“Hi, I’m Ren Amamiya, it’s nice to meet you all.”

He bows politely, adjusting his fake glasses with a slight push as he looks around at the sea of unfamiliar faces. The room feels colder than he expected, the air thick with hushed whispers and sidelong glances. No one meets his eyes as if they are scared that he would kill them with a single glance.

“Is it true that he has a criminal record?”

“Yeah, I heard he assaulted some poor guy…”

“He looks quiet, but that just makes him more dangerous…”

“Crap he’s looking at us.”

Ren heart hammers against his ribcage as he walks to his seat, his face calm but his mind racing. He barely set foot in this place, and yet, somehow, the entire school already knows about his probation. Or rather, they think they do. All they know is the distorted version of the story.

They have no idea what really happened that night. They don’t know how he stepped in to protect a woman from a man who had crossed a line, how he only tried to help. Ren wants nothing more than to stand up and tell them all what really happened. But all he can do is lower his head, clench his fists, and swallow the words burning in his throat.