Life Reversal ~ I Was Cheated On and Falsely Accused, but Now the Most Beautiful Girl in the School Is Getting Close to Me ~ Volume 1 Chapter 3
Chapter 3
The School’s Response
──September 4th, Takayanagi’s Perspective──
Watching Aono flee from a distance, I let out a sigh of relief. At the very least, I could confirm he was safe.
Honestly, what a reckless thing to do.I had already asked the vice-principal and the school nurse, Mitsui-sensei, to look for him, so I was glad to see he was okay. To be honest, I had been imagining the worst-case scenario and had broken out in a cold sweat.
I’m the homeroom teacher for Class 2-B. I teach world history, and my career has just hit the ten-year mark. After spending the summer break on a business trip leading a club activity, today was my first day of classes for the second semester. And now, I was facing the biggest problem of my career. I sighed again, trying not to let my students notice.
※
During what was effectively our first morning homeroom of the semester, I was about to start with some casual conversation when a scan of the room revealed Aono’s absence. Was he just sick, or was he playing hooky, as students often do after a long break? Assuming it was one or the other, I glanced at his desk again and noticed what were clearly marks from graffiti.
Pretending to take attendance, I walked over to his desk and could faintly make out the word “Die” scrawled across its surface. In that moment, I grasped the situation completely.
This was bullying, or something just as serious.
“Does anyone know anything about Aono?” I asked the class.
Aida was the one who answered. “He said he wasn’t feeling well, so he went to the nurse’s office.”
There was a school-wideassembly right after this. Dammit, I thought, at times like this, I need to act fast.“Alright, then,” I announced. “I’m going to check on Aono, so you all can go ahead and line up in the gym.”
My reputation as a downer-type teacher worked in my favor, making my casual tone seem natural.
As the students filed out, I glanced at Amada, who was supposedly dating Aono. She was clearly flustered. Was it out of worry, or was it something else…?
I met up with Mitsui-sensei in the hallway outside the nurse’s office. Just as I suspected, she confirmed that something seemed off about Aono. When she had tried to ask him what happened, he would only repeat, “I’m not feeling well, so please let me rest.”
“Leave this to me,” Mitsui-sensei assured me. I took her up on her offer and immediately headed to the faculty office to give the vice-principal a brief overview of the situation.
The vice-principal, his white hair swaying, was visibly shaken by the news.
“It’s not good that the principal is tied up with the assembly,” he said. “Let’s hold a strategy meeting immediately after school. Takayanagi-sensei, please try to get more details from the students about what happened. We live in an age where kids can get caught up in all sorts of trouble online. Especially over summer break, anything could have happened.”
Though he appeared frail, he set a firm course of action, which was a great help.
※
After we finished the administrative matters that had been on hold—appointing class committee members and various executive roles—I decided it was time to cut to the chase.
I let my tone grow heavy, changing the atmosphere in the room as I spoke.
“You all know what ‘destruction of property’ is, right?”
My long battle was about to begin.
At those grim words, a stir ran through the classroom.
“If I put it that way, I’m sure you smart kids understand,” I continued. “I’m talking about Aono’s desk.”
A heavy silence instantly fell over the class. How much does he know? Could it be… everything? I could almost hear their panicked thoughts.
“I don’t know who did it yet,” I admitted. “But from the faint letters left behind and Aono’s behavior, I know something happened. Listen up. The desk that someone vandalized is school property. Since we’re a public school, you could even call it public property, paid for by your parents’ taxes. Someone damaged it. That’s a legitimate crime. You learned about this in middle school, didn’t you? This is a criminal case.”
I glanced at Amada. Her face was pale, and she was dabbing at her brow with a handkerchief.
“The culprit might try to excuse their actions by saying, ‘I was just kidding,’ or ‘It’s Aono’s fault.’ But no one has the right to write slander on someone else’s desk. It’s no different from making death threats online to a celebrity or a YouTuber and then using the same excuse after being arrested. You don’t get forgiven for that, do you?”
“…”
I couldn’t stop the questioning here. If I did, it would have a serious impact on my students’ futures.
“This incident shouldn’t be dismissed with a simple word like ‘bullying.’ It’s not a childish prank or mischief—it’s a crime, you hear? I want every single one of you to remember that.”
──School Conference Room──
A counter-measure meeting regarding Aono’s case was hastily arranged. Four of us were gathered in the conference room: myself, the assistant homeroom teacher Ayase-sensei, the grade level head, and Mitsui-sensei. The principal and vice-principal were on their way.
