Following the end of today's classes, all the teachers of the High School were summoned to the main meeting room, located in the educator's department, which was only accessible by those who lectured and by students who'd scheduled an appointment and received permission to enter. These scheduled appointments or any faculty matters could be taken care of on the school's secretariat, which was located on the same floor but outside the educator's department. 

In this High School, the major contact between students and faculty members occurred inside the classrooms, any other form of communication was to be kept to a bare minimum. That was to remind the students that the professors are an authority figure, before anything else, they are meant to be respected and trusted, and never be questioned. They are not supposed to be your friends, they are only here to shape you into a respectful citizen who will greatly contribute to society. Students must trust the professor's experience and knowledge and learn from them what it means to survive in this competitive world. 

There are no shortcuts. Even though teachers should not make the same mistakes their own educators made, they actually believe that this new generation shouldn't be spoiled and must feel the hardships of the old times.

But if we follow that logic, how are we supposed to evolve as a society? Shouldn't the focus be on improving the learning methods and approaches, so these young students don't have to go through the unconformable torments of education from the previous decades? Should bullying in schools not be strategically dealt with? Should an educator be permitted to harass the intelligence of a student in front of his class? Should we maybe return to times where students were struck with a ruler because they answered incorrectly to a question?

Or…should we try to humanize the relationship between a student and a teacher, where each one sees the other as an equal contributor to society and therefore each requires the same amount of respect and understanding? 

If we are close to a breakthrough on this matter, it is not known, as horrible things still occur in these academic institutions and many unspeakable acts go unnoticed and unpunished every day.

And this High School…is no different than many others.

One by one, the teachers entered the meeting room and occupied the seats available around a large table, similar to one you'd expect to find in a room of a bigshot corporate building. There were many seats one could occupy, but everyone seemed to avoid two particular seats that faced each other and were close to one of the ends of the table, where a larger and more comfortable chair was placed. The room itself was dimly lit, the only light that filled the room was the one coming from the ceiling's projector which was displaying the High School's insignia on a fitting projection screen, located on the opposite side of the end of the table that everyone was avoiding.

Even though there were a fair amount of individuals in the same room, no one spoke, the room was completely silent and it stood that way for about five minutes.

Suddenly, the door opened and two other teachers entered the room, one male and one female. The male was a tall man, bald and with a grey-haired beard, he was wearing a black formal shirt with long sleeves, which were rolled up. He had a strict face and walked confidently across the room. The female was a small and a bit overweight woman, who had blonde hair. In contrast to the male teacher, this woman was smiling and her smile seemed reassuring at first sight. They both greeted their fellow colleagues with a brief but confident "Good Afternoon", which coerced the other teachers to reply. They walked to the avoidable end of the table and sat on those last seats, facing each other, and stood there quietly as well.

Now the silence felt heavier, for some reason the majority of the teachers seemed even more hesitant and nervous with the presence of these two teachers. Most of them corrected their posture, cleared their throat and, particularly, avoided eye contact.

And, finally, at the designated time of the meeting, he came in.

A tall and broad shouldered man in a formal grey suit, with styled hair that resembled a powerful figure from a big company, like a CEO, slowly but assertively entered the meeting room. 

Everyone inside stood up immediately and greeted the man in unison.

"Good afternoon, Dr. Arakawa."

"Good afternoon, my dear colleagues. Please take your seats." responded Principal Arakawa.

Everyone swiftly sat back down, adjusted their posture once more and directed their gaze and full attention to Principal Arakawa, as he also sat in his big and tall armchair and prepared to initiate the meeting.

"Kashikoi High School, the second best ranked Public High School of this country. Also known as the academic birthplace of the most important political, economical and historical figures of the last century, who restructured our society and its principles to guarantee a sustainable and prosperous life for the future generations. For years, we've shaped thousands of students and helped them excel in their academic abilities and reach their full potential, which led them to achieve high working positions in numerous important fields of economic interest. Every year, we receive more than 10,000 applications for our first years, from different regions of the country, and only 10% of the applicants are given the once in a lifetime opportunity to enroll in this prestigious High School. This prestige is the result of the outstanding work executed by every educator present in this room, and all the educators and faculty members that came before us. It is our personal duty to honor their impressive effort and assure that it was not in vain. Our status must remain resolute, at all costs, so that this country's future can prevail. That future is our responsibility, it is our mission, it is our sole purpose in life. And the reason you are all here today is because I trust you acknowledge that perspective." 

