Shirley had barely stepped off the plane when her phone buzzed with a call from James, informing her that Abner had been assaulted.

She thought she'd misheard. Abner, always so mild-mannered and non-confrontational, getting into a fight?

Rushing to the hospital, she spotted James in the hallway.

"Mr. James."

"Shirley!"

James, visibly shaken and with a trembling voice, blurted out, "He was rushed into the ER last night. He's stable now, just a minor concussion, but he's lost quite a bit of weight. Go see him." Shirley, heart pounding, hurried into Abner's room.

Abner, awake with bandages wrapped around his head and looking pale, barely whispered, "Shirley?"

"Abner!" Shirley's eyes instantly welled up with tears.

"What happened? How did you end up fighting?"

Abner hung his head in silence, but James couldn't hold back and spilled everything about how Abner's background had been exposed.

Shirley was taken aback. The ordeal had been ongoing for two months, with Abner facing isolation at school, yet he hadn't breathed a word of it to her.

"Shirley, don't get mad. It wasn't Abner who sought trouble. It was a few boys from another class who cornered him."

eyes as she grasped Abner's hand. "Why didn't you tell

want to worry

this, Shirley felt an acute pain in

he be

took a deep breath. "Rest up. Mr. James and I will handle some things at

face was stern, signaling her intent to

her sleeve,

patted his

I'll be right

nod and a weak smile, Abner lay

was confronted with a shocking sight on

get out

Shirley trembled with rage.

James, the school is letting this

massaged his temples, equally

when this first happened two months ago, a group of

Why should he

calm down. I know

you

is indeed very mature. He kept up his grades and didn't tell about this, even

and that's why he's

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