Before the first period started. After the morning announcement ended, Declan called Henry.
“Lowell. If you’re not busy, let’s go together for a moment.”
“Ah, yeah! Is it about what happened yesterday?”
Henry, who had been doing his best not to be conscious of Declan, answered him with a startle. Because he’d looked back at him almost simultaneously with being called, he was screaming internally.
Thoughts like ‘Didn’t I turn around too quickly? What if he thinks I was waiting for him?’ engulfed him.
Henry, who appeared with a wound on his face overnight. Declan, who called him saying let’s go together for a moment. Henry, who nodded and followed along at once without showing any sign of discomfort.
The students who witnessed this scene instantly became noisy, but Henry wasn’t aware. That’s how preoccupied he was.
Declan stopped in front of the staff room. And when he opened the door, the conduct guidance teacher who had disciplined them and the janitor they’d seen last night were together.
She still had a stern expression, and unlike last night, the janitor had a somewhat anxious look.
“Henry. You came. So, the basketball hoop’s backboard collapsed while you were cleaning last night.”
“Yes.”
When she saw Henry, she relaxed her expression and greeted him with a gentle voice. Seeing him, the janitor urgently began making excuses.
“No, ma’am. As I’ve been saying from earlier, I definitely did maintenance inspection during the week last week. It was fine then. But yesterday evening, after these kids cleaned, it became like that, you know? No matter how I think about it, shouldn’t you suspect the kids?”
“It was loose from the start.”
The one who answered his words was none other than Declan. The janitor glared at him, but Declan didn’t avoid his gaze.
An attitude that wasn’t scared and didn’t care. Rather, at that appearance, only the janitor alone got angry at Declan, shouting loudly.
“Y-you young punk! Hey, you’ve been lying since yesterday…!”
“That’s enough. What are you doing to the students? I’ll make a judgment after hearing all the kids’ words. Wait.”
The teacher who frowned restrained the man. The teacher confirmed the man had quieted down and asked Henry and Declan.
“Was it really broken from the start?”
“Yes, I confirmed it.”
Declan answered on Henry’s behalf.
“Last week and this week. Both times when you cleaned, what was it like? Was this person beside you?”
“No.”
“He wasn’t.”
Henry and Declan answered simultaneously. Hearing the answer, the teacher looked at the janitor. He urgently shouted at her.
“Hey, ma’am! Are you suspecting me just listening to young kids’ words right now? Couldn’t it be that those kids are colluding to get me in trouble? They could have damaged something intact and matched their stories to hide it! What are you believing to do this to me…!”
The man got angry alone, then expressed his grievance by even clutching the back of his neck and making wailing sounds.
At that shamelessness, Henry lost his words and just stared at the man. His mouth was even open without realizing it.
If you’re going to make false excuses, shouldn’t they at least be plausible enough to fool someone?
The probability that Henry Lowell and Declan Russell would collude to hide wrongdoing or to screw over one janitor? Henry thought the probability of pigs flying through the sky was higher than that.
However, the problem now was how to make the teacher understand this. It was when Henry was working his brain hard.
“I already confirmed that with the basketball club kids. All those kids answered that it broke last Thursday but wasn’t repaired.”
The teacher, who had a face showing regret when asking Henry, looked sharply at the man.
At her words, the janitor’s face instantly turned pale blue. The appearance from moments ago that was more than confident and even noisy couldn’t be found no matter how hard you looked.
“That’s… I was busy with other things then…”
“Then that’s a violation of inspection duty.”
Declan answered the janitor’s excuse. Henry also looked at him with a surprised face. The man called the janitor was glaring at Declan as if he’d kill him any moment.
“Anyway. Smith, you didn’t even check the malfunction, let alone inform the kids. What good does it do to check during the week last week? The gym is a space used every day. Besides, if the kids do service work due to discipline within the school, you should have watched from the side in preparation for any possible situation. You know this, don’t you?”
