Chapter nineteen. Indifference. Side view.

Even such a small change of scenery as a short visit to a festival in a neighboring city helped both Kyoko and Hideki to clear their minds a little and feel a little better, including at school. Of course, it was hard for them to ignore the boycott completely. Still, this date, which lasted all day, helped them become even closer to each other and understand that external circumstances are a passing matter, and most importantly, it's who is next to you.

— Good morning, Kyoko! Hideki greeted his girlfriend, who was waiting for him at the subway station. Sometimes, he was the one who had to wait for her, but usually, Kyoko came earlier. He was a little ashamed, but somehow, he couldn't get ready, get out, and come to the station before Kyoko.

— Good morning, Hideki, — Kyoko's sweet voice in the morning was one of the best moments of his daily routine, then everything went downhill until the end of the school day.

In the subway, Hideki, as always, tried to play the role of a shield for Kyoko and kept some distance, although from time to time, he was pressed against her. Kyoko never said a word of outrage about it, but Hideki still felt uncomfortable. Then Kyoko, for some reason more cheerful than usual, pulled him up the steps from the subway, and so, holding hands, they reached the school. We parted briefly at the shoe boxes.

They had a similar routine before, only earlier, there was also a "break to throw garbage out of the locker," dragged there by the "fans" of their couple, usually from Hideki's locker. However, it passed as soon as they both began to be ignored.

Kyoko and Hideki entered the classroom and went to their place; in order to get to their places, they had to go through several groups, which parted at the sight of them. Perhaps if Kyoko had been alone, she would have had to squeeze through, but that one time was enough when Hideki just took a step forward to the students blocking the passage who did not respond to "let me pass." As even the most narrow-minded of the middle schoolers have already managed to remember, force is equal to multiplying acceleration by mass, and if Hideki may have had problems with acceleration, then mass more than compensated for this disadvantage. Hideki's classmates, who blocked the passage and "did not hear" the request to let them pass, scattered to the sides like bowling pins during a strike.

Hideki and Kyoko were not sitting on adjacent desks but close enough so that such problems would not arise.

The lessons dragged on until lunch break, and Katari dropped in for Kyoko and Hideki, and not alone for a change.

— Sister, Hideki-kun, let's go to lunch! Let's talk about the concert, about how my sister performed great with me.

Hideki and Kyoko's classmates pricked up their ears, but they couldn't find anything else; the company of three girls and Hideki had already left. They only heard:

"Konata—san was very grateful to you, Hideki-kun, and even gave you something for lunch.

One of the otaku classmates searched and found that a day ago, there was a concert of "Bright Smile" in a neighboring city, and one of the idols split there, as it was at the beginning of her career. The concert itself was very successful, and there was a new song, which is still only in the concert recording.

Gila was only glad to herself that such a successful move by Haire had isolated Kyoko Ame; otherwise, Gila would have had no chance at all against her. It is not known how right she was in this, but the fact that despite the boycott, most of the class had a strong interest, and the otaku obsessed with idols, in general, had to be almost silenced by force; he tried to interrupt the boycott and talk.

— Well, they were talking about Ko-chan, about super-duper-cute Ko-chan! About…

Gila's gaze promised Otaku that if he didn't shut up and continue to provoke the others, he would have nothing to look at the idols with, and at best, he would only be able to listen to them.

Perhaps if Hideki and Kyoko had stayed to have lunch in class with Katari and her friend, then someone from the class would not have stood up and would have given up on the fact that everyone agreed to ignore this couple completely. But Hideki and Kyoko preferred a more pleasant atmosphere at least during recess, so they did not stay in the classroom to have lunch from the moment Kyoko and Hideki decided to oppose themselves to the class. Their confrontation eventually led to a boycott; the latter even less stimulated their desire to stay in the classroom more than necessary.

And everything went on. No one in the class spoke to Hideki or Kyoko. Their presence or absence was tried to be ignored anew every time after an incident that aroused interest, and even those who were against such a course of action came to what should have been — indifference.

Mato-san said that the northwestern barbarians, with whom he either worked, studied, or served, even had a parable song about a giraffe, a parrot, or someone else. Mato-san usually explained it clearly, but Hideki did not catch this parable; he only understood that the indifferent support of authorities could destroy any order of things.

Indifference, in general, is one of the most terrible things in the world, at least for the reason that to someone who succumbs to indifference, it seems that he is not doing anything wrong. And to a certain extent, he is right. Indifference at the individual level is the primary evolutionary mechanism of survival, which at some point allows most of the population to survive. When one of their relatives begins to be devoured by a tiger and the relative being devoured alive begins to scream, the rest of the tribe knows — we must run, there is a tiger!

