Before I could even step into homeroom, I was called down to the office.  First thing on a Monday.  Great.  

    I chugged my latte—scalding hot, skim milk foam—, burning my throat in the process.  With an groan, I tossed the styrofoam cup and squared my shoulders before walking in, switching on the brightest, emptiest smile.  

    “Morning, Ms. Byun,” I chirped to the lady at the front desk wearing an unfortunate pant suit.  “Love your outfit,” I lied through my teeth.  

    “The principal is waiting for you inside.” 

    I ducked my head inside first, trying to look relaxed.  My AAN lean-back blouse and skinnies screamed modest.  Modest if not diffident, not brash and flashy.  

    “Good morning, Naeun.  Have a seat,” he nodded to the apple green chaise in front of the lounge chairs.  

    Dropping down on the seat, I eyed him warily before saying, “What’s up, Mr. Lim?” 

    As if I didn’t know already.  

    “I’m sure you’re already aware of this, but…” he sighs a little, “there’s been a case of reports coming in pertaining to a certain video.” 

    “Uh huh…” 

    “Someone’s filmed and uploaded a video where you’re allegedly harassing a student during class.  Now, we don’t know if this is completely true.  There are some witnesses who’ve claimed the video has been manipulated, but I did feel this was important to address.  The matter of bullying is a very serious topic and—” 

    I stopped listening.  I looked down on my lap, feeling my mind go haywire.  Witnesses? Bullying?  Was that what I was doing? Bullying?

    “Naeun, do remember, if what is being said is true, know that there are consequences.” 

    “Like, suspension? Is this going on my school record?” I dug my nails into my palm.  

    “The school can’t go as far as suspending you, but—”

    “It’s true.” 

    “Pardon?” 

    “I said it’s true.  No one edited the video.  The person in the video is me.  That’s a form of defamation, right? So suspend me.” 

    “Naeun, it’s great that you’re being honest, and I could see—”

    “But know I wasn’t the only one there.  And have you seen the footage? Whoever leaked it was in on it too.  The video itself is a form of cyber bullying, which I find very unfortunate, because there’s no rule regarding that either, right?” I rolled my eyes.  

    “Son Naeun.  We know fully well that there were bystanders.  We’d just like to get to the root of the matter.” 

    My eyes felt hot.  “Can I go to class?” 

    “I’d like you to have a meeting with the school counselor later.” 

    I almost threw a punch at him.  Almost.  I thought of punching him, which helped a little, to be honest.  

    “Students who commit any offense will not be able to run for student body the following year or participate in the year-end music festival.” 

    My heart dropped.  

    “There’ll also be mandatory cleaning after school and general detention before school starting the week of.” 

    ing hell.  

    “Can I go to class, now? Please?” 

    “Surely.” 

~

 I walked into math ten minutes late, avoiding stares.  The teacher couldn’t have been slower taking my late pass before letting me walk to my seat.  

    Myungsoo.  I forgot about Myungsoo.  He sat in the spot next to mine, as per usual, wearing a black denim shirt and a blank expression.  

    When I sat down, he finally looked up.  His eyes flickered, like he was surprised to see me.  He uncrossed his arms and leaned over.  He looked like he wanted to say something, but hastily decided not to.  

    I didn’t look his way for the rest of the class.  

    When the bell rang, I was the first to get up, nearly bolting to the door.  

    “Hey, Naeun,” he called out after me.  

    Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the girls standing behind us glaring.  

    I slowly inched to a stop, letting him catch up to me.  He flipped his hair, messing it up a little before it fell right back into place.  

    “What’s… up?” I started walking again, pretending to check my text messages.  

    “Missed you this morning during homeroom.” 

    “Yeah, didn’t know? I got paged to the office,” I said loud enough for people to hear.  

    The girls tailing Myungsoo murmured, and the debate club bunch at their lockers shot me uncomfortable glances.  

    He nodded slowly, pretending not to notice the low-key commotion, “Are you holding up okay?” 

    “Don’t you have to get to your elective?” 

    With an unreadable expression, he replied, “I’ll walk you to class.” 

    I halted.  He circled until he was in front of me, tapping a finger on his laptop sleeve. 

    “Naeun?” 

    Slowly, I began to nod.  “Okay.” 

    He doesn’t walk any more than a step away from me—quiet, but his presence towering behind me like a shield all the same.  I’m not sure if this sounds right… he feels dependable.  I feel strangely