Erwin’s P.O.V.
“What on earth do you think you’re doing to my students?!”
It was only when his foot forcefully knocked me down to the floor that my anger subsided, and my mind became clearer.
I looked around and could see that the eyes of the entire class were on me; some of them were shocked, others seemed on the verge of dying from laughter. The fact was, at that moment, I was in the worst possible position; not only was I seriously at risk of expulsion after not even one day of school, but I had also made a fool of myself in front of everyone.
I looked at the pleased and extremely amused expression of that bastard Marcus, and it was clear that he, despite a broken nose, had come out more than well from this affair, since he had become the victim, even though things couldn’t be more different.
I wanted to smash his face… I really wanted to, but at that moment I was completely immobilized by a man who, most likely, was a teacher.
This middle-aged man had appeared out of nowhere, almost like a ghost, blocking every move of mine with extreme ease; sure, I knew that teachers were abyssally more powerful than us, but it still felt strange to be caught so off guard in that way, without having the chance to fight back… what am I saying, to realize what was happening.
“Boy… who the devil are you? I’ve never seen you around here… Why did you beat up my students?”
First of all, things didn’t go like that. And then, that’s the question I wanted to ask, although at that moment, I was aware that I was not in the best position to do as I pleased.
“I… I am Erwin Eda, and I am a new student at this school.”
The professor arched his eyebrows, looking at me with a surprised and slightly confused gaze.
“Oh, you’re the student recommended by the principal, am I right?”
At that moment, when the man in front of me uttered that phrase, silence fell instantly; at that moment, all the eyes of the class were definitely on me, but this time, their gazes were even more intense. I didn’t understand the reason, and I didn’t even understand why that middle-aged man said that phrase.
But it had to be something extremely big, since all the looks on me, if before they were curious glances, had turned into looks full of hatred. In particular, the angriest of all was Marcus, who, in addition to giving me death stares, began nervously to mutter something surely unpleasant.
“H-Hey… what does that mean by—!”
“I’m the one asking the questions, Mr. Erwin…”
Suddenly, the pressure of his foot on my chest increased, causing me even more pain and making it harder to breathe; I don’t know what the teacher’s goal was, but at that moment I was sure it wasn’t good.
“Why on earth did you beat up your classmates? Do you think that just because you’re the ‘protected’ by the principal, you can do whatever you like?”
“I-I… I did it only to protect Oscar!” I yelled in pain, pointing to Oscar, who was standing still, immobile, watching the scene.
I was convinced that boy would defend me, that he would come to my rescue to explain that in truth, it wasn’t me who deserved a kick in the butt! Instead, Oscar remained silent, with his gaze lowered and all trembling.
“…H-Hey!…”
I turned my gaze from Oscar and noticed how, with a completely out-of-himself look, Marcus was watching him; he hadn’t said anything, not even a single word, but it was enough to look at him to understand the message he wanted to convey to Oscar.
[T-That rotten bastard…]
“Is that true, boy?” asked the professor to Oscar, who had finally noticed Oscar’s discomfort.
For a few seconds, Oscar said nothing; I thought that maybe, he would take courage, and that he would tell things as they were in front of the professor. But things didn’t go that way at all, leaving me baffled and disappointed by the words that came out of his mouth.
“…P-Professor Valentin… it was all a misunderstanding born out of my fault. Marcus and his friends were joking with me, but I took it out on them and was the first to raise my hands. Erwin, the new guy, saw the scene, and believing that I was, got in the middle to settle everything… I’m sorry.” concluded Oscar, making a forced smile.
The professor couldn’t know, but that was a downright lie! Everyone, in that class, knew it was a lie, but none of his “companions” dared to utter a word; perhaps, because they didn’t care that Oscar was being bullied; or perhaps, because they were terrified that Marcus might start ruining other people’s lives.
I couldn’t let him get away with it, I had to do at least something! And so I tried to do, before that damn Marcus anticipated me, seizing the opportunity.
