School Begin to Take Action
Takayanagi’s PoV
After the meeting with Endo, we decided to hold a summary of the day’s activities in the teachers’ room. Many teachers worked together to confirm the situation and debrief about their respective situations.
I was the first to speak.
“Aida and Ueda, who had bullied Aono by writing hateful words and curses on his desk, admitted that they had done it. They must’ve thought they couldn’t get away with it when I showed them the SNS message history and the audio recording provided by a first-year soccer club member yesterday. They also admitted that they were involved in spreading false rumors, and they’re slowly beginning to admit the existence of collaborators outside the soccer club.”
At first, the two resisted strongly, but the leaked data from inside became the deciding factor. According to Iwai-sensei, who confirmed the situation, the moment he showed them the copy of the message history data, they turned blue and started shaking.
The student, who had admitted that he could no longer escape, began to talk about everything like a broken radio.
I continued my report.
“As we thought, the mastermind is Kondo. Ueda and Aida followed the words of their respected seniors. They were also fascinated by the captain of the soccer club and participated in the bullying activities.”
After me, the vice principal continued with Kondo’s latest situation.
“I see that Kondo is also being held by the police on charges of assault for directly hitting Eiji Aono, and for resisting and throwing objects at the police who came to question him about the situation, which is a current offense of disturbing public order. We just received an official notification from the police.”
In a way, it’s good that Kondo, the root of all evil, can’t move for now. This will help contain the further spread of confusion.
Mitsui-sensei followed suit.
“As for the false rumor about Aono-kun, Miyuki Amada, a second-year student, also confessed that she was involved. She dated Aono-kun, but had an affair with Kondo-kun and followed his sweet words to save her own skin. She said she faked her bruises to make herself look like a tragic heroine. She didn’t expect the rumors to spread, but now that it had become such a big deal, she was too scared to deny it.”
When it was reported again that Amada, known as an honor student, had gone astray, many of the teachers sighed. If she had at least talked to me properly before it became such a big deal, maybe all these incidents could have been prevented. But she chose a different path.
“And this is unconfirmed information, but I have to report it to you all because Amada-san told me. I don’t know if it’s true or not, but it’s something that the whole school needs to share information about. I heard that Aono-kun was about to commit s🬀🬀cide due to the shock of the affair and the false rumors being spread about it.”
When the teachers heard this, their eyes changed color. Aono was about to commit s🬀🬀cide. It was a sobering thought that maybe he was just hiding it and still suffering.
Even Kumada-sensei, the physical education teacher, seemed unable to speak.
“Maybe it was the first day of school? Not knowing what was going on, I yelled at Aono-kun for trying to run away from school. I wish I could have asked him more about his situation. Damn!”
Kumada-sensei is famous for his strict teaching, but his good nature comes out at times like this. Shaking his large body, he oozed regret.
No, then I, his homeroom teacher, should’ve been more responsible. I should’ve realized earlier. I should’ve searched for Aono myself instead of leaving it to the vice-principal and Mitsui-sensei. All I can remember is regret.
“I observed Aono-kun for about a week after this problem arose, and I still think the mental damage on the first day of school was significant; after the second day, he seemed fairly stable, but he may just be holding back, and I still think we should give him our best attention.”
As the teachers looked gloomy, the principal was the first to open his mouth.
“Thank you for the report. I think we need to stay close to the victim, Aono-kun, in the future. This is an important matter. As soon as this meeting is over, I will share the information with his parents. The school counselor will be here tomorrow, so we will work closely with her.”
The principal was very self-motivated when it really mattered. I was very grateful.
“And starting tomorrow, the media and others who heard the uproar may start to move as well. However, the students who are involved in this issue and who are involved in bullying must be severely punished. It’s our responsibility to protect Aono-kun and the other students. We will never change this policy, no matter what pressure comes from outside. As Mitsui-sensei reported earlier, we may discover things in the future that are difficult to say. I want you to share this with everyone. I will take ultimate responsibility for all of this, so please rest assured that you can all do your jobs with peace of mind. End.”
The principal said emphatically as if he had made up his mind. This bullying problem has finally reached its peak.