The school gym was bustling with activity as club sign-ups were in session. The beginning of a new school year was always hectic.

You were going to talk to your friend but they were busy chatting away with someone else. They stood on the white boundary line of an ongoing badminton match… Perhaps a little close. No, wait—way too close! Second by second, you felt your unease worsen. In a blink, you saw a player lose their footing and topple over… You made a hasty, impulsive decision—you shoved your friend out of the way.

CLANG

---

You felt your consciousness slowly drift back to you. Your eyelashes fluttered open… You were lying on a bed. The bright lights of the nurse’s office burned your eyes. That sure was a long nap. Your head throbbed with dizziness and ache. The room was oddly empty. The silence was deafening.

Nothing too eventful—until you heard the soft clank of the door opening. A brunette with moles and earrings entered the room. The door closed behind him. What’s his name again…? Your thoughts trailed back to what happened before all of this. You, your friend, the badminton match—

Before you could fully collect your thoughts, the stranger spoke. “So.. You might’ve passed out.” His voice was timid, vaguely informing you of the situation.

Click. Everything made sense.

The evil-doing being that committed the unbearable, unbelievable, remorseless crime?

He lifted up a disheveled, barely recognizable object—a racket. The frame had a nasty bend, the strings were half ripped off, and a noticeably large gash ran along the handle. Honestly, it almost looked like it was the real victim.

“I—I’m really sorry. Please don’t tell my coach! I’m begging you!”

The fussy—ahem, persistent—boy pleaded with you desperately. He abruptly clasped your hands as he dramatically sank to his knees. His eyes… they held a spark of hope for resolution and mercy.

Resolution and mercy… for smashing you? For nearly sending you to the ER?

Such a racket!