After that eloquent introduction, the Principal paused briefly and looked with a calm but serious expression at the teachers before resuming his speech.

"That being said, just two days ago, Mr. Nogi, a member of this academic body, was accused of attempted sexual assault on one of our female students, leading to his detention on School's grounds, which led to an outbreak of misinformation and criticism on social media. Thankfully, I succeeded in preventing a large-scale spread of this unfortunate news, by the most influential media companies, as to protect the privacy and integrity of the victim involved. However, as that solely act wasn't enough to almost shatter the High School's status, yesterday, Mr. Nogi imprudently ignored the instructions given by our advocate defense team and pursued this female student for yet another physical assault. Some of you might have been aware of this information through a student's conversation in the halls or classrooms, but this event hasn't been officially made public nor should it ever come to light. This information is to remain classified, and if questioned, you must deny any knowledge of such a despicable event."

The teachers looked to one another, shocked with this new development, but didn't dare to question the Principal's orders and nodded in agreement with his request, knowing best not to defy him.

"I decided to address this topic because, despite Mr. Nogi's condemnable actions, he was still an educator at this facility and also a long-serving colleague of ours, perhaps, even a dear friend to some of you. Therefore, you also deserve to know the consequences of his actions. 

As of now, Mr. Nogi is hospitalized, after our female student was able to seize his own weapon which then sparked a violent confrontation between her and Mr. Nogi, driving our ex-colleague unconscious with multiple fractures and bruises on his body. After becoming aware of this incident, I instructed our school's advocate defense team to settle for the adequate sentence for his conduct. When Mr. Nogi gets discharged from the Hospital, a decisive trial will await for him and he will be sentenced to the maximum time in prison, at least to the extent that his charges allow. Mr. Nogi has disrespected the time and resources wasted on him by this institute, and he must now face the consequences of his decision to follow such primitive and animalistic urges. 

As for our High School, we now have the objective of reassuring the parents of the students that this was nothing but an unfortunate incident with a clearly troubled individual that couldn't withstand the pressure of his own personal issues and conciliate it with his professional work, leading him to commit these atrocities. Let it be known that this institute acted promptly and accordingly to resolve this issue, by dismissing this person and guaranteeing the safety of our beloved students inside school's grounds. Our High School remains trustworthy and it is our duty to assure that our excellence status persists on a far superior level than other schools."

As the Principal finished his somewhat righteous but menacing speech, the teachers silently nodded in compliance with his words. That was until one of the teachers, seated further away from the Principal, mustered the courage to raise his hand and awaited permission to speak.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Nagata. I assume you have something relevant to add to this topic?" inquired Principal Arakawa.

"Good afternoon, Dr. Arakawa. Firstly, thank you for your formidable words of encouragement about this recent event. If possible I would only like to ask if you have any information regarding Miss Azumi's mental and physical condition towards this incident. Is she currently being monitored by our school psychologist?" 

"I appreciate your concern towards our student, but I can assure you this matter is being resolved with the utmost care."

"I understand…but shouldn't we, as her teachers, also assist in her recovery? Shouldn't we show our support and availability? She might feel more comfortable talking with someon—"

"Mr. Nagata, are you skeptical of my capabilities to handle this situation?"

The tension grew heavier in the meeting room.

"N–no that's not what I meant–"

"Then I advise you to leave this matter unattended." commanded Principal Arakawa, with a fierce expression on his face as he locked his gaze on Mr. Nagata.

"Of course…I didn't mean to disrespect you, Dr. I simply intended to offer my assistance and availability, if proven necessary. I won't pressure any further." answered Mr. Nagata, while trying to disguise his disappointment.

"And once again, I appreciate your willingness. To all the educators here present, I want to acknowledge both your availability for this meeting in such a short notice and your understanding of this serious situation and its implications for the future of this academic institute. Let this be a reminder for you to never act imprudently or engage in any atrocious incident capable of harming the public image of the School. Any irregular situation in your daily work should be reported, as usual, to Mr. Manaka or Mrs. Amano, who will convey it directly to me. That being said, you are dismissed."

After that last warning, all the teachers thanked Principal Arakawa for his time, rose from their seats and proceeded to leave the meeting room. All of the teachers, except two…Mr. Manaka and Mrs. Amano, who remained in their seats without a second thought, until their colleagues left the room.

When the last educator shut the door behind him, Principal Arakawa couldn't disguise his frustration any further.