The teacher intervened at an appropriate time and mediated between Declan and the janitor. Only after the teacher pointed out his faults one by one did the man quietly utter an apology.
“…I’m sorry.”
“You should apologize to the kids, not me.”
The janitor had an attitude of anyone could see he was being pushed and apologizing unwillingly. Only after hearing the teacher’s words did Henry understand the meaning of Declan’s words from last night, ‘You’ll know tomorrow.’
Unlike himself, he seemed to have known the school’s rules. Henry sneakily stole a glance at Declan with fresh eyes.
It felt novel that he knew regulations that even he, who came up from Platts Middle School to high school, didn’t know.
“Henry. Declan.”
When he was stealing glances at Declan, who somehow looked bored, the teacher called the two again.
“It’s not your fault. Especially, it fell over Henry’s head, right? I’m glad you weren’t hurt. Declan too. I heard you helped so Henry wouldn’t get hurt. Well done.”
“Yes.”
The two answered her simultaneously. Only then did the teacher’s voice soften a bit.
“I’ll contact your parents separately. I’ll explain what happened last night and the circumstances too. This person will be dealt with within the school for dereliction of duty. I’m sorry, teacher. Since I disciplined you, I should have taken responsibility and checked more thoroughly.”
“It’s okay.”
“Yes.”
At her words, Henry and Declan each answered.
“Both of you, if you feel pain anywhere even belatedly, definitely go to the hospital. Let’s wrap up the discipline with this. You don’t have to clean anymore.”
It was welcome news in misfortune. Anyway, being together with Declan had somehow become even more awkward than before.
Henry couldn’t hide his pleased look and answered with a bright smile.
“Yes, thank you!”
The teacher accepted Henry like that as the attitude of a young student for whom cleaning was burdensome. Relieved at his appearance of not minding the accident that happened to him much, she nodded.
“You’ll be late for class. Go quickly.”
Henry greeted her and left the staff room with light steps. Declan also followed him out.
Because it somehow felt uncomfortable to just let him go, Henry tried making needless conversation.
“How did you know that when we were disciplined, a supervisor should have been attached? I didn’t know. Anyway, thanks. Thanks to you, it was resolved well.”
At his words, Declan roughly nodded his head. He looked bothered. The original Henry would have been angry at this.
He barely nods his face even though I made the effort to talk, is this bastard looking down on me? Does he not want to talk with me?
However, it was only yesterday that the backboard fell. It meant what he did to save him still remained vividly in his memory.
That’s why Henry doubted himself. Even being upset at Declan’s perfunctory answer might be his own delusion.
Henry consciously tried not to give meaning to Declan’s words and actions. Enduring and enduring again, he tried to bid farewell to Declan.
“I have to go take AP English Literature. I’m going first.”
It was when Henry was about to turn around and walk away.
“Lowell.”
Declan called his name in a low voice.
“Huh? Why?”
Henry stopped walking and looked back. Declan searched the front pocket of his bag and took something out.
“Take it.”
“Medicine? This…”
“I tried to give it to you at the dorm yesterday, but you just left.”
“It’s fine. This much will heal quickly without medicine.”
Henry tried to return the ointment he received, but Declan didn’t accept it.
“Take it.”
He just repeated the same words again.
“No, hey. If you give this to me, what will you use? Didn’t you buy this to use yourself?”
“I have one more.”
At his words, Henry paused for a moment, then eventually accepted the medicine.
“Uh… okay. Thanks. I’ll use it well.”
At Henry’s greeting, Declan, who roughly nodded his head, turned around first. Henry grumbled as he went to prepare for his first class with a lukewarm feeling.
“Is he a medicine peddler or what? Why does he bring so much medicine to the dorm?”
He entered the classroom holding the ointment he received from him. The teacher’s words didn’t enter his ears at all.
Henry looked down at the new ointment without any fingerprints for a long time, then put it in his bag.
Declan Russell was dislikeable, annoying, and an incomprehensible person.
