The Final Volume: A Tiny World in the Dust - The Murder Weapon

Getting cornered in the bathroom by three burly upperclassmen... What, had you guys watched too many gangster movies?

If you really wanted to watch something, go for old classics like The Godfather or Once Upon a Time in America. Don't be fooled by stuff like Young and Dangerous or Crows Zero.

"Kid, were you the one causing trouble in the cafeteria that day?"

"Causing trouble? Do you mean..."

Thump! The upperclassman with the weird ramen-noodle hair stepped forward, his foot landing heavily in front of me. Whoa, didn't that hurt your sole?

"Don't play dumb! Three days ago, at the cafeteria in the southeast corner—were you the one who bullied Xiao Su!?"

"Xiao Su... You mean that classmate, Su Yu?"

"Who else could I mean!?"

"Oh. I wasn't the one who bullied her."

"...Huh?"

"If there's nothing else, see you around."

I adjusted my backpack strap and slipped through the gap between the three upperclassmen. But—

A huge hand clamped down hard on my shoulder.

"Wait right there! You're still going to deny it, kid?"

Hey, hey, I'm just saying... You asked me, "Were you the one who bullied Xiao Su?" So isn't it my right to answer however I want? What's it to you?

"My Juan Juan told me everything. You were the one who bullied her best friend! All right, kid, picking on the Department Flower, huh? Think I won't kill you?"

He shoved me hard, and my back slammed into the bathroom wall. At least I didn't fall into a urinal.

Uh, all right. I got the picture.

That "Juan Juan" girl—seriously, what a down-home nickname—was probably friends with or roommates with that Department Flower. She'd seen her best friend publicly humiliated by some scumbag and wanted to help her get even. I'd bet she was one