Sweet Devil [BL]

Chapter 58. More Than Enough

All night long, Misha stared at the ceiling of his bedroom. Too many thoughts swirled in his head for him to sleep.

The morning sun shone through the curtain, casting a gentle golden hue on his face, yet he didn't even realize it, still unaware that dawn had arrived.

A few weeks had passed since Vanessa popped up at his school, and it was now the middle of October. As days went by, he gradually got closer to Vanessa, and his teacher's opinion of him improved. Of course, he was still slacking off, but because his grades became excellent, his teacher was left at a loss for words, having nothing to reprimand him about.

So what if Misha was daydreaming? He still got a perfect score on the last exam!

Besides, Misha diligently helped Vanessa whenever she had difficulty understanding something—though they often found themselves bickering about this or that. Vanessa called him on his grammar, and Misha would take his revenge when it was mathematic time. It was like a tug of war, and the first to correct the other's mistakes won.

Over time, Vanessa started to smile and laugh more frequently, and the melancholy in her eyes slowly dimmed. From her arrival until now, Misha showed rare diplomatic tact and didn't bother her with uncalled questions, putting the girl at ease. It let her forget about the car accident and everything that came afterward.

But the other children didn't necessarily know how to keep their mouths shut, and a few came to ask her about the car accident, their voices dripping with curiosity. Every time they talked without watching their tongues, Vanessa seemed to retreat into her shell, like a little turtle afraid of the world.

And then, Misha would show up and become her knight in shining armor, saying stupid things to distract the children. And when it didn't work, the boy would chase them away with harsh words or a few kicks in the butt. Unsurprisingly, his mother was called to the director's office a few times because of this.

Once, the director tried to scold her about how she brought up her son. He barely finished saying the first sentence that Misha had already opened his mouth and bared his teeth.

"Are you kidding me? Do you say the same thing to the parents of the children who keep on bothering Vanessa about her car accident? The brats are well aware that she doesn't want to talk about it. Or what? Is it okay to verbally attack my friend? And is it any better to stand by and watch from the sideline? Wake up, man!"

"That's not the problem at hand! You should ask an adult instead of resorting to violence."

"Of course you'd say that! And then what? Mr. The Teacher will give a slight slap on the bullies' wrists, and the bad guys will be let off with a few meaningless warnings. Bullying won't stop just because the teachers interfered, and you know it."

"It's—"

"Don't play dumb! These guys will start again the moment the adults turn their backs, and it'll become much nastier in retaliation. Bringing over a teacher will only make things worse!"

The discussion continued for a while longer but ended in a stalemate, with the director angrily puffing and Misha naughtily lifting his chin, glaring at the bald man.

Meanwhile, the homeroom teacher and Mrs. Brown, who had been sitting on the sofa, looked at each other, seemingly not knowing what to do. They tacitly ignored the bickering director and child, aware that it would only result in a throbbing headache if they tried to meddle. Thus, they were silent for a moment until the teacher decided to take the opportunity to talk to Mrs. Brown about her son's sudden excellent grades.

Later, when they finally got home, Gulnas asked her son about his grades and how he had achieved such a feat. Unconsciously, Misha averted his eyes and said that he had been reading his schoolbooks at home, practicing on his own.