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June first saw him as she sat under a tree in the school courtyard.
Her study group had finished early that day, and while normally June would get boba with Tara, Nero, and Xavier, her grandmother had asked her and Caleb to come home early as the Li family was coming over for dinner. She hadn't seen Zayne Li since he left for his immersion course up north, so she was looking forward to catching up.
If Caleb didn’t pick a fight with Zayne, that was. Or vice versa. The two tended to get on each other’s nerves.
So she was sitting on a bench, her history text in her lap as she waited for Caleb to finish with the Robotics Club. Where he hopefully hadn’t picked a fight with Sylus Qin.
Caleb tended to get into a lot of fights. The previous week, he’d gotten into a brawl with Xavier Shen’s cousin, Isaiah. The week before that, June had to drag him away from trying to antagonize their classmate Simone over a snarky remark she made in passing.
However, it wasn’t a Caleb with a black eye that greeted her when she looked up from her textbook. Instead,it was a red-headed boy she’d never seen before walking out the door to the office, a large packet in his arms.
She watched as he strode down the brick path to the gate.
“Hey, Pipsqueek.”
June turned to see Caleb approaching, his jacket half-off and his backpack hanging by one strap.
“Hey, Caleb.” she greeted as she closed her textbook and stuffed it into her bag. “Done with Robotics?”
“Yep.” he said, popping the “p”. “So, we heading home or what?”
“Yeah, yeah, let’s go,” June said as she gathered her things and stood up, all thought of the red-haired boy gone as Caleb began talking about how Rafayel Qi had shown up raging because one of the Robotics Club members forgot to return him a book on artistic styles.
.
The next time she saw the boy, it was the next Monday when she, Caleb, and Zayne walked into school.
He was in the school’s uniform, and was standing alone near the gate as he looked over a piece of paper that was probably his class schedule if June had to guess.
“Hey, there’s a new guy,” Caleb commented.
“Don’t even think about it,” Zayne sighed. “We don’t want to scare him off.”
Caleb mock-gasped, dramatically laying a hand over his chest. “Zayne, what do you mean? I would never dare even dream of doing anything-”
“Last night. You sent me a text that was just an ad for a cake shop with a deal for their signature carrot cake.”
“I thought you would find it amusing.”
“..hmm. You know, Ms. Josephine asked if I could help her pick up groceries after school….”
“Don’t you dare-”
June slowed her steps so the boys would pull ahead. She didn’t particularly feel like breaking up their newest argument at eight in the morning.
However, by slowing down, she almost ran into the new boy.
“Ah- sorry.” He apologized as he stepped back.
“No, It’s alright. I wasn’t exactly looking.” June said. “Are you new here?”
“At Deepspace Academy? Yes. Valko Ao.”he introduced, holding out a hand. Taking it, June noted the grip strength-well. It looked like there was one more person who could take Caleb should he decide to take a flying leap at a certain someone.
She quickly amended that “should” to “when”.
“June May.” She replied. “Do you need any help finding your way to your first class?"
“That would be nice, if you don’t mind. I'm used to wandering large buildings since my family owns businesses, but perhaps I shouldn’t be late for my first day.” Valko agreed.
“Let’s go, then. Which room do you need?.” June said, and turned to continue walking towards the school. She could see Valko following her out of the corner of her eye, his tall frame almost looking behind her. Except unlike when Sylus tailed her in a similar fashion, Valko didn’t have any mechanical creatures flying around.
“...A152, Building B.” he replied as they entered the school. June nodded and turned the first corner they came across.
“Not too far away. You’ll probably have to go a bit to find your next class, though.” June said. “Someone in your class can probably show you the direction. Here we are–best of luck, Valko. Let me know if you need anything, I’ll be around.”
Valko nodded and gave her a small smile as he entered the classroom. June checked her watch, and then hurried on so she wouldn’t be late as well.
She slid into her seat just as the bell rang.
“What took you so long?” Rafayel whispered from the desk next to her.
“New student, showed him where to go,” June muttered back as their teacher began calling the roster.
“What’s he look like?”
“Taller than you.” June replied, and ignored any further attempts by Rafayel. He would find out soon enough anyways–Rafayel was good at finding out the latest gossip, after all.
.
Rafayel, as she’d expected, had dug up a lot about Valko by lunchtime. Unfortunately..
“I honestly don’t see a reason why him paying his way into the school is a problem.” Sylus stated.
“Of course you wouldn’t,” Zayne muttered.