However, this worked only in the short term and only for an individual, not for a group or at the species level. If the tiger got into the habit of eating such delicious monkeys that do not protect their relatives, why would he hunt ungulates huddled in a herd and holding a circular defense? It's easier to take one. Then another one. And then... oh, it's over. Therefore, for monkeys who want to survive in the long term, they must either go far away from the whole tribe or, with sticks and stones flying towards the predator, explain to the tiger where he is wrong.

One's indifference is easier to explain and justify, and a lot of things can be attached to one's indifference. The principle of lesser evil: "It is better to lose one than all." Herd instinct: "Everyone ran/teased/threw a stone, and so did I." The principle of non-interference. "They don't touch me, and I don't touch them. Otherwise, it will be worse."

Indifference, rejection of someone else's pain, and non-interference can last a long time. But sooner or later it leads to a situation of "and when they came for me, there was no one to stand up for me." Perhaps that awkward guy, past the scene of whose beating you passed without even thinking to call the police, in five years will just indifferently watch as you are hit by a car and will also calmly pass by. However, he can call an ambulance without any problems. Maybe he'll call. Or maybe he won't call. Indifference gives the illusion of giving up a choice. You're not doing anything. You're not doing anything wrong, are you?

But not making a choice is also a choice. If you're not doing anything, then you're not doing anything good. To be silent in a rag at the sight of the obscenity that is happening in front of your eyes means to support it tacitly. "Stop!", "Enough!" and even "This is a little too much!" — all these words, uttered in time, could save a lot of people. Or at least a simple short "Watch out!"

Kyoko and Hideki were together almost all the time at school, but there were still moments when they had to separate. There were few such situations, but there were. Sometimes, Katari urgently needed to confide in her older sister. No matter how uncomfortable it was to talk about it, Hideki couldn't go to the women's bathroom, though, just in case, he tried to be nearby. Well, physical education was a separate test.

They parted right at the locker room at recess before class and before the onset of cold weather; they saw each other only after the last lesson. They were not touched, but it was unpleasant to be all alone.

The fact that Kyoko and Hideki were alone at the sports could have been better. But they were saved a little by the fact that autumn had already fully come into its own — it became cold, and even Kenta-sensei rarely spent lessons outside the gym. And by the end of winter, this school year will finally be over.…

Therefore, with the onset of cold weather, everything became better for the two of them; at least they could see each other during classes — sports classes were held for both boys and girls in the same gym, just in different parts. It would have been better if Kenta-sensei had conducted classes for both of them, but no, the girls had their teacher. And if Kenta-sensei used his instructions to find Hideki a couple or worked with him in pairs himself, then Hana-sensei let everything take its course because she believed "the girls themselves should figure it out."

Hideki, ever since his last year of junior high school, believed that a lull was not good, and was waiting for some setup. He tried to keep Kyoko in his sight whenever possible, keeping track of the people and things around her. Well, he really liked to look at her purely for aesthetic pleasure.

Therefore, when the folded mats first swayed and then began to fall directly on Kyoko, it is unclear how the box with basketballs turned out to be there; Hideki managed to notice and react. The rest of the students should have seen it; they couldn't help but see it, but no one thought to help her or warn her. However, Hideki did not expect anything else. Not caring about the surroundings, the course of the lesson, and even knocking down someone who seemed to be a thin "friend type," Haire Hideki rushed to where Kyoko was standing with all possible speed.

— Kazumi-kun, what is it?.. Kenta-sensei's voice reached him.

Hideki rushed along, not paying attention to anything, reasonably assuming that he would certainly be able to talk to Kenta-sensei and explain himself. But later.

The full name of the physical education teacher who was working with the boys that day was Iwao Kenta. His name could be read as "the sturdy stone man," and he was never called anything other than "Ironman" or "Iron Man" at school. There were rumors that he was the winner of the judo championship, that he served for many years in a secret unit of self-defense units, that he lived for several years on the island, getting there with a single knife, and the "History of Monsters" in the 1920 edition. The most striking rumors were that Kenta-sensei successfully seduced all teachers of classical Japanese literature in this and neighboring schools, regardless of gender and age. Considering that the classical literature teacher at this school was a German woman with big breasts and such knowledge of Japanese customs that even university history professors could go out into the corridor to cry, and she and Kenta-sensei often had lunch together, the rumors were believed.

