Fighting

Perhaps the being who had given her a second life knew that too, and had slipped her a little cheat, at least giving her a glimmer of hope.

She looked up at the clock above the blackboard. She had spent almost twenty minutes brooding, and she had to sleep. She didn't want to be caught sleeping in class and made to stand as punishment right after the school year began.

Touching the wand strapped to her arm with a strip of cloth, Lin Er cast Stupefy on herself.

Magic did what she wanted. When she had used Transfiguration on her clothes, she had wanted it to last as long as possible, and when she checked at noon, they still hadn't changed back.

When she turned a leaf into a bowl, she had wanted it to last half an hour. Her lovely pen pal had helped confirm that he didn't even need to wash the bowl, since he could just send the leaf back.

Casting Stupefy on herself now was much like setting an alarm.

When the bell rang, Lin Er groggily stood up with her classmates. Stools clattered all around, and then they called out at different times, "Hello, teacher!"

The teacher saw that they were in poor shape and clapped their hands. After finally getting everyone's attention, the teacher gave an order.

"Let's sing a song before class. Everyone joins in! Arise, ye who refuse to be slaves! Sing!"

The national anthem played on the classroom multimedia system. The students' uneven mumbling gradually turned into an impassioned chorus.

By the time the song ended, everyone who needed waking was awake. Even the class next door had woken up. Its teacher strolled over for a look, then went back with an expression that said they had learned something.

After staying alert for half the lesson, Lin Er started thinking about how to make money again.

Her mother was pregnant with her younger brother this year, and her parents were away hiding while waiting for the birth. Forget making money—her father was already doing his best if they weren't dipping into their savings.

Asking them for money would only get her scolded, because as far as they were concerned, they had already given her living expenses, and asking for anything else was just wasteful spending.

She really craved good food. She could use Transfiguration on clothes, but she couldn't do anything about food, and right now she didn't even have money to buy hygiene supplies.

She had found her shampoo: a blob in a plastic bag, obviously portioned out from the supply at home.

Her other hygiene supplies consisted of a roll of toilet paper, and nothing else.

Her rhinitis still hadn't cleared up, and she probably wouldn't get two days' use out of that roll.

Her hands had been turning pages along with her classmates' without thinking, but her mind had been wandering for a while. Lin Er realized it and pulled herself together, only to drift off again as their homeroom teacher explained what the author had wanted to express.

She was in her first year of middle school now, and her mother should be coming back this year. Her younger brother would also be coming back to get his household registration.

People would soon be living at home, and she probably wouldn't be able to commute next semester either. After all, sleeping upstairs alone wasn't the same as having a rat upstairs.

Besides, who knew whether her mother might take it into her head to go upstairs and tidy up one day?

After all, her younger sister had hidden her summer homework in a crack in a wooden chest upstairs that hadn't been touched in years, and their mother had still found it while looking for old sweaters to unravel for yarn.

After a whole day of her thoughts pulling her back and forth, Lin Er was so tired she barely had the energy for dinner. In the end, she ate two bowls of rice with the last of the stir-fried pickled mustard greens in her box, then washed her bowl and returned to the classroom.

In the noisy classroom, the students' little circles had mostly settled into place. Lin Er was surrounded by boys, who had gathered to talk and were now occupying her seat.

The books on her desk were nearly toppling over.

She frowned and tapped the boy who had clearly seen her return but had no intention of giving up the seat.

"Hey, you're in my seat."

The boys all looked displeased at her sudden interruption. The one she had tapped turned around angrily and said, "Can't you find somewhere else to sit for a bit?"

Hey, don't they know I'm suspected of having an intellectual disability and might have mental problems?

She reached out, grabbed him, and hauled him out.

"If you like it here, go tell the homeroom teacher. I'll pack up and give you the seat. If you don't have the guts, move. This is my seat."

The boy hadn't expected Lin Er to do that. His face turned red with anger, and as soon as he had his footing, he tried to hit her. The students beside him hurried to hold him back and started taking his side.

"Hey, don't hit her. Lin Er, Li Xiang was just sitting in your seat for a bit. What's the big deal? Couldn't you just sit in his seat for a while?"

Lin Er straightened her books, made sure the magic book was still there, and raised an eyebrow at the student who had spoken.

"Can't understand human speech? I'm pretty sure I was speaking human just now. Your own kind should be able to understand it, right?"

"Fuck, what did you say?"

The one holding Li Xiang back cursed at her outright. Lin Er looked at him as the class turned its attention toward them. Two boys who had been about to back out reacted as if their tails had been stepped on and reached over to shove her books.

Lin Er was already upset: at her former timidity and at her own lack of resolve.

She raised her hand and slapped him.

The smack silenced the entire classroom. Lin Er's own breath caught, and her hand went weak for a moment. Before she could react, the boy swung a fist at her.

Kids didn't hold back when they fought. Lin Er had never been in a fight, and the face was the place she was most used to seeing people hit, after all the novels and television she had watched.

At least she couldn't bring herself to gouge his eyes, afraid she would hurt him too badly and her family couldn't afford to pay for it.

But could she just take those extra hits for nothing?

No!

She shoved the desk aside to make room, then grabbed him and threw him to the ground. She was at her physical peak, able to carry a bucket of over ten kilograms in each hand up six flights of stairs without stopping. If she couldn't bring down someone shorter than her who weighed less than fifty kilograms, that would be her bad luck.

Once he was down, she pinned him and hit him. She didn't know how to fight, but she could remember. All she had to do was hit him back the way he had just hit her.

Someone in the class ran off to get a teacher. Could the boys nearby just watch their friend get pinned and beaten? Plenty of them jumped in to take his side. She bit whoever reached for her. She was a kid again, so why should she care about saving face?

When the homeroom teacher and the disciplinary director came and pulled them apart, Lin Er was black and blue from hesitating to strike, and blood was pouring from her nose.

The two boys who had interfered on the other side had bleeding bite marks on their hands. Li Xiang, who had fought her, had matching handprints on his cheeks and a split lip. There was no telling what lay beneath his clothes where Lin Er had kicked him several times.

The homeroom teacher was so angry he laughed.

"Really impressive! It's only the third day of school, and you're already having a boys-versus-girls brawl in the classroom. Everyone who laid a hand on someone, get to my office!"

Lin Er set her desk straight and made sure her wand and magic book were inside. She took out some toilet paper to wipe her nosebleed and went to the office with trembling hands.

It was easy to start shaking after getting worked up, and she couldn't control it.

Dinner was over and evening study was about to begin. Unlike at noon, the teachers wouldn't be returning to their dorms, and most of those supervising evening study were in the office.

They all gasped when they saw Lin Er come in. Then several boys shuffled in after her, and their expressions turned to disbelief.

What was this? Three against one in front of the whole class, and three boys against one girl?

Gao Bo sat behind his desk, his face red with anger. He looked at Lin Er, then at the boys, and asked through gritted teeth, "Go on, tell me. What terrible grudge do you have against each other?"

The boys lowered their heads. Lin Er wiped the blood from her nose and made sure it had stopped before lowering hers.

"Li Xiang took my seat. I came back and told him to move, but he wouldn't. I pulled him out, and he shoved my books. The others took his side. I raised my hand and accidentally hit him in the face. He hit me back too many times, so I hit him back again. They took his side again, and my hands were busy, so I bit them twice."

Her account was matter-of-fact, simple, and direct. The three boys beside her all turned red in the face. Lin Er didn't know, but her face was black and blue.