I'll stay by you

 The next day was one of many to come. During one break, her colleague, Mr. Martin, summoned her urgently to inform her that Tandru had gotten into a fight with another classmate.

Unable to believe it, she went to the scene, accompanied by the teacher. A crowd of children had formed a circle around the incident, shouting words of encouragement.

"Make way!" shouted Mr. Martin, and when the kids scattered, Timea couldn't control her expression. Until then, she hadn't truly believed Tandru was involved—certainly not the aggressor. She stood frozen, watching the teacher struggle to pull him away from the boy he was punching relentlessly. Both were a mess, and the other boy's cheeks were bright red.

 She managed to approach them while he struggled in Mr. Martin's arms.

 "Tandru! Tandru! Look at me!" When he heard her voice, he instantly calmed down and looked straight into her eyes. And Mr. Martin put him down.

 "Go to class!" shouted the teacher, turning towards the others, then went to dust off the other boy who had just managed to stand up.

 "Mom!" he began to speak, his voice pleading.

Timea closed her eyes for a moment. "Just give me a moment!" She grabbed his arm and pulled him along until they reached an empty classroom. Then she let go of his arm and turned to face him. "Now, explain to me, so I can understand! I think... I remember you promised to stay out of trouble! Am I to think that my son doesn't keep his promises anymore?" she asked quite sternly.

 Tandru looked at her with teary eyes, then covered them with his arm.

 "I'm sorry, Mom!" His sobbing made his words hard to comprehend, but his anger was still deep in tone. "They were throwing paper at Luna and laughing at her... calling her names. You know, she can't even go to the bathroom? A lot of kids make fun of her or even hit her. When I intervened ancltoless.. them to leave her alone, this boy started saying such horrible things about her and me … I'm so sorry I caused you trouble!" His voice broke at the end.

 This surprised her even more than everything else. "Are you telling me that Luna is being bullied because of her sickness?"

 "Not you too!" Strong tenacity poured from his eyes as he moved his arm aside to look into her eyes. "She is not sick, Mom; she just falls asleep more often than others! Everybody sleeps. What's so unusual?"

 Timea embraced him then and stroked his head. "Are you hurt anywhere?"

☆ .☽. ☆

 Later, when she asked the administration about Luna, she learned that the teachers didn't know much about her situation. At the beginning of the school year, they had been informed she could fall asleep unexpectedly and had been asked to keep an eye on her. However, it wasn't uncommon for young children to fall asleep during classes, and as far as they knew, Luna had only experienced it once in the first semester of school, which wasn't the case for other children.

 That didn't explain why the other kids were bullying her. But the moment she mentioned that Luna was being bullied, she hit a wall. No one knew about it, and they all seemed uninterested or reluctant to address the issue.

 During the next lesson, as she explained to the children what they had to do and led them one by one to the board to do exercises, she tried to observe both Luna-who had been watching her with a frightened look since she entered the classroom-then nd her classmates' behavior towards her. Still, it wasn't the most appropriate setting. She could only notice that Luna always sat alone, even when they were supposed to work in teams. Yet again, it wasn't out of the ordinary for some children to choose to stay alone or to be left alone by others; this was not the place to find evidence of bullying.

"I'm so sorry, Tandru," Luna was saying for the tenth time since the three of them had left the classroom after class and made their way to the parking lot. "I didn't mean you to fight... Please don't fight them..." Her eyes were moist but she wasn't crying.

 Ira patted her shoulder. "There's nothing to worry about. We will talk to your mother and find a solution together...

The girl stopped and turned to look her straight in the eyes with a frightened expression and almost screamed, "NO!" Then she took a deep breath as Timea looked at her in shock and added in a soft but firm voice, "What I mean is... I'm asking you very much, please, that we don't bother my mother with anything. It's nothing... serious anyway... I'll manage," she turned to Tandru, "please don't argue with them about me."

Timea recovered from her surprise and said, "Luna, bullying is not normal, and you shouldn't be alone in this situation." She couldn't help but notice the surprise on the girl's face, as she immediately looked down to hide her feelings.

"Thanks, but I can handle it." She started walking again, and they followed her, exchanging confused looks.

 She had noticed something strange in Ira's behavior and now questioned her judgment. Timea glanced thoughtfully ahead as they walked through the crowd of children and out the door of the school; the wind had died down overnight, and only a light breeze ruffled their hair.

They crossed the parking lot in silence, and when they reached the car, the children got in the back together.

 Maybe there was more to this situation than she could realize now, she thought as she got behind the wheel and put her coat and bag on the passenger seat. She heard Tandru say, "Luna, it's not your fault. You didn't do anything wrong!" he kept reassuring her, "I'll protect you!" He vowed.