“Wel, think about it. Just because his family is in big tech doesn’t mean he’s all brawn and no brains, especially if he’s in the same science classes as you.” Sylus countered. Xavier muttered his agreement as his yawned into his lunch.
Caleb stabbed one of the vegetables on his plate. “Well. As long as he doesn’t stir up trouble…”
“Well, he seemed nice enough when I walked him to class this morning.” June stated. “Less charming than Rafayel, but not as rude as Caleb.”
“Hey! Pipsqueek, what the heck–”
“Woah Cutie, you think I’m charming–”
June dodged Caleb’s arm and ignored Rafayel as she went to put her tray away. By the time she returned, the boys had finished their own food and the topic of Valko disappeared as they went their separate ways.
.
It was truly unfortunate that even though it was Xavier that had knocked over the old sculpture, it was Valko that got the blame.
“How could it have been him? He was on the other side of the room entirely!” Rafayel exclaimed to June and Zayne as they waited for Xavier to get his things from his locker. “It’s unbelievable.”
“There’s no other proof. That teacher never believes Xavier’s word over Soren.” Zayne said calmly as Rafayel paced. “No one else was looking. You said it yourself.”
“Yeah, but surely me being mid-conversation with that blobhead would count for something!”
“I’m more impressed that Soren decided that pinning Valko as the culprit was more effective than putting me under the bus.” Xavier commented as he came up. “That’s a first.”
“Discreditation. Making sure you have no grounds to stand on when he finally does take you down.” Zayne said as the group began walking to the nearby boba shop.
“What a kerfoodle.” Rafayel sighed. June could only agree.
.
June saw Valko in passing over the next few days. Usually he was on his way to class, followed by a trail of whispers.
It hadn’t taken very long for rumours to spread about the new student who allegedly knocked over a guest lecturer’s centerpiece item on his first week.
Xavier didn’t think much of it.
“There were plenty of rumours when Sylus transferred here.” He said as he and June sat at the boba shop one afternoon. “Remember?”
“Yeah. And Caleb too.” June agreed.
Sylus had had quite a few claims around him, mostly regarding the fact his family was very notably definitely not just “roadside vendors who sell things like fruit and jams.” Those had stopped after Sylus joined the wrestling team and the Robotics Club, proving his abilities were nothing to scoff at.
Caleb, on the other hand, had come in swinging and June had spent the better part of a month explaining to what seemed like endless inquiries that Caleb was firstly, not her brother they just grew up under the same roof for a time and secondly, their personal lives were none of anyone’s business.
He still ended up with several love notes and lunchboxes, all of which he returned or, if there were carrots, handed off to Zayne.
“It’ll blow over soon,” June sighed hopefully. “People will get interested in something else and gossip about that instead.”
“Good. I’m getting sick about hearing people ask you about him like you know more than anyone else,” Xavier huffed.
.
It did not die down. It got worse, somehow.
“You know,” Sylus mused as he, Rafayel, Xavier, and June sat together during one of their breaks, “Luke and Kieren did some digging. Apparently he’s never accepted any type of relationship proposal his family offered him, yet he’s also allegedly tried to confess on at least five occasions and been wholly unsuccessful. So why on earth would he be climbing into a girl’s window at night, on the other side of town from where he lives?”
“Why on earth do they know that?” Xavier wondered.
“Disregarding that, maybe he was desperate?” June suggested. “You said it himself he’s had a bad run with romance.”
“He’s not exactly an old geezer,” Rafayel pointed out. “Honestly it just sounds really weird in my opinion.”
“Does it?” Xavier asked.
June smacked his arm. “Don’t even. Grandma already aged ten years watching you come in through the back window last week. At least when Sylus shows up unannounced, he sends that robot crow of his first.”
“Oops?”
“Anyways, there's also a claim he tried to attack Zayne sometime back, and Zayne’s ‘study away’ trip was actually a long stint in the hospital.” Sylus added.
The four looked at each other, and then burst out laughing at the mere idea of someone landing Zayne in the hospital without also joining him with matching bruises. Caleb could vouch for that–the resident honors student had a pretty mean left hook.
.
No one was laughing when Valko didn't show up to school just two weeks after he started at Deepspace Academy.
Xavier’s friend Jeremiah was the one who found out. It didn’t take long for the news to spread to June and the boys.
“Expelled.” Rafayel said in disbelief.
“For causing a disturbance.” Caleb breathed.
