He needed to go back to class. He'd missed most of his lessons yesterday and he couldn't afford more trouble. He knew the principal would call in his parents for a meeting, no matter what he said. His hand was throbbing, he started wrapping wads of tissues around it in a desperate attempt to stop the bleeding. He washed his face and burst out of the bathroom, his injured hand stuffed into the pocket of his shorts and slowly made his way to the gym. It was athletics today, his favourite. The students were already in their teams and he quietly made his way to the back of the queue.