We made it through the school gates and into the empty halls. In a rush, I tugged her along until we reached the nurse's office. When we stepped inside, Linda-san was there, sitting with a cup of tea and doing papers.

“Sensei.”

I called out to her as I pulled Okabe-san along with me.

“Madoka-san, Okabe-san?”

We both looked a mess, which must have added to the urgency of it all. The nurse stood up hastily and rushed over to us. The wounded girl covered her face in shame, but Sensei made sure to touch her shoulder and look at her horrible wound.

“What happened?”

Firmly, she asked, looking at both of us. I wasn't sure if she could see anything on my face from where Okabe-san hit me. So, just in case, I made sure all the focus was on her…

“Okabe-san…”

I squeezed her hand and stood to the side, giving them their space. Okabe-san sighed and closed her eyes. After a moment, she shook her head and looked back at Sensei.

"I-I just hurt me the other… d-day.”

It was then her tears came back as she attempted to lie. Her breath was hot as she began to wheeze. Understanding the severity of the situation, Sensei walked to the door and shut it. She then took Okabe-san’s hand and led her to the infirmary beds. I walked with them for support, at the very least.

“Take a rest.”

Okabe-san did what she was told and sat there. Her will to defy the adult in the room looked to be dying. Sensei took out an ice pack and placed it on her face.

“Hold this here. Does it hurt, Okabe-san?”

The nurse asked. Okabe-san shook her head at first, trying to play it down. But after a bit of time, her eyes winced, and she confessed.

"Y-Yes, it… it hurts a lot. I-It really hurts.”

Her spirit was too broken to keep up the lie despite her head saying no. She confessed her pains in a quivering tone, one only found in a broken high school girl. Defeated, she gritted her teeth and hid her face in shame. It was then Sensei turned her attention to me.

“What happened, Madoka?”

I looked at the poor girl, doing her best to keep even a bit of pride in this situation. She was too distraught to say anything. All she could do was console herself in tears. It seemed that I had to be her voice in this state, if only for a little bit.

“I-I think…”

I swallowed, knowing the severity of my words.

“I think Okabe-san’s mother hurt her, Sensei.”

Her expression went from worried to one of anger. Her eyes began to strain as she tapped her pin on her desk. Taylor-sensei’s fist clenched, and she turned to the side.

“I… I see what’s going on now.”

Okabe-san was too tired to deny anything. She lay on the bed and pushed her ice pack closer to her cheek. The poor girl brought her arm above her head and tried to hide from the world, but her cries were still there. I sat down next to her and put my hand on her head.

 

“Hey… it’ll be okay.”

I prayed as I rubbed her head. I’m sure she didn’t believe me… but I didn’t know what else to say.

In silence, Linda wrote on her chart. I could see a fire in her eyes as she meticulously jotted down something on her papers. After a bit, Okabe-san settled down. I wasn't sure if she was sleeping, but she curled up in bed and began to breathe softly.

"I need to get the senior nurse involved and contact the principal if these accusations are true, Madoka.”

Linda turned to me and placed her hand on my shoulder.

“Sensei?”

I questioned. She whispered to me a tad harshly.

 

 

"I think you should go to class and let me speak with her alone. I'll message you later to come to see her if you can.”

“A-Are you sure?”

I didn’t want to leave her so soon, but Sensei nodded harshly. In whispers, she continued.

“Sometimes it’s uncomfortable for someone to… talk about this with a fellow student. You mean well, but right now, I want to see if I can get her to speak to me and the senior nurse about her… situation.”

The shame crept up on me. I was being told to leave. Even though I wanted to help… Sensei was right. This would be for the best, but it still made me upset.

“Message me when I can come back, okay Linda?”

I was firm as I looked her in the eyes. Linda nodded and looked at her clipboard. She brought out a slip for me to take to my teacher.

“Tell Takanaki-sensei that you were with me, and you shouldn’t be disciplined for being late.”

I nodded.

“Right…”

She put her hand on mine, doing her best to comfort me.

“I know you’re worried, Madoka. Thank you for bringing Okabe-san here. I’ll see what we can do.”

I didn't know what would happen when I left the nurse's office, but I had to. When I stepped out, I shut the door behind me. It was like an out-of-body experience, and I felt as if I was watching myself for a moment. I didn’t know what to do…

And I felt guilty and responsible… even though I had no control over what happened to her.

Bitterly, I walked back to class.

"What the hell is wrong with people?"

In a huff, I bitterly whispered as I walked through the empty halls. With each step, the halls echoed, showing that I was alone in them. But unlike me, I knew I wasn't truly alone. However, the girl in the nurse's office… had every reason to believe that the world was against her. In a world where she couldn’t even trust the people who shared her blood and all the adults she’s asked for help didn’t do anything to help her situation…

“Okabe-san must feel so… alone.”

I regretted leaving her in there. It’s not like I didn’t trust Taylor-sensei to help her and do right… but I wanted to show her that someone would stay by her side. Someone that wasn’t just Nagumi-chan. If only… if only I had the means to protect her from something that… cruel.

Awkwardly, I opened the door to the classroom. Takanaki-sensei looked at me quizzically. He tapped his watch on his wrist a tad arrogantly. I rushed up to him, but the note in his hand, and made my way to the desk. Passing So-chan, I gave her a glance, a slight shake of my head, and sat behind her when I belonged.