Even Xavier was awake enough to blink in shock.
Zayne was already tapping at his phone, no doubt verifying the news.
Sylus shook his head. “His reputation’s going to go down the drain. And it wasn’t because of Caleb. Impressive.”
“Sylus!” June scolded.
She felt bad for Valko. Zayne, Caleb, and Xylus all shared quite a few classes with the guy, and he’d seemed to be a pretty chill guy from what they’d told her. Smart, confident, even came to one of the Robotic Club meetings. Though he hadn’t stayed long when a couple of the girls chased him out. Something about one of Caleb’s snarky jokes thrown his way and Caleb’s admirer club decided that was enough grounds for Valko to get the boot. Caleb had given them an even colder shoulder than he usually did the rest of the day, and Sylus had scolded them for letting the jealousy take over their rationale.
..now that June thought about it, the bandwagon of haters really hadn’t ever subsided, had it?
“I’ll have the boys check on how he’s doing later,” Sylus murmured to June, as if sensing her internal concern. “I have his address.”
Of course he did. Why was she even surprised anymore?
.
June was in the school courtyard with her classmates, Tara and Simone. The two had seen her waiting for Caleb and Zayne so they could head home together, and decided to stop for a chat that soon turned to the topic of a certain red-haired boy.
“You can blame the school board for whatever policy led to this.” Simone grumbled. “That’s for sure.”
“I bet it’s someone who doesn’t like his family who wants him gone.” Tara said. “But wow….”
“It’s not fair at all. And we should do something.” June stated. “But what?”
The girls fell silent.
Then-
“I got it.” Tara declared as she pulled out her phone. “Sending you both something in…just a sec…”
“Tara, what-” Simone began to say before her phone pinged. She glanced at it, brow furrowed. “...huh.”
June’s phone pinged as well, and she brought it out to see what Tara had sent.
She snorted at the sight that greeted her.
“#bringbackvalko over a picture of a sad looking wolf pup? Do you think he’d sue us for defamation?” June asked through a giggle.
“It’s for a good cause! Besides. Did you not see him? He’s like, got this lost puppy look half the time unless he’s answering one of Professor Lucius’ questions.” Tara protested. June…didn’t really see it but the reddish tone of the wolf pup in the picture did kind of match Valko's red hair.
“Why a wolf?” Simone asked.
“Because he’s a bit more jacked than a puppy. Duh.”
June had to giggle at the thought. “Alright, alright. But…it’s not going to do much when everyone’s convinced he’s a horrible person. I would’ve believed it myself, if the guys didn’t have insider information.”
“Then we made that insider information public.” Tara shrugged. “Have them track down who’s spreading misinformation and get it reported. See if there’s security footage or something. There’s gotta be something. If Caleb didn’t get expelled for being the literal biggest nuisance to society, Valko shouldn’t even be considered for expulsion.”
Tara made it sound so easy. June hoped it was really as simple as putting a stop to a smear campaign.
.
Valko lived on the other side of town, so June didn’t really expect to see him around. Luckily for her, she knew people who wandered in the same social circles.
From Sylus, she learned that Valko had hidden away from most social functions, and so had much of his family. No surprise there, considering what had happened.
From Zayne she knew he still ventured out occasionally, both boys having realized they enjoyed the same all-you-can-eat barbecue restaurant and frequented the candy shop not far from it.
From Caleb, she heard many complaints about how Valko was out-benching him at the nearby gym. June preferred working out at their home gym, but went with Caleb a couple of times in the following month in hopes of catching sight of the redhead, but never did to her disappointment.
It was odd, she thought to herself. Whether it was the fascination with a new person, the fact that some of her own closest confidants knew him in passing, or just the sheer unjusticeness he’d been given–whatever it was, it had her intrigued.
“It’s almost like you like him more than us,” Caleb grumbled.
“I barely even know him!”
“That’s what you said about Sylus and now look at the two of you. ALways coming home late joyriding across town–”
“I have the same intuition about him as I do with the rest of you silly lot,” June informed him. “I don’t believe he’s what they say he is. He looks serious like Sylus, but I feel like he’s a lot more similar to Rafayel, a lot more gentle than he looks. He can take you in a fight, but from everything I’ve dug up information-wise, he seems more avoidant about fighting, like Zayne.”
“And I bet he burns his breakfast like Xavier?” Caleb snarked. June grabbed a nearby pillow off the couch to swing at him for that remark, the boy she’d grown up with easily dodging and laughing as he spun away.
