"Hey! Get your hands off her, freak!"

The words cut through the tense silence like a whip. Heads turned. Eyes widened. For a heartbeat, everyone froze—except Robert.

He moved first.

The closest guy barely had time to register the threat before Robert's fist connected with his jaw. The impact sent him sprawling, arms flailing as he hit the ground with a dull thud. The second boy lunged forward, but Robert sidestepped and shoved him away.

I blinked, momentarily caught off guard. I'd known Robert was athletic, sure. You didn't build muscle like his without dedication. But this? This wasn't just the strength of someone who spent hours at the gym. His movements were clean and controlled. The kind of precision that came from someone who'd learned how to fight properly.

Maybe all that training he did for fencing had somehow translated into fighting?

As Robert charged forward and squared up against the last three boys, it almost seemed like he had control of the fight. But I knew better. Skill could only do so much when you were outnumbered. Fatigue was already creeping into his stance, each punch and dodge costing him more energy than the last.

And that's when I saw him.

While his lackeys kept Robert distracted, Clayton had slipped away from the chaos and found himself a baseball bat. Now, he was slowly closing in from behind to deliver a heavy blow.

My stomach dropped. Robert, too focused on the fight in front of him, had no idea what was coming. One swing—just one—and it'd be over.

Realizing that my words wouldn't reach him in time, my body reacted on its own. I dropped my groceries and sprinted forward.

SWOOSH!

Just as Clayton swung the bat, I shoved Robert out of the way and brought my arms up to block the blow. The impact was brutal. The baseball bat hit my forearms, the edge of the bat knicking the side of my head with a sickening thud.

My vision blurred momentarily as I hit the ground, and I felt a warm trickle of blood running down the side of my face. My arms throbbed from absorbing most of the impact, and the cut on my head was deep enough to be concerning. Despite the pain, I forced myself to look up.

For a brief, tense moment, Clayton and I locked eyes. His expression was one of shock and confusion. His eyes narrowed as if he were trying to comprehend what had just happened.

"Who the f-"

Before he could finish his sentence, one of his friends shouted, "We have to go, Clay! Security is coming!"

Clayton's jaw clenched, and I could see the frustration in his eyes. He hesitated for a fraction of a second before turning and fleeing with his lackeys. The sound of their hurried footsteps quickly faded into the night, leaving behind a tense silence broken only by my ragged breathing.

"Are... are you okay?" Robert asked. He seemed a little shaken by the fact that I was covered in blood.

I nodded, relieved that neither he nor Amelia seemed to have any external injuries. Even though I could still feel blood trickling down the side of my face, I was confident I'd avoided any serious damage. The proof was in the pain in my arms.

"Yeah, I'm fine. How about you guys?"

"Oh... I'm good," Robert replied.

"Me... too," Amelia said.

A guard arrived moments later, his flashlight casting long shadows on the ground. He took in the scene quickly, his eyes narrowing as he assessed the situation. When his gaze fell on me, he rushed to my side, concern etched on his face.

"What in the world happened to you?!"

Before Robert could say anything, I spoke up.

"I was distracted by a game on my phone and ran into the wall."

"Is this true?"

The guard looked skeptical, his eyes flicking to Robert for confirmation. 

Before Robert could respond, I made eye contact with him and subtly shook my head. He hesitated for a moment, then sighed and nodded, resigning himself to my story.

"Yes. It's true."

"Alright," the guard said, still unconvinced but unable to press further without more evidence. "Let's get you to the infirmary and make sure you're alright."

As the guard helped me to my feet, I glanced back at Robert and Amelia who followed from behind. They were both still staring at me, their expressions unreadable.

━━━━━━━━┛ ✠ ┗━━━━━━━━

The walk to the infirmary was short. It was only about a minute or two from the dorms.

As the nurse finished dressing the wound on my head, she stepped back and gave the security guard a reassuring nod.

"Fortunately, it's just a minor cut. There's no need for me to use healing magic. The boy will be fine with some rest."

