Chapter 21

“Nadia…”

The two of us stared at Nadia, who had just arrived back in class. Her expression twisted to one of absolute fear, and she took a step back.

“Nadia, are you alright?” I asked.

My words seemed to scare her even more. Like a cornered mouse, she planted herself on the door as much as possible. Her eyes darted all across the room.

“Nadia?”

“Umm… haha…” She twiddled her fingers, refusing to look us in the eye.

Carol stood up. “Nadia? Are you sick? Should we take you to the hospital?”

“N- No, it’s not that…” she stammered, her breathing ragged.

Something wasn’t right. I stood up, trying to get closer, but she seemed to shrink even farther. She had closed the door, and the idea of escaping outside didn’t register in her mind. Instead, she backed herself into a corner.

“I’m sorry.” She held her tears, averting her gaze, her body shaking. Sweat descended her cheeks.

“Calm down,” Carol called out. “We’re not here to judge you.”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.”

Nadia fell to the floor, held her head, and looked away.

“Nadia!” We ran to her side.

“Are you alright?”

Nadia lifted her face, and the floodgates opened.

“I’m really sorry! I should have known better! I shouldn’t have been violent! I shouldn’t have slapped her! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” She cried.

Tears streamed down like a river. She looked to be in a terrible state, all while I stood there, unsure what to do. In silence, I could only watch as she apologized again and again. What could I say? How could I calm her down? I was helpless. I wanted to help, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t do anything.

Carol grimaced. She kneeled in front of her, reached out, and hugged Nadia tight. Nadia’s apology stopped.

“... Carol?” She held her breath, looking at the girl now in front of her.

Carol didn’t answer. Instead, she pulled Nadia tighter, as if she was afraid of letting her go. Of losing her.

“... There’s a point in my life when I thought everything would be over,” she murmured, her voice weak. “Thinking back to that point made me shiver. Despite how hot those flames were, all I felt was a deep anger. Maybe to my weak, helpless self, maybe to the people around me who had left me behind. All alone to face my troubles by myself.”

“... It- It- It must be tough…” Nadia stammered.

“It is, but someone reached their hand out to me. They came and rescued me. I wouldn’t be here today had they turned a blind eye to my cries.”

“Carol…”

“Nadia. This time, I want to be that person for you. I want to help.”

“Carol…” Nadia held her tears. She could only repeat Carol’s name, reaching out for the girl who reached out to her.

I see…

I couldn’t do what Carol did. Her kindness couldn’t be compared to mine. She may look a bit cold sometimes, but she truly cares for her friends. She had always reached out to me; she had always accompanied me. I had taken her presence for granted. Maybe Nadia didn’t have that luxury, that friend, until she met Carol.

“I want to help as well, Nadia. Even if there’s nothing I can do, I at least want to be by your side.”

“Harto…” She wiped her tears away. “You sound like you're confessing.”

I tensed up. “I- I don’t have that intention.”

“Haha, I know.” A small smile graced Nadia’s lips. “Thank you, Carol. Thank you, Harto.”

“Can you tell what happened?”

“... I guess, depending on how you see it, it does count as bullying.”

“...”

“I’m… not fully clean in this regard… but…” Nadia turned her eyes to the sky, looking up at a window. “But… I want to think I’m not fully guilty as well.”

“... Is that picture true?” Carol asked, her tone full of concern.

She might not have been close with Nadia before Nadia moved to our school, but now things have changed. For the last few months, she accompanied us on our trips. We studied together, had fun together, and traveled together. She’s a dear friend to both of us.

“What happened?” I asked. “We won’t judge.”

It was a promise I made not just to Nadia, but to myself. Everyone has their own circumstances. I doubt Nadia would hurt someone for no reason. If she were that kind of person, she would have gotten into trouble not long after moving into our school. The fact that she showed her kindness to everyone here is enough proof for me.

Nadia stared at us and let out a small smile. She seemed to have calmed down, although the pain was still clear on her face.

“Nadia?” Carol asked. Nadia shook her head.

“It’s nothing.”

The next day, Nadia didn't come to school.

•••

“I see… Quite the predicament,” Prez murmured, looking serious for once.

“I had seen the comments and the death threats… I can't believe how quickly it spiraled out of control,” Ian said.