.
It was almost comical how despite his whining, Rafayel was the one who offered use of his printing materials to the cause. Tara and Simone had designed a number of posters and flyers, which after collecting from Rafayel’s house, Xavier and Zayne put up periodically throughout the weeks following Valko’s disappearance.
Sylus and Caleb, on the other hand, elected to make good use of their tech knowledge and insider information. A few clicks of some buttons, and a collection of evidence was sent anonymously to the administration. And when the office failed to move fast enough, Zayne and Sylus showed up and demanded to meet with the disciplinary board.
And June worked the student body itself. Being known by quite a number of her classmates had its perks. All she really ended up doing was talk to a few people and get the counter-gossip going. The grapevine would take care of the rest.
Somehow, it was working. Reports from Zayne and Sylus were that the school board would take another look at Valko’s case, students began talking about how actually unfair the expulsion was, and–
“They did what?” Xavier asked, his voice dangerously low.
“Yep. People sent dead cats to his house and to members of the administration during the time he was in attendance.” Sylus confirmed.
Xavier muttered several swears in Philosian that made even Sylus flinch. June didn’t understand what he said, but the intent was pretty clear. For his noble background, Xavier could be surprisingly uncouth.
…though, she had to wonder where on earth people found dead cats.
.
“They did what?” Zayne asked. He didn’t swear like Xavier, but he looked like he wanted to strangle someone. Considering he was an avid studier of anatomy, that was probably more concerning then Xavier actually knowing how to swear.
“Yep. People are now sending wolf dung. I suspect they think his family is behind the campaign to let him return to the Academy.” Sylus confirmed.
June wondered where on earth one would even find wolf dung, considering they were in the middle of a fairly large city.
.
A week passed. Two weeks. Three weeks.
It seemed to never end. And yet…
“The office has started giving really vague answers when I call them.” Simone answered gleefully at what was supposed to be a group study session but had turned into a “Bring Back Valko” meeting.
“And they haven’t blocked your number, how?” Yvonne, a girl in Zayne’s math class asked. She was on her phone, she and Tara bringing the battle to combat any online hate they could find.
“I have a few burners.” Simone replied cheerfully. June side-eyed her, but didn’t question her motives. A change in response was something, alright.
“The office also hasn’t unassigned his locker.” Caleb added. “He has the one a few doors down from my new one. It was on this big list they use to keep track of everything.”
“His name is still on the rotation chart in our science class,” Sylus noted. “I’m quite interested to see what happens when it’s his turn to dissect the frogs next week if he isn’t back.”
Tara shuddered. “Oh gosh, don’t remind me we have to do that…”
“Were any of you actually able to get contact with him?” June asked. That was the thing she was most concerned about-making sure the guy was actually okay. “Zayne? Caleb?”
“We’ve exchanged glances.” Zayne said. “Usually I see him coming in or out of the restaurant. Bit hard to stop and chat…”
“He starts before I get there and ends before I can put down my weights.” Caleb grumbled.
June gave him a side glance, but said nothing. She was impressed he was putting even the effort to notice Valko’s presence and not default to jealously grumbling that he was taking up too much of her time, she wasn’t going to force him to talk to the guy if he didn’t have a desire to. She made a mental note to go to the arcade with him later that end.
Rafayel too, now she thought about it. It had been a while since they’d hung out properly…
“And Isaiah has finally shut up.” Xavier said nonchalantly.
Everyone in the classroom turned to look at him with varying degrees of confusion.
“..what?” June asked.
“Isaiah. My cousin. June, you met him a couple months back, remember? He’s taken back his words about Valko and begun working with Jeremiah on a petition to the school board.” Xavier replied. “Only needed a little convincing and he was sold.”
“...right, you and I will be stopping by Jeremiah’s to make sure they didn’t kill each other,” JUne sighed. She very vividly remembered her last meeting with Isaiah. Thank goodness Xavier showed up, or she might have gotten herself a write-up for public disturbance.
Tara didn’t seem to hold the same nervousness as June. “The campaign’s working then! People are retracting their posts and switching sides. Okay, so now that we have that going…”
.
June knew it wouldn’t have been surprising if someone managed to chat to Valko, but she hadn’t planned to bet anything on Caleb. And yet…
“I think I will go make a run to the convenience store,” Zayne muttered to her as they watched Caleb and Valko scream-sing to a random song on the TV. “I have a feeling I’ll run into your grandmother there.”
