Having gotten everything ready for class, the boy felt a slight sense of relief.
He unconsciously raised his eyes.
Then he felt a faint jolt of surprise.
Only belatedly did he realize... something seemed off about the atmosphere in class.
Indescribable looks fell on him.
He had no time to examine his classmates' expressions closely.
The bell rang.
To avoid awkwardness, after his classmates had begun ostracizing him, he had gotten into the habit of arriving just as the bell rang.
The boy pushed down his doubts.
Maybe he was just overthinking it?
He made himself focus on the teacher's lesson.
Final exams were coming up.
This time, he had to do well.
He wanted to make his mom happy.
Class ended.
The boy lowered his head and started working on problems.
But the atmosphere wasn't as rowdy as it usually was between classes.
The classroom was strangely quiet.
Although it wasn't exactly quiet.
It was just that compared with how the boy remembered passing periods...
A rustling murmur reached his ears.
The students were whispering among themselves.
Their whispers, as though they were sharing secrets and discussing something they wanted to keep hidden, made him yearn to find out what they were talking about.
They also made anyone left out feel uneasy and at a loss.
The boy's body suddenly stiffened.
For no reason he could explain, he felt that they were talking about him.
It was just like before...
The boy pressed his lips together.
His grip tightened around the pen in his hand.
Just like in the first few days after word got out about his dad...
Rumors had run rampant.
Everyone had pointed at him and whispered.
Their expressions had all been different.
Amusement, curiosity, pity, strangeness, contempt...
Too many voices and emotions