“Hey Madoka… is Kasumi, okay?”

She whispered to me. Sophia-chan sounded a bit meek. I never heard her tone of voice like when speaking about… her enemy Okabe-san.

“…No, she’s not okay, So-chan. She’s not okay.”

 

I whispered back. So-chan nodded and turned back around. After listening to the lecture, she glanced back at me and spoke as quietly as she could.

“Check your messages when Takanaki-sensei isn’t watching. Everyone in the group chat is worried about… what happened this morning.”

I was about to do just that when I felt eyes on me. I saw that new teacher, Addison-san, looking at me. Her head was tilted to the side, and when we met each other’s sight, she gave me a slight smile. I opted to not look at my phone for the duration of the period. The last thing I wanted was to be called out by her today.

“Alright, class, after the holiday break, we will have a quiz on…."

Takanaki-sensei continued his lecture, and I wasn’t going to be the one to make any more interruptions. Diligently, I acted like a high school girl…

Just writing down studies topics made me feel sickened at the thought that I was here… doing what ordinary girls do while she was in there… suffering through unspeakable things.

It wasn’t right…

And I didn’t know what to do…

And that upset me the most that I had no idea how to help Okabe-san’s suffering.

 

---

 

When the break came, I finally checked my phone. Like Sophia-chan mentioned, there were a bunch of new messages that I missed. The shark and I looked at one another and got up from our seats in unison. We didn't have much time between classes, so we made it quick and went out to the hallway.

So-chan turned around and confronted me.

“She was hit by someone, wasn’t she?”

Sophia demanded answers. I nodded, bringing her into the horrible truth of Okabe-san’s world.

“Yeah… she said her mom hit her...”

Horrified, Sophia-chan balled her fist.

When I looked at the lively group, the feel of it changed. It was full of messages asking me what was going on. The tone of the messages prompted them to ask too for speculations on what was happening. I finally replied…

[Okabe Kasumi is in the nurse’s office talking about what happened. I don't know what they are talking about, but I believe she was hurt by her mom this morning.]

I sent what I could. I didn’t want to go too far into it, and I felt I violated Okabe-san's privacy by telling everyone. But this wasn’t a secret that needed to be kept from my friends… This was too serious about being taken lightly.

"When I was her friend, Okabe Kasumi never wanted to invite me over to her place, Madoka-chan. I think... she never wanted me to meet her mother."

So-chan spoke up. I turned to her and met her gaze. It was clear that even she, Okabe-san’s sworn enemy, was worried for her.

“Is that right?”

I probed.

“Yeah. You know, Madoka-chan… she would always have these underhanded comments that made me dislike her. It… wasn't just her talking about my sister that made me snap."

She sighed.

“I hit her because over the time we were friends… she was an asshole who always mocked me for being well off.”

A few tears rolled down her cheek, and before anyone could see them, So-chan brushed them away. In a quivering voice, she confessed.

"B-But I never knew… just how much she was going through. there's no way I could have ever…. That I could have ever called myself her friend, Madoka-chan. A-And I think Kasumi knew that… we were never friends.”

So-chan crossed her arms and pushed her back against the wall.

"I know she has a little sister who always watches over. I-Is she okay, Madoka-chan?”

I sighed in frustration.

"I don't know. Okabe-san's parents live apart, and from what I hear… her mom is the physically abusive one."

I rubbed my head, trying to piece together this messed-up situation.

“I heard that her father neglects Nagumi-chan… She goes days without being fed or looked after because of him. And from how I see it, Okabe-san made sure she lived with her mom so she wouldn’t physically abuse Nagumi-chan. Okabe Kasumi… is taking the beatings for her little sister.”

Sophia-chan shook her head.

“Disgusting people.”

It looked as though So-chan was experiencing remorse for how they've treated each other since before I met them.

“Nobody deserves that… not even Okabe Kasumi-san.”

Sophia-san admitted.

It wasn’t lunch break yet, so the bell rang soon after, forcing us to go back into the class. We filtered in a tad stoically. Seeing that empty seat behind my desk had a new weight to it. Eagerly the day went on, and right before the lunch break, I received a message from Linda.

[Can you come to the nurse’s office during lunch?]

Linda asked in the message.

[Yeah, I’ll be there.]

I replied.

The anxiousness was getting to me as I waited… and waited…

When the period was over, I took to my feet.

“I’m going to see Linda.”

I told Sophia-chan. She nodded and let me race off without another word. When I approached the door, Linda was standing outside of the room.

“Linda!”

I called out to her, and she looked in my direction. The sadness on her face told me all I had to know… but I pressed for more information.

 

 

“What happened?”

She sighed.

"I can't say too much, but… we contacted a few agencies, and they came down to the school.”

Linda bit her lip as she… explained to me what happened.

“And Okabe-san… refused to ask for help and even lied to them about what happened. Unless she tells the truth, they can’t do anything but… watch the situation.”

“A-Are you serious?”

The nurse turned back to me. It was clear she was as upset as I was.

"After the principal and the agents left, Okabe-san said that it was her fault that she… got hit. Okabe-san… doesn’t want to talk about it anymore.”