Aken felt a lump in his throat. He looked down, feeling the weight of the room’s eyes on him. The principal cleared his throat, avoiding Aken’s gaze as he turned to him with a serious expression. He said slowly, “I need you to kneel before Nandy and apologize right now. Your actions were unacceptable.” Aken’s heart pounded. Kneel? Apologize to Nandy? After everything she had done to him, to his sister, to countless other students? He felt a surge of defiance rise within him. He knew this was wrong. He looked at the principal and shook his head, his voice steady and clear. “No, sir,” he said quietly. “I will not kneel before her.”
The senator’s face turned red with fury, and he stepped forward, his voice cold and biting. “If you don’t kneel and apologize this instant, you will regret it, boy. Do you understand? You will regret it.” Aken met his gaze, feeling his knees shake but refusing to give in. “I’m sorry, but I can’t. I won’t apologize for standing up to her.”
Just then, Aken’s mother was ushered into the principal’s office. She realized what was going on immediately, her eyes pleading as she approached him. She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder and whispered, “Please, just ask for forgiveness. Let’s end this.” He looked into his mother’s eyes, feeling the weight of her worry and desperation. She was scared for him. He could see that. But something deep inside him would not allow him to bow down to Nandy. Not this time. Not for this. “Mom,” he whispered, his voice breaking, “I can’t. I’m sorry, but I can’t.” His mother looked at him, her eyes filling with tears, and took a step back, defeated. She knew he had made up his mind, and the room grew tense with silence. The senator clenched his jaw, looking at the principal with pure fury. The principal, caught between the senator’s power and Aken’s firm refusal, finally sighed, his voice tight with fear and frustration. “You leave me no choice. You are hereby expelled from this school, effective immediately.”
The words hit Aken like a punch to the stomach. Expelled for standing up to a bully. He glanced at his mother, whose face was streaked with tears, her hands pressed to her mouth in shock. His heart ached, but he felt a strange sense of peace as well. He had done the right thing, even if it cost him everything. As he turned to leave, he heard Nandy’s mocking voice behind him. “Good riddance. I told you no one stands up to me and wins.” Aken did not look back.