Ian, Prez, Carol, and several of my classmates gathered in my class after school. We tried contacting Nadia, but she only said that she felt sick, thus not be coming to school. She didn't give us any other explanation.

“... That's the thing,” Carol said. “I checked the posts. Ninety-seven accounts, all posting at five fifteen in the afternoon.”

We all stared at Carol in shock. Carol didn't notice, however.

“Ninety-seven accounts in less than sixty seconds. That's not natural.”

“Did you count?”

“Yes, of course.”

Carol, looking completely oblivious to our surprise, continued on.

“From there, there's a gap of two to five minutes before the issue really begins to spread, then it continues on like a snowball rolling down a mountain. I think what someone is doing is paying people to push the issue. But they forgot to time it correctly.”

“... You're scary in your own way,” Prez whispered. I honestly agree.

“... So you're saying that if we expose this, we can clear Nadia's name?” Ian asked.

“I’ll do everything I can!” one of our classmates said.

“Me too! I want to help Nadia!”

Nadia had been kind to us. We didn't like her just because she's famous. She's always willing to lend a helping hand. She lightened up the mood in class. There was practically no distance between her and us.

We all knew the true Nadia. We wouldn't let our friend stand alone.

“... Unfortunately, we can't reverse the slap,” Carol said, dampening the mood.

As much as I hate to admit it, she had a point. That part was true. No matter what we did, we couldn't change that part. Not after Nadia herself admitted to making that mistake.

“Is her career ruined?” Our classmate asked.

“Probably not,” Carol stated. “People forget things much easier than they're willing to admit. If we can create another controversy…”

If we create another controversy above this one, then people might forget about what happened.

“... You know, Rizka isn't clean,” Carol murmured, her voice cold. “It would be a different situation if she's a nice girl… but…”

“... You're going to dig up dirt on her?” Ian asked.

Carol smirked. “I didn't need to when all of it lay out in the open.”

“... She's really scary,” Prez whispered, voicing our shared thoughts.

“... Ah, look!” A classmate shouted all of a sudden. She came over and placed her phone in the center of my desk, where we could all see. It showed a video featuring Nadia in a suit.

“An apology video?”

“So she ended up uploading one?”

We all watched it together. Unfortunately, Nadia slapped someone. Had it been just an online argument, then maybe the apology video wouldn’t be needed. But the issue involved violence. After the video ended, silence filled the room. For maybe a minute or two, no one said a thing.

“... Damn,” someone opened their voice, but it wasn’t clear who. We agree with that reaction, however.

“At the end, Nadia didn’t try to blame anyone.”

“... She took full responsibility. That feels so much like her.”

Carol clenched her fist.

“People are already flaming her in the comments.”

There were a variety of comments. Some told her to **** herself, while others showed their disappointment at their childhood idol. It was a mix. Some were extreme, some were less extreme. Some tried defending her, believing that she had her reasons, but people shot down those comments quickly.

The ugliness of humanity is on full display. People criticized her for her actions, but I couldn’t see them as any better.

“... Isn’t this Rizka’s account?” Carol pointed to one of the comments. The words contained were much, much harsher than necessary. Even if she was the ‘victim’, it was words that shouldn’t have come out from a public figure.

“Wow…” Ian whispered. “She does realize her comment is public, right?”

“Look at the support,” Prez said. “She knows what she’s doing.”

“This is way too extreme.”

“I’m surprised she doesn’t play the good side and forgive her.”

Had she done so, people might have seen her in a much more positive light. They might have thought about her as a kind, forgiving person. She displayed a crazy amount of hate in her words, as if she had been holding it for years, only letting it explode now.

“... But people can’t really criticize her for it.”

“It’s awful!”

Whoever tried calling her out was shot down. They were seen as supportive of Nadia’s behavior, despite not showing any of it.

“... We can’t do anything, can we?” Ian looked worried.

“We can’t,” Carol said. “If we say anything, they’ll just think that we approve of Nadia’s violence.”

People only see what they want to see. If they wanted to see the bad in Nadia, then all the good things Nadia did would be irrelevant. There would be no argument, no discussion. Nadia is bad, that’s everything they’ll know.

“Guess all we can do is wait this out, huh?”

“Unfortunately, yes.”