Chapter 3: Bullying
After leaving school, I went to a bookstore where I bought some books and various school supplies, as I had not had time to buy them before.
When one is a scholarship holder at the Ikigai Academy, the student is provided with a special debit card days before the school year begins by mail. With money that the institution deposits each month, enough for school expenses, which is great for me.
After leaving the bookstore, I headed home with no more relevant facts to tell.
In short, this was not as extraordinary a day as I had imagined.
However, it was two days before I witnessed the humiliation of a certain person.
It happened at lunchtime.
Discouraged by the exorbitant prices I saw in the cafeteria, I had no choice but to buy a generic box of food, the kind you would find in any convenience store, and find a place away from the people who enjoyed their fancy lunches.
I had previously eaten lunch in the classroom (which is usually empty at this time), but I was eager to explore the school by finding another place. I realized that not only did I avoid eating in the cafeteria, but several students in my section did as well.
I ended up arriving at the back of the school, guided by a fleeting scream, and turning a corner I came across the scene of someone being bullied.
It was the same withdrawn girl sitting in front of me, Yayoi Hasegawa.
She was being surrounded by three other girls who don't belong in room 1-D.
One of them, the one who seems to be the leader of the group, pushed Hasegawa against the wall.
"Hey! What's up, busty?" exclaimed the unknown girl with a mocking smile. "Where do you think you're going? We thought we'd join you for a while since you were alone, so don't be ungrateful."
"Ha, ha, ha, the fat lady wants to cry," declared another girl with her arms crossed.
Although Hasegawa has a prominent chest and is not that thin, I think calling her "fat lady" was over the line.
Without exposing myself, I kept watching the scene.
"Hey!" exclaimed another. "Come on fatty, start crying and maybe we'll let you go!"
Despite the taunts, Hasegawa did not say a single word, but neither did he break into tears.
The girls continued to insult her, especially the girl in the middle, even going so far as to call her "cow tits. The other two looked more like her followers, whatever the main one said, her companions would repeat it like parrots.
Up to this point it seemed like typical school bullying, but soon things would get even worse.
Tired that her insults were having no effect, the leader of the group ordered the others to hold Hasegawa by the arms, while she took a thermos on the floor, where there was also a lunch box.
So she was planning to have lunch here, too...
"Nooo!" exclaimed Hasegawa at last, struggling. "Please leave me alone! I haven't done anything wrong to you!"
"So what?" asked the girl pulling Hasegawa's shirt. "Your face bothers me! You look like a fool! I'm desperate to see you. You should leave this school!"
Seeing that the leader was as flat as a board, I figured it was something else that bothered him.
What a pitiful reason... But that's the only reason you're being bothered? There must be something else here...
The flat-chested girl mischievously unscrewed the thermos and then...
"Aaaaahhh!" moaned Hasegawa as the drink began to pour down his body, from his head to his shirt.
The others laughed noisily. I felt some anger at seeing them rejoicing in the suffering of others. However, I was not interested in helping her at the time, her problems were none of my business.
Hasegawa's eyes were glazed over.
She ended up collapsing on the floor, while the others continued to mock.
The spilled drink slowly trickled down her body, causing her shirt to become transparent.
She clenched her teeth, avoiding eye contact with her tormentors in an effort not to break into tears.
The girls were not going to be content with a repressed cry, they got to the point of kicking her and continuing to insult her.
It was a sad situation...
So sad it would affect my appetite.
So I decided to leave before my lunch got cold.
* * *
I had lunch in the classroom once again, alone.
I couldn't help but think of the scene I had witnessed. So after lunch I used my cell phone to do some research on Yayoi Hasegawa.
She is the daughter of Ken Hasegawa, a well-known food entrepreneur who ended up in a bad economic situation. He was accused of using products of dubious origin for food processing, also of tax evasion, and ended up in prison. He was recently released on bail.
Inquiring more about his family, I found out that his parents had been divorced for two years, and that Hasegawa lived with his mother and stepfather who is in politics.
That's what little I got from my little Internet search.
I spent some time playing on my cell phone before school resumed.
The last person to enter the room (after the teacher on duty) was Hasegawa, who arrived with dishevelled hair, a stained shirt and a low head of hair; with a more downcast expression than I had seen in previous days.
