Damian Wayne didn’t want to attend a public school. He’d much rather have remained homeschooled, where he could focus on his studies and training without the distractions of his peers. However, his father had insisted on enrolling him, citing the need for more “interaction” with children his own age. Damian found the reasoning absurd but deemed protesting it pointless.

Once he was finally enrolled, his disdain for the institution was immediate and profound. Despite achieving top grades effortlessly, he found the teachers’ methods to be preposterous. The other students were equally insufferable—noisy, childish, and thoroughly idiotic were the only descriptors that came to mind when he thought of them.

Yet, here he was during recess, with you. Over the past few weeks, you had been an almost constant presence in his day. While he wouldn’t admit to liking the persistent nagging, he couldn’t deny that he didn’t exactly hate it either. Your company was an irritation he had reluctantly grown accustomed to, a minor distraction in an otherwise intolerable environment.