Timea saw them in the rear-view mirror and smiled at the sight of him making a mess of Luna's hair with his hand.

 'He's looking out for her,' she thought, proud of him, but she had been too shaken up to realize and tell him that. Regardless of what had happened before, it was clear that Tandru would not step aside anymore when it came to defending a friend.

Maybe she should talk more with Ira and approach her delicately, not intervening in a way that would get Luna into more misery. Recalling her odd reaction the night before, she wondered if it was the right thing to do or what was the best way to approach her. Did she know about Luna's situation at school?

☆ .☽. ☆

Twelve-year-old Luna / Fourteen-year-old Tandru, Timeless City

"Keep up!"

"I can't, please Tandru, don't fight them anymore!" said Luna gasping for air, in her desperate try to keep up with Tandru, who was running ahead of her, constantly checking to make sure she was still there. They had passed the sports field and were heading, to her exasperation, in the complete opposite direction of the safest area.

"You know I always manage!" he replied, grinning, as if they were going for a walk and not running for their souls. "What if I fall asleep?"

"No you won't! And if you do, I'm sure you'd run even then for worrying about me getting hurt."

"That's—"

A wild squeal of delight came from somewhere far behind them. Luna did dare turn to look for fear of falling.

"The suckers are going straight to the 'shade'," Mark's excited voice rang out between the school walls.

"Tandru, please! Where are we going? Do you want us to die?" She trusted him completely, but sometimes exaggerated in his games with the gang that tormented them at every opportunity.

Tandru chuckled and turned in place, pausing briefly to seize Luna's arm and pull her after him.

"Have I ever done anything brainless?"

The air in Luna's lungs almost choked her. She didn't have the strength to answer, 'Absolutely. All the time.'

Passing the last building, they turned left into a natural park of pines and shrubs that formed a mini forest/park in the schoolyard, along with a few benches. 

It was supposed to be a place for all the students to sit in the fresh air. But those who wanted to sit out of sight of the teachers had claimed the area. The smokers, the bullies. The gangsters. They all liked to come here to the 'shade'.

In the middle of this place, Tandru stopped running and turned expectantly to the gang, that could be heard laughing and squealing with delight. Luna looked around desperately, they had nowhere else to run to.

She couldn't help herself and hid behind Tandru.

"What do you think, at least this time it's absolutely brainless?"

He just laughed.

Mark and the other six kids in the house, accompanied by Grace Harper and her friend, sailed around the corner and stopped in front of them.

"Honestly, Solace, I thought you were anything but a total idiot."

"Sorry to disappoint, Eminence." He replied so relaxed Luna couldn't believe her ears.

"Let's start with the trash can!" Suggested a red-haired, pimply guy, whose name Luna didn't know, but who was always with Mark and Grace. Some of them clapped excitedly.

"Nah!" Mark said with a mean smile that stretched across his face like a gaping, ugly scar, and walked deliberately slowly toward them, measuring them from head to toe. "We're having a good time today. We don't get chances like this anymore." His eyes moved to the moon, "Sleeping Beauty, today is about you and me!"

Tandru's hand twitched slightly around hers, but he didn't react.

"SO" a deep, thick voice sounded calmly from behind them, "These are the friends you said they wanted to lend a hand?"

Luna and the entire group turned to look in the direction it had come from. On a couch, partially hidden by a bush, it was impossible to miss. Sitting there was the school's gardener and caretaker, Mr. Summerson.

This man was nearly six feet tall and extremely massive, rivaling her father from Ether in her eyes. He stood so still that neither of them noticed him. He was a man trusted by the headmaster and respected by all. But as he loved gardening, he was always at the front of the school, mowing the grass or pruning the roses, never here.

He stood up and looked at them as if he hadn't heard what had just been discussed. Mark and the others took a step back but stopped when he turned his attention to them.

"Yes, sir," Tandru replied with a grin.

"That was your plan?" Luna whispered in disbelief at what he had bet on, "What if he wasn't here when we arrived?"

"No bet, no gain."

"It's 'no pain, no gain', silly!" Luna blinked and looked at him suspiciously; then she understood, "You knew he'd be here. Did you make a deal with him beforehand?"

Tandru winked at her.

Mr. Summerson walked towards them; Mark's group seemed out of breath; they knew they had been heard.

"Well, good, the principal will be here in about ten or twenty minutes. How pleased he'll be to see such a group of volunteers. The elites themselves." He gestured to the surrounding forest, "You'll be known around the school for helping to brighten up the place a bit. We've got gloves and everything. It was a good idea," he stared at the redheaded boy, "let's start with the trash."