Watching her pitiful walk through the hall to her seat, I wondered if there was any benefit in helping her.
"I could do something about it..." I said to myself, after thinking about it for a brief moment.
However, I couldn't just go and find the girls who had bothered her and ask them nicely to leave her alone, or defend Hasegawa at the time of the bullying.
First, he had to consider that it is not right to meddle in matters where no one is calling him.
And secondly, I didn't feel like making enemies that way.
"Return to your seats," announced the master taking a book and chalk. "We'll start with the class."
The murmurs grew quieter as everyone obeyed, and my thoughts of Hasegawa were put on the back burner.
At the end of the day, I waited patiently for everyone to leave the room, and it seemed Hasegawa was doing the same.
Just as she was about to get up, I started talking:
"Are you going to let them get away with it?"
"Eeeeh!?" Hasegawa exclaimed in alarm at the realization of my presence. That's why I don't like to be the last one in line... What am I? A ghost student?
"Y-You... W- Who are you? "she asked."
"I am Rei Satou. I've been sitting here since day one."
"Ah... I see..." she turned her eyes. "I-I'm sorry..." after the apology, Hasegawa was planning to leave.
Come on, not a "nice to meet you" at least?
"Wait. You haven't answered my question."
"I don't know what you're talking about," she said as if she didn't want to talk anymore.
"I'm talking about lunchtime. When three girls came to bother you in a remote part of the school."
Hasegawa was paralyzed in response.
"You... how do you know..." she said with a choppy voice.
"I was planning to have lunch at that place, too. I happened to see that you guys were busy, so I decided to leave. Hey! And don't you dare reproach me for not helping you, either."
"I'm sorry... but... it's none of your business, this is nothing..."
"You're right. That's not my problem, and as far as I can see it's nobody's problem either. But... Isn't that a problem in itself for you?"
"Ah?" Hasegawa was somewhat confused by my words.
"Think about it a bit. The teacher clearly saw the state in which you arrived in the room, with your shirt stained and stretched, but said nothing about it, taking the policy of letting the students solve their problems among themselves to the extreme."
"Although I don't blame them," I continued, "Teachers aren't babysitters, let alone kindergarten or elementary school. Similarly, the other students didn't give you the slightest consideration. It seems that no one is interested in helping you, and even if someone dares to do so... they could only make things worse."
"What punishment does someone who bullies get?" I said "A wake-up call, a week's suspension, a short conversation with the parents and nothing more. Is that really enough? Can these "punishments" really solve the problem?"
"..." Hasegawa seemed hesitant as I spoke in strong words.
"But letting them keep humiliating you doesn't help either, does it? You know, things could get worse. Today was insults and spilling a drink on your head, what's next? Violence, defamation, extortion... Anyway, you could be saying goodbye to your school life if you let things go on as they are."
"No... I don't need help" finally spoke Hasegawa putting his bag on his shoulder. "I... I can solve it by myself."
Yes, of course. Of course.
"Oh, yeah? Perfect then" I got out of my seat and walked straight to the exit door. "If you don't think you need help, don't listen to me. Just keep in mind that when you hurt someone else, you need to do it in such a way that it's impossible for them to get back at you."
"And it turns out that the girls who have bothered you are very confident that you are not brave enough to retaliate." I continued "Are you going to let them keep seeing you as a weak girl to abuse?"
When I was already under the frame of the sliding door, she gave me a desperate look.
"Think very hard, Hasegawa," I said. "I can stop that girl from coming back to this academy and in a way that will make it impossible for her to get revenge."
"HUH? You... are capable of..."
"It's not what you think," I interrupted, giving him a smile, "do I look like a crook? (I hope not). It has nothing to do with physically hurting him."
Moral though it is...
"So..." Hasegawa seemed interested in what I was saying.
"I'm talking about changing roles. Let the humiliation be for the other side, all in a discreet way."
"What... what do you mean?"
"I've talked enough" I cut the conversation short at best by ignoring his question. "See you later, Hasegawa. You now have the "power" to choose. Give them an exemplary punishment or let them keep treating you like dirt."
And finally, I closed the living room door.
Now it was just a matter of Hasegawa making his decision. There was nothing more I could do for her.
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