“It’s correct, professor. We were simply joking, and Oscar took it a little too hard. Maybe we exaggerated a bit, but his reaction was excessive, starting to cry. Erwin must have misinterpreted everything and… that explains it all!”
With a relieved look and a fake smile plastered on his face, Marcus finished his farce by approaching me, then having the courage to offer me his hand.
“It was all a misunderstanding, Erwin… shall we make peace?”
I just had to look at his fake good-boy face to understand that at that moment he was in seventh heaven for how things had turned out; the more I looked at him, the more I wanted to break his nose again. I was furious about how things were going, and I was furious with Oscar too, because that idiot had played right into Marcus’s hands, defending him.
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I absolutely did not want to concede victory to someone as petty and false as him, it irritated me too much. However, at that moment, I had the eyes of the entire class on me, along with the gaze of Professor Valentin, who, since I had set foot here, had done nothing but watch my every smallest movement.
Moreover, although it made me furious, at that moment I had the chance to save my butt from the expulsion. I was really annoyed, but I had no choice but to play his game, following my conditions.
“Okay, fine. I’m very sorry for hitting you.” I replied to Marcus, without shaking his hand, instead bowing my head a little, leaving Marcus slightly taken aback by my choice.
“H-Hey, to put an end to this matter, you should shake my hand…” - countered the idiot, who at that moment was doing everything not to show his frustration, continuing to make that idiotic smirk.
“That’s enough…” intervened the professor, who, after observing us in silence for a few moments, let out a big sigh of disappointment.
“But professor, he-!!”
“I said that’s enough” the professor interrupted, this time raising his voice slightly and looking menacingly at Marcus, who in the next instant fell silent suddenly lowering his gaze.
“Next time, avoid joking too much; you’re kids, sure, but there’s a limit to everything, even when joking. As for you, Mr. Eda, it’s not a good way to introduce yourself by beating up your new classmates, especially in the position you find yourself in right now. I’m sure if you had used a different approach, you probably wouldn’t have come to blows. However, since you intervened in ‘good faith,’ I’ll turn a blind eye to the whole affair and not expel you from the academy, but I’ll think of a suitable punishment for you at the end of the lesson, so don’t run away. Well, with that said, you three boys can go to the infirmary, while the others can sit down at their desks. The lesson begins!” - concluded the professor with an authoritative manner, then heading towards his desk.
Somehow, I had managed to avoid a much worse outcome, and I was happy about that. But the way I had saved myself from the expulsion annoyed me, since Marcus and his friends had gotten off scot-free thanks to a lie from Oscar, being simply ‘tapped on the wrist,’ if that could be called such.
And then, what did he mean by “especially in the position you find yourself in right now”? Did it perhaps have to do with the fact that I had been "recommended" by the principal? And then, what the hell did being recommended mean? That professor had told me so many things, yet at that moment I was so confused that it only annoyed me further.
“Tsk… fuck!”
Frustrated, I headed back to my seat, where Oscar was waiting for me, looking at me as if I were some kind of ghost.
“H-Hey, thanks for defending me…”
Thanks for defending me? At that moment, those words seemed almost like a mockery, to the point that I wanted to hit him on his empty head; but then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw him trembling like a leaf, apparently for no reason. I was still angry, but at that moment, I couldn’t say anything.
“You know, I didn’t want to lie, I really mean it… But dealing with M-Marcus is…”
I really didn’t want to talk to him because I didn’t know exactly what to say or how to approach him, but what came out of his mouth annoyed me too much to remain silent.
“It’s not a reason to be treated like crap, don’t you think? I mean, if you behave like this, you-”
“I know perfectly well! I know I’m digging my own grave… but…”
After interrupting me, Oscar suddenly fell silent. At that moment, as I looked at him, I realized that the situation must be worse than I imagined if Oscar was aware that he was in deep trouble. Some of my anger began to fade, giving way to a sense of pity for him, making me wonder: what the hell had they done to destroy him in that way?