Ayase-sensei’s face was pale, and she had been trembling this whole time, feeling responsible for overlooking a bullying problem that had now blown up. It was almost painful to watch.
“Sorry, I’m a little late.”
The principal entered, his large frame swaying as he took a seat. The vice-principal, who sat next to him, was quite thin, making the principal’s size stand out even more. I’d heard he was a famous rugby player in his student days, and his physique suddenly made perfect sense. The vice-principal had already briefed the grade level head and the principal, so the basic information had been shared.
The principal spoke as soon as he sat down.
“First of all, Takayanagi-sensei, thank you for contacting us immediately. This kind of situation is dangerous; postponing it only allows the problem to fester. There’s nothing more important than sharing negative information.”
Though out of breath, the principal bowed his head with sincere gratitude.
“No,” I replied, “it’s possible this whole problem stems from how I’ve managed my class.”
That was something I had to honestly reflect on. In truth, there was nothing but things to reflect on. Maybe I should have created an environment where students like Aono felt more comfortable coming to me for advice. I should have considered the risk of him getting into trouble over the summer and provided more thorough follow-up.
“As a teacher, there are always things to reflect on,” said the grade level head, Iwai-sensei, defending me. “However, I believe you did everything you could, Takayanagi-sensei. At the very least, other teachers wouldn’t have shared this information so quickly. Many would have been worried about their evaluations and tried to solve it on their own, or even cover it up.”
I was grateful for his words. Meanwhile, Ayase-sensei’s expression remained blank. She was inexperienced, which was likely why she hadn’t noticed anything. Now, she was crushed by an immense sense of responsibility. I would have to follow up with her later.
“Iwai-sensei is right,” the principal added. “For now, let’s focus on the present and the future rather than the past. Do we know anything about Aono-kun’s condition after he left early? Did he get home safely?” he asked me.
Mitsui-sensei answered in my place. “Takayanagi-sensei was interviewing several students about the situation, so I took the liberty of calling his parents.”
Her support was a huge help, allowing me to focus on questioning the students.
“And?” the principal prompted.
“Yes. In cases like this, many students hate for their parents to find out they’re being bullied, so I simply said he had left early because he wasn’t feeling well and asked if he was okay. His mother answered the phone, and it seems he got home safely.”
Hearing this, the principal and vice-principal’s expressions softened in relief. They had to consider the ‘what ifs,’ after all.
“That’s good to hear,” the principal said. “Well then, I’ll share the basic policy for moving forward that I discussed with the vice-principal. First and foremost, we must prioritize Aono-kun. Even if we resolve this problem, it will all be for nothing if he chooses to stop coming to school or drops out. We need to be there for him!”
──Soccer Club Room - Kondo’s Perspective──
In the club room after school, while I was getting ready for practice, one of my juniors came rushing in. It was the same one who had spread the information about Miyuki’s bruise on social media.
“Kondo-senpai, this is bad! Our homeroom teacher is…” he cried, clearly in a panic.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Well, we were just trying to punish that DV-abuser Aono, and…”
The two juniors confessed to scribbling verbal abuse all over Aono’s desk. They also told me that their homeroom teacher, the world history teacher Takayanagi, had launched an investigation.
Hmph, that was fast, I thought. That downer-type teacher. I figured he was the type to just cover things up. Oh well. If this becomes a big deal, my old man will take care of it. More importantly, I need to make sure my juniors understand their place. That they’re nothing more than pawns on a chessboard.“Hmph,” I grunted, dismissing them coldly.
“Don’t be so cold, senpai! We did it for you… At this rate, we’ll get suspended or expelled for destruction of property!”
One of them protested, but I just retorted with even more ice in my voice. I didn’t have time to waste on these nobodies, these disposable pawns.“Well, let me ask you,” I said, “when did I ever tellyou to do that? To spread rumors about Aono’s domestic violence or to destroy school property?”
““Huh!?””
It seemed they didn’t even realize they were just pawns on a board. Sacrificing a pawn to protect the king is a given. What a bunch of idiots.
“As far as I’m concerned, I was just confiding my worries in you, trying to help a friend of yours. But you two took that and spread it around for fun, and on top of that, you damagedschool property. And now you’re saying it’s my fault? Are you crazy?”
Betrayed by the one they thought they could trust, they clung to me like lost puppies.
“No way!! We were just…”
As they tried to repeat themselves, I cut them off.
“Then deny it with everything you’ve got. It’s not like they have any evidence. If you don’t, you’re finished.”
As I said that, I laughed internally. Just like that, I had two new slaves.
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