The students who had ended up in the hospital didn't return for the day, leaving Max's classroom noticeably empty.
Several seats sat vacant, and yet Max could still feel nearly every pair of eyes on him.
Some students silently wondered how he was even allowed to remain at school, but most had convinced themselves it wasn't Max's fault. Surely the teachers must have seen it that way too, why else would he still be here?
Still, after witnessing what he had done, their nerves were on edge. Every time Max so much as moved in his seat, stood up, or turned his head, others would twitch or flinch instinctively.
Max had even noticed how, when he walked past other students' desks, they would become oddly possessive over their pencils, either slipping them back into their cases or pushing them far out of reach, away from Max entirely.