I couldn’t do anything about it, at that moment, I saw that Ron’s and Elaine’s words were becoming more and more true, but I wanted to find out even more, so much so that I wanted to ask him what had happened to him.
But before I had the chance, Professor Valentin began to speak, drawing my attention.
“Good! Before we start the lesson, I want to tell you a few things. As you well know, in exactly 10 days, your ‘bimonthly test’ will take place. Needless to say, your fate will depend on this test. So, if you really want some advice, train even more than necessary if you really want to pass the test. Otherwise, it will be worse for you. Well, today we will talk about…”
Although I didn’t know what the hell this “bimonthly test” was, at first those words didn’t stir anything in me, since my intention was still to face everything to the fullest and with commitment.
Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Oscar’s expression become darker and sadder; initially, I thought it was again due to that bastard Marcus, but I remembered that he was in the infirmary. So, I looked at the entire class, and immediately noticed that everyone became gloomy and strangely agitated: no one, at that moment, was listening to Professor Valentin’s lesson.
At that moment I also became worried, since I didn’t understand exactly what the hell was going on.
“Hey!” - I said in a low voice to Oscar, who despite the worried look, somehow was the only one still remotely focused - “What the hell is the bimonthly test? Why is everyone worried?”
Oscar, who until that moment had not paid attention to me, when he heard that phrase widened his eyes, looking at me incredulously for a few seconds, and I admit, all this gave me a lot of anxiety.
“You’re joking, aren’t you?!” Oscar whispered, looking at me as if I had said something wrong.
“If I’m asking you, maybe, just maybe, it means I’m damn serious, don’t you think?!”
Oscar’s eyes bulged again, beginning to mutter something really comprehensible in a very low voice.
“Didn’t you read the letter they gave you after admission? It was all written there!”
“N-No, I didn’t read it…”
At that moment, I remembered that I hadn’t read the letter at all, since the day before, Claire had told us she had explained all the essential things of the academy…
“I can’t believe it… Well, at this point, it’s better that I explain what it is, even though when I explain it to you, you certainly won’t be happy, in fact, you’ll probably go crazy”
“Don’t leave me hanging, explain everything now!”
“…You two” - suddenly said Valentin, annoyed by the continuous whispering of the two boys at the back of the class - “Since you have no interest in what I’m explaining, leave the class immediately, before I get really angry…”
“M-Mr. Professor, I’m sorry—”
“OUT.”
“…”
At that moment, we understood that there was nothing we could say to change that professor’s mind; so, sadly, we left the class slightly embarrassed, with some of our classmates not missing the opportunity to laugh under their breath.
“After not even an hour of lesson, they’ve already thrown me out of the class… I’m sorry, Oscar! I didn’t mean to get you kicked out!” - I said totally apologetic, bowing and waiting for him to accept my apologies.
“…It doesn’t matter, anyway, it’s been 4 months since that professor has been explaining the same things…”
I didn’t know how an academy worked, but it was strange that a professor, for 4 months, continued to explain the same things.
“It doesn’t seem like something normal…”
“Right? But well, this is the fate that awaits anyone who ends up in section C…” Oscar replied with a melancholic look, letting out a small sigh of disappointment.
“What do you mean?” I asked Oscar, on edge because of the way he was behaving.
“…Well, we students of the section C have a difficult life here... for example, the ‘bimonthly selection’ is a test that is only exclusive for our section..."
“Uh? Just us? That doesn’t seem fair.. But still, i think this not the reason why everyone was freaked out, right?”
“No, it’s not…”
Oscar’s gaze became even darker, and at the same time, it became somehow more resentful, finally understanding that this bimonthly test had to be something much more than a simple test.
“You see Erwin, the fact is that the Bimonthly Test is nothing more than a selection test exclusive to the first and second classes of section C”
“…What?”
END OF CHAPTER 28 – Section C.