A short while later, Adam stood inside the dean’s office.
The room was not very large, but it felt heavier than a normal office. The dean sat behind the desk with two board mbers beside him. Ethan stood in the middle, still angry from the corridor.
Adam stood on one side.
The three boys stood on the other.
Their confidence was gone now. One held his stomach while another had blood near his nose. The third kept touching his neck.
The dean looked at Ethan first.
"Tell what happened," he said.
Ethan straightened at once.
"Sir, I saw Adam fighting in the hall," he said. "He was attacking these three students. By the ti I reached there, he had already beaten them."
His voice was controlled, but the anger under it was clear.
The dean did not answer imdiately.
One of the board mbers looked at the three boys.
"You three," he said. "Tell us what happened."
The boy with the injured nose spoke first.
"Sir, we only went to greet Adam," he said quickly. "He ca back after so many days, so we just wanted to talk to him."
The second boy nodded at once.
"That’s right, sir," he said. "We did not do anything. He attacked us first."
"We were shocked," the third boy added. "We didn’t even understand why he got angry."
Adam stood quietly and listened.
He knew they would lie. He had expected it the mont Ethan brought them here. What Adam wanted to see was not what the boys would say.
He wanted to see what the college would do.
Kiri had handled the sponsorship smartly. Aster Core had not given the college a small one-ti donation. It had placed support for several years in front of them, so the college could not treat Adam like a normal scholarship student anymore.
Adam knew they would try to protect him.
What he wanted to know was how.
After hearing the three boys, the dean looked at the two board mbers. Then he turned toward Adam.
"Adam," the dean said, "now you tell us your side."
Adam raised his eyes.
"Sir, they used to bully before too," he said. "Today, they tried the sa thing again. They hit first. I answered them the way they ca at ."
The room beca quiet for a mont.
Ethan spoke before anyone else could.
"Sir, as the student council president, I also have a responsibility here," he said. "We cannot allow violence inside this college. If we ignore this, other students will think they can do the sa."
He looked toward Adam, then toward the three boys.
"We need to make an example," Ethan continued. "Adam and these three students should be removed from the college permanently."
The three boys looked at Ethan at once.
That was not what they had expected.
They had co here thinking Ethan would protect them. Now Ethan had placed them in the sa punishnt as Adam. Their faces beca pale, but none of them dared to speak.
Adam stayed calm.
’Show ,’ he thought. ’Show how you save .’
The dean heard Ethan’s words, then looked at the two board mbers again.
He let out a slow breath and turned back to Ethan.
"Ethan," the dean said, "things are not as simple as you are making them."
Ethan’s eyes narrowed.
The dean continued, "Bullying is involved here. You know our college does not tolerate bullying."
Ethan beca more alert.
The dean was not completely wrong. The college did take action when a matter beca too public. But Ethan also knew the truth of this place. Bullying happened, and students with strong families often got away with more.
That was why the dean’s tone surprised him.
The dean was softening the matter.
But Ethan could not tell yet who that softness was for.
The boy with the injured nose suddenly spoke.
"Sir, Adam is lying. We didn’t bully him."
"Enough," the dean snapped.
The boy froze as the dean’s voice beca sharper.
"We gave you a chance to speak. Stand quietly now."
The three boys lowered their heads.
Ethan watched that small exchange, and his eyes moved toward Adam.
’I understand now,’ he thought.
The dean was not soft for those three.
He was soft for Adam.
Ethan looked at Adam more carefully.
’What are you?’ he thought. ’You are only a scholarship student. What did you do?’
The dean leaned toward the two board mbers. They also moved closer, keeping their voices low enough that the students in front could not hear clearly.
The first board mber whispered, "What do we do?"
The second board mber looked at Adam once, then lowered his voice.
"We cannot remove Adam."
The dean gave a small nod.
The first board mber said, "Then remove these three and let Adam go with a light punishnt."
The second board mber nodded. "That can work."
The dean did not agree at once.
"No," he whispered. "If we do that, everyone will see we are protecting him. Adam used violence too. We cannot pretend he did nothing."
The first board mber looked tense.
"Then what are you thinking?"
"Temporary suspension for Adam and the three boys," the dean said quietly.
The second board mber’s face changed.
"Suspending Adam? Even temporarily?"
"A short suspension," the dean said.
The second board mber shook his head.
"That may still upset them. You know the deal. You also know our funding situation."
The dean’s expression tightened.
"Then tell what to do," he whispered. "I will not agree to removing these boys permanently. That is not an option."
For a mont, the three of them stayed silent.
Then the first board mber spoke again.
"Fine. Temporarily suspend these three. Give Adam a formal warning. Keep it light, but make it look official."
The second board mber looked at the dean.
The dean thought for one more second, then nodded slowly.
"Fine."
They moved back to their seats.
The room beca still again.
The dean looked at everyone in front of him.
"We have made a decision," he said. "This is a serious matter. Normally, violence inside the college would bring very strict punishnt."
He paused and looked at the three boys.
"But because there is also a bullying complaint here, we cannot treat this as a simple fight."
The dean picked up a pen and wrote the nas of the three boys on the paper in front of him.
"You three will be temporarily suspended," he said. "Adam will receive a formal warning."
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