"What are you going to do about it?"
The girl stepped closer.
"Or are you just going to stand there again?" she said, quieter this ti.
Yesu frowned. "I didn't just stand there."
"Of course you didn't," the girl laughed under her breath. "You made it worse."
A short pause.
"You think they stopped because of you?"
Silence stretched.
"They didn't." She said,
That landed hard.
"Look, I never ant…"
"I leave for five minutes…" Miss Wilson's voice cut in as she stepped into view.
Her eyes moved quickly, Yesu, the girl, the scattered supplies, the bin.
"Of course."
She sighed, already reaching for gloves. "What happened?"
"Nothing," the girl said quickly.
Miss Wilson paused for half a second. Then nodded like she didn't care enough to argue.
"Sit."
The girl hesitated, then sat.
Yesu shifted to the side, leaning lightly against the desk, watching.
Miss Wilson worked without fuss. Clean, efficient. Like she had done this too many tis to react.
"You're bleeding again," she muttered.
"I'm fine."
"Everyone is fine until they pass out."
The girl didn't respond.
"Yesu, you're looking quite splendid." Miss Wilson said without looking up.
Yesu sighed. 'Sa Old,' she thought.
"Why are you here?"
Yesu didn't miss a beat. "I don't feel well."
Miss Wilson finally looked at her. "You walked in, you're talking, you argued just now. And you don't feel well?"
"Yes."
Miss Wilson went back to cleaning the wound. "No."
Yesu straightened. "No?"
"No."
"That's a bit unfair."
"You co here every other week with sothing," Miss Wilson said calmly. "Headache. Stomach ache. 'Existential fatigue'. Your words, not mine."
"That one was valid."
"I'm sure it was."
The girl let out a quiet snort before she could stop herself.
Miss Wilson pressed gauze into her hand. "Hold that."
The girl obeyed.
"Can you walk?"
A small nod.
Miss Wilson reached for her drawer and brought out a pass.
"Take this. Go ho. And don't co back today."
The girl stood, took her pass and left without a second glance at Yesu.
The door clicked shut. Silence settled again.
Yesu pushed off the desk.
"So," she tried again. "Near-death experience. Trauma. I think I deserve at least half a day."
Miss Wilson didn't even look at her this ti.
"Take the trash out."
Yesu blinked. "That's not what I…"
"The bin," Miss Wilson said, nodding toward the corner. "It's full."
Yesu stared at it. "You're unbelievable."
"Out."
Yesu grabbed the bag, already knowing where this was going.
***
The trash bag was heavier than it looked.
Yesu dragged it out of the office, down the hallway. The school felt quieter now, classes in session, doors shut, voices muffled behind walls.
She pushed through the back door.
Heat hit her first. Then the sll. Old waste, damp concrete, sothing faintly burnt.
"Perfect."
She stepped out, letting the door swing shut behind her.
The back of the school was mostly empty. Storage units, cracked pavent, and a few rusted railings that no one bothered fixing.
Voices drifted from the side, low and familiar.
Yesu sighed. "Of course."
The back of the school also served as the favorite hanging spot for delinquents.
She rounded the corner.
Kunjunni was there, with the sa lazy stance as before. Matchstick between his teeth like he had nowhere better to be.
Two others stood with him. One she knew, one she wasn't quite sure she did.
A torn trash bag lay open at their feet. They all looked at her.
Kunjunni didn't move this ti, just watched.
"You again," one of them said.
"Yes," Yesu replied, dropping the trash bag beside the torn one. "Still ."
Then another voice.
"You've got a habit of showing up where you shouldn't."
Yesu's eyes shifted.
Her classmate. The one from the gym. He stepped forward slightly, one hand pressed against his side like it still bothered him.
"You recovered," Yesu said, glancing at him. "That's good."
His jaw tightened. "Say that again."
"You looked worse back then," she added casually. "Thought I broke sothing."
A beat.
The others went quiet.
Kunjunni's gaze flicked between them, mischief in his eyes.
The boy let out a short laugh, there was no humor in it.
"You think that was funny?"
"No," Yesu said. "Just accurate."
That did it.
He stepped closer. "You embarrassed ."
"You didn't need for that."
A heavy silence followed. The kind that snaps.
His hand curled.
"You really think you can just walk in, do whatever you want, and nothing happens?"
Yesu tilted her head slightly, as if taking in the sight of them.
"So far?"
That was the line.
He moved fast. Not a warning. Not a shove.
A swing.
His fist connected with the side of her head.
Her body turned with the impact and she went down hard.
Her head hit the concrete. Making a dull, hollow sound. The kind that shouldn't co from a person.
Then there was silence. No one spoke.
Even he froze, staring down at her.
"…I didn't hit you that hard."
No response. Blood started to spread beneath her.
His breathing shifted. "I didn't…"
"Wait," Kunjunni said quietly.
Seconds passed. Too many.
Then her fingers twitched. A breath. Then movent.
She pushed herself up. Unsteady, then not.
Blood ran down the side of her face. She touched it, looked at her hand like she was trying to rember sothing.
"Again?" she murmured, like she'd misplaced the feeling.
She stood.
Kunjunni's smile faded.
The boy took a step back without realizing it.
"You went down," he said. "…I hit you."
"Yes." She seed like soone in a trance.
A pause.
"…why are you standing?" He took another step back. Now he knew, he hadn't held back.
Yesu looked at him, really looked this ti. Not annoyed. Not angry. Just… looking.
"You done?" she asked.
No one answered.
She bent, picked up her trash bag on the floor, and threw it into the dumpster.
Then she turned and walked away. No one stopped her.
Behind her, the silence felt different now. It wasn't confusion, not entirely. But sothing close to it.
Her classmate stared at his fists. And this ti, he knew exactly how hard he hit her.
It should have been enough to keep her down.
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