“I’ll come with,” June agreed, to save her poor eardrums. As the duo closed the door, June swore she heard the volume go up even higher.
She had to swipe through several of Tara’s messages to remind herself why she was on board with the whole mission to bring Valko back to the Academy.
.
“Home Ec is boring with Valko’s beautiful arms not at the table in front of me and even more boring now that Xavier is banned from entering the room,” Simone groaned as she flopped over the living room’s couch.
“What did Xavier do?” June asked. She was sitting with Rafayel as her backrest, both of them working on a project for their shared geography class. It was on the Arctic, which was really more of Zayne’s knowledge sphere but Zayne was volunteering at the hospital and was very little help at the moment. Simone had volunteered her time instead, though June suspected it was more because she wanted to hear whatever gossip Rafayel had to share over actually giving them feedback on aspects of the Arctic’s culture and landmarks.
“Xavier managed to explode a stainless steel pot,” Simone sighed. “It was incredible. THe professor didn’t think so though…”
“Couldn’t be me,” Rafayel muttered. June rolled her eyes at him as she tried to hide her laugh.
“Where’s Caleb, anyways?” Simone asked after a minute.
“Gym. He went from grumbling about Valko lifting heavier weights than him to being best buds. He definitely knows about the campaign to get him back onto campus if he didn’t already.” JUne replied. She squinted at her snowflake doodles. “Rafayel, why are your lines so much straighter than mine?”
“Practice, obviously.” Rafayel said as he lazily shaded in Mount Eternal. June sighed as she erased her crooked snowflake and tried again.
.
June frowned at the three boys looking down at her from her windowsill.
“Really.” She asked flatly.
Caleb and Valko shrugged in unison. Xavier blinked owlishly at her.
June sighed and stepped back so they could properly climb in.
“Gran’s going to kill you all if she finds out.” She warned.
“Sorry. We got excited.” Caleb said lightly. “Seriously, though PIps, you’re gonna love this.”
“We just found out from Jeremiah.” Xavier added. “Open your school email.”
“What?” June asked as she unplugged her phone from where it had been charging on her nightstand. “What are you talking about?”
Xavier settled in June’s desk chair, while Caleb plopped onto the end of her bed. Valko stayed on the windowsill, saying nothing though he was smiling.
June refreshed her email app. Once, twice, and then-
You have one new email.
She tapped on the message, and read it, her eyes widening as she did so. Finally, she looked up, a slow smile forming on her face.
“Cleared of all charges, baby!” Caleb cheered as he fistpumped the air. “And certain people put in their place on top of it.”
“It’s basically a guarantee, unless someone in the admissions team is really dumb.” Xavier agreed.
“The family’s company stocks went up too,” Valko added. “Gotta say, it was kind of cool that someone got a group to donate to the local animal sanctuary in protest. Not exactly sure why, but Mum thinks it’s hilarious.”
“She better! That was several hundred dollars of money Sylus didn’t earn!”
“Caleb!”
“What? I’m not wrong, Pips. Have you met that guy?”
“Alright, you two. That’s enough. I’m tired and just wanted to tell June, so I’m going to go home now.” Xavier said as he stood up. “Valko, are you coming with me?”
“Yeah, I have no idea how to get back from here,” Valko admitted sheepishly as Xavier climbed past him out the window. “See you two around, hopefully soon.”
He followed Xavier out the window, and June closed it after them. And then she turned to face Caleb, hands on her hips.
“Next time, use the front door.”
“Xavier always comes in through the window.”
“That’s a Xavier problem. Don’t you dare teach Valko that knocking on someone’s window at all hours is acceptable behavior!”
“Well, you can tell him yourself. I think he and Xavier both forgot Valko also needed to get a Band-Aid for some scraps he picked up tripping over his own two feet.” Caleb said, and laughed when June shoved him out the door, heading to the bathroom to grab the first-aid kit.
She slipped out of the house with lighter steps though.
.
If you had told June a month ago she would want to become just as close to Valko as she was with her other friends, she would have asked if you were insane.
But the work of the haters had been anything but a deterrent, and June could already see Valkok fitting into her little group easily.
The end of the tunnel wasn’t quite in sight, but she could feel the light shining through from the end. There was still work to be done, letters to write and people to talk to, but it was worth it.
After all, if it meant that someone else didn’t have to go through what Valko, or even Sylus or Caleb had when it came to rumours and unfair allegations–then at the end of the day, it was all worth it.
.