The guard let out a sigh of relief and looked at me sternly. "You need to be more careful from now on! Don't play on your phone when you're walking outside. If you keep doing that, you're bound to get hurt."

"Yes, sir. I won't do it again."

"Good."

As the nurse and the guard left the infirmary, the room fell silent once again. 

Robert cleared his throat and stepped forward. With just a glance, I could tell something was troubling him.

"Why did you lie about what happened?"

"I figured it'd be troublesome if I told the truth," I answered honestly.

Robert frowned, clearly unhappy with my choice. "It's not right that those guys are getting away with what they did."

"I know..."

Robert looked at me in disbelief. "How can you be so calm about this? If I was in your shoes, I'd be desperate for justice to be served... Those guys need to be taught a lesson!"

"I don't know... I think it's better if we both just forget about what happened."

Just as Robert opened his mouth to protest, Amelia cut in. "Your friend is right. You should just forget about what happened."

It was the first time she'd spoken since we got here. She'd been silent for a while now.

Robert turned to her, his face a mix of fury and confusion. "How can you say that? Especially after what they did to you? Do you have any idea what would've happened if we hadn't been there?!"

"Listen... There's nothing we can do to prove they're guilty. It's just our word against theirs. Making this a big deal will only bring more trouble."

"But it's not fair! Something has to be done!"

Nothing either of us said seemed to be resonating with Robert. He had no intention of letting them go unpunished.

"Without concrete proof, trying to expel Clayton is virtually impossible," Amelia explained. "His father is the vice-chairman of the school. In other words, Clayton is untouchable... If your friend had told them the truth, we would have gotten expelled for lying."

Robert slammed his fists against the wall and growled in frustration.

As much as I wanted to agree with Robert, I couldn't afford to draw more attention to myself. After tonight, I'd undoubtedly drawn the attention of a troubling individual. Which wasn't good. It was only a matter of time before this Clayton guy came after us. After me.

I needed to find a way to get off his radar and fast.

Amelia's mood seemed to shift as she looked at us more closely. "AHEM... May I ask for your names? Unfortunately, I don't recognize your faces."

Robert took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. "It's probably because we're first years... My name is Robert. And this is James."

I offered a polite nod.

"It's a pleasure to meet you both." Amelia bowed her head. "Thank you, Robert. Thank you, James. I'm truly grateful for your help tonight..."

"Don't mention it," Robert said. "It was the right thing to do."

Amelia let out a sigh. "Having said that, I would prefer if you both stay away from me moving forward. Getting involved with me will only bring you trouble. I don't want you guys getting hurt because of me... Besides, I'm confident I can handle things on my own."

Just as Robert opened his mouth to protest again, I touched his shoulder. "I think we should let her take care of this. She's not the student council president for nothing. I'm sure she has a plan. Isn't that right?"

"Yes. I have a plan," she replied.

Robert clenched his fists and nodded reluctantly. "Fine... But if you ever need any help, don't hesitate to ask."

Amelia bowed her head. "Thank you. I appreciate your concern... I bid you both a good night."

With that, the silver-haired girl turned and left the infirmary, leaving Robert and me alone.

"Do... do you really believe it's better to just let this go?" Robert asked after a few seconds of silence.

I glanced at him, choosing my words carefully. 

"Letting go is the only option we have... Especially now that we know Clayton's father is the vice-chairman."

Robert sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I just hate feeling powerless."

"I understand. But we have to be smart about this. We can't afford to act rashly, okay?"

"Fine..." Robert nodded, but the hesitation in his eyes told me he was still wrestling with my decision. Moving forward, I'd have to keep a close eye on him.

"Thanks for stepping in tonight," Robert said after a moment. "You saved me from getting hurt."

I shrugged. "Don't worry about it. It was the right thing to do. I'm sure you would've done the same..."

"You're a good person, James. I'm glad we met."

Huh?! Where did that come from?

As nice as his compliment sounded, I had no idea how to respond. So I did what I do best. Disregard it.

"What do you say we head back to the dorms?" I suggested. "It's getting late."

"Sounds good to me!"