV footage of what happened earlier," Aiden said bluntly. "I want to make sure everyone knows Navarro isn't guilty. I don't want any weird speculation turning into gossip."
The class fell into a tense silence. Whispers began to circulate around the room. Julia, still sitting in her seat, looked increasingly cornered. Her gaze dropped to the floor, and the tears that had briefly stopped were now welling up again.
Bintang let out a long sigh before responding. "Aiden, I understand how you feel. But I can't just show the CCTV footage. There are rules, and it's not within my authority to access it without permission."
Aiden shook his head quickly, his gaze sharpening. "Then who has the authority? I don't care about the rules. What I care about is that Nero is cleared of these baseless accusations!"
The class grew quieter. Students exchanged glances, unsure how to react to the escalating tension.
Navarro, who had remained silent until now, finally stood up from his seat and walked toward Aiden. "Aiden, enough. This is going too far," he said in a low but firm voice. "No one has directly accused me, and I don't care about rumors. Julia is already embarrassed enough. Don't make this worse."
Aiden turned to Navarro, his expression still filled with emotion. "You don't understand, Nero! Speculation is dangerous. Right now, no one's saying anything, but later? People might start believing you purposely made Julia fall."
"Aiden..." Navarro looked at his friend with patience. "I don't care what others think. I know I'm not at fault, and that's enough for me."
Bintang, still standing in his spot, tried to mediate. "Aiden, Navarro's right. Don't drag this out. We all know it was just an accident."
Navarro sighed, locking eyes with Aiden before saying, "Aiden, enough. It doesn't need to go any further. Even if we want to see the footage, it will take time, and some of us need to get to our next class."
Aiden opened his mouth, looking ready to argue again, but a soft voice from the back of the classroom stopped him. Julia, still sitting with red eyes, finally spoke, her words choked with sobs. "It's okay...," she said quietly, almost like a whisper. "I understand if I... tripped over something. Let it go... as long as... as long as it doesn't happen again..."
Her tone was so sorrowful that several students who had been whispering immediately fell silent.
But it wasn't in Aiden's nature to let things slide so easily. His face grew more frustrated, and without thinking, he raised his voice a little, "Wait a second. What do you mean by that? Tripping over something? And 'as long as it doesn't happen again'? Are you implying someone pushed you? Are you still blaming Navarro?"
***