There were various rumors about Kenta-sensei. But what was definitely true was that Kenta-sensei was distinguished by a firm character and unwillingness to compromise on issues of principle for him, such as unfair treatment of students or attempts by the teaching staff to disregard unpleasant moments of school life.

Therefore, when he saw Hideki running towards the girls, a swinging basket of balls, and several other girls calmly watching as she was about to fall on Kyoko Ame's head and made no attempt to warn her or push her away, he realized that his suspicions were confirmed. As he noticed quite a long time ago in class 3-2, everything could be better in the social sphere. Hideki Kazumi and Ame Kyoko, who were constantly left alone when splitting into pairs or groups in sports games, had long aroused his suspicions, and he talked about this with Mizuri-sensei, their class teacher. And even though she assured him that everything was under control, his doubts did not completely let go. Kenta-sensei grunted approvingly when he saw Hideki, who was shouting something on the move, throw Kyoko aside and get himself hit on the head with the edge of a fallen basket.

Swaying and falling sideways to the gym floor, Kyoko immediately jumps up and jumps to Hideki, who fell to one knee from a blow, helps him up and notifies Hana-sensei:

— I need to take Kazuki-san to the infirmary, Hana-sensei, Kenta-sensei — Kyoko waits for a nod from Kenta-sensei and, without wasting a single extra second on confirmation from Hana-sensei, takes Hideki out of the gym.

Kenta-sensei spent a few minutes talking to Hana-sensei and asked her to follow the boys, to whom he gave fifty push-ups, squats, and abs pumping, after which he also hurried to the medical center.

— Kazumi-san has a severe bruise on his shoulder and a slight bruise on his knee. There are no signs of concussion, although the brain has been detected. Ame-san also hurt her knee a little, but otherwise, she's fine.

"Thank you, Komaki-sensei— Kenta-sensei bowed briefly. — Can you please write a conclusion?

***

In the director's office, the conversation did not take place in raised tones. Still, Ishura Lanti would have preferred that there was someone in his office, albeit more noisy, but at least to some extent subject to his influence and amenable to persuasion. Kenta-sensei wanted to keep his position.

"No, Lanti—san, it didn't end so badly just by accident. And it cannot be said that no one was injured.

Lanti looked at Kenta-sensei with displeasure. He knew perfectly well how much truth there was in those very rumors. The truth in these rumors was enough for the "combat brotherhood" of the Self-Defense Forces to stand up for one of their own significantly. And so he knew that complaints about a troublesome teacher to the education administration would have no effect, and he did not have a sufficient reason to dismiss the teacher. And without a sufficient reason, the Teachers' Employment Committee will devour him without salt, and then, as if he would not fly out of office after the scandal and its causes. Well, also, no matter how much my sister cries, my nephew has already completely lost his hands, and it's worth calling him to order a little. However, my sister and mother will take out the brain. Lantee grimaced:

"So what do you suggest, Kenta—san?"

Kenta himself knew perfectly well that most of the measures that teachers can take against bullying are absolutely useless. To a decent extent, this was the reason why many teachers preferred not to do anything.

— In the coming week, they promise relatively good weather, relatively warm. Without heavy rains. I'm offering a small week-long extracurricular trip. If the class is not completely rotten yet, then it should help. After all, joint hardships bring us closer. And if everything goes really badly," Kenta—sensei sighed, "then for at least the next month, they will have neither the strength nor the desire for any nonsense. And it's almost the end of the year there, and I hope that Kazumi-kun and Ame-san will have better luck at the next school.

Lanti made a face; there was no need to look for funds for an extracurricular trip; there were funds, but he already had better ideas of how to spend them. That's to get rid of this headache, to calm down, at least for a short time, the obstinate teacher, and to rein in his nephew a little at the same time; perhaps it was worth it. So, if on one side of the scale there is a possible investigation into bullying, also on the initiative of a teacher, and on the other an unscheduled trip, then the latter is better.

— OK, Kenta-san, I'll arrange the trip, but all the activities during the trip are for you. Only a week — I can't, it contradicts the regulations of the Ministry of Education. A four-day trip is still possible, but this is the maximum that can be done quickly. Oh yes, if the whole class is going, then the girls are going, which means that a female teacher is needed; no, Waisfoxen-san might have agreed, but it would be more logical if it were a class teacher," the director finally slipped another fly in the ointment, without even giving Kenta-sensei the opportunity to express the expected a request from him.

— Waisfoxen-sensei herself can give lessons on being in the wild, but in fact, she has no direct relation to class 3-2.

No matter how much Kenta-sensei wanted to argue about this, the logic in the director's reasoning was ironclad.