When I showed the chat logs to Yisroel, he rubbed his temples with a sigh.
"It's just youthful teasing, nothing to lose sleep over."
"You'll see how challenging her life is once you get to know her. I've taken her tuition money, so I owe her a good education. Katherine, please don't complicate things for me."
"When will you start acting as mature as Amelie? This is really draining."
I felt a lump in my throat, making even breathing a struggle. A wave of dizziness hit me, and I stumbled slightly, wincing in pain. Yet Yisroel only sighed helplessly.
"Katherine, faking illness is something only kids would do."
Just then, his phone buzzed with a notification. He played a voice message, and I heard Amelie's playful voice. The gentle smile that spread across his face told me everything I needed to know.
The person standing before me was no longer my Yisroel.
I turned away silently, taking just a few steps before he called out to me.
"Katherine, Amelie's courses end in two months. I hope you won't bother her with personal issues until then."
"You should take some time to calm down and think about your recent pointless behavior."
I nodded calmly and walked away quickly.
For the next two months, I respected Yisroel's wishes, steering clear of Amelie and, more importantly, him. To keep myself from getting wrapped up in his matters, I focused all my energy on preparing for my graduate exams. Yisroel and I were like two roads diverging, growing further apart with no intersection in sight.
But on Grandpa's birthday, just as I was about to share the good news of my acceptance into a graduate program, Yisroel arrived with Amelie.
In front of our guests, Yisroel approached Grandpa and me with a stern look.
"Grandpa, I have a gift for you, but first I need to ask Katherine a few questions."
"Katherine, I've always seen you as simply immature, so even when you caused trouble for Amelie, I held back. But why did you have to insult her mother? Do you realize that your words cost someone their life?"
Stunned, I looked at Yisroel, not understanding his accusation.
Before I could ask, Amelie stepped forward, tears streaming down her face.
"Yes, my mom's a janitor, but she worked so hard to give me a better life. What did she do wrong?"
"I know you've always been upset with me because of Yisroel, but why target my mom? If it wasn't for your taunting and bullying, how could she have taken such drastic measures?"
"There's video evidence, so don't even try to deny it!"
She showed a surveillance clip. In it, I was sitting in the library reading when a cleaning lady approached me and said something. I then poured water from my cup onto the floor...
Afterward, the cleaning lady and I walked to a camera blind spot, and only I reemerged.
"My mom worked hard cleaning the floor you dirtied. She begged you to stop, but you led her to a secluded spot to mock her, telling her to kneel and apologize, then leave the school."
"To protect me, she... she..."
Under the weight of angry eyes, I rushed to explain.
"She said the library was out of water and she'd get in trouble for the dirty floor, so she asked if I could pour some water from my cup."
"We went to the blind spot because she needed help moving some things!"
But my explanations felt weak against the compelling video evidence. I watched the footage over and over until I spotted a familiar figure between the bookshelves. Even from the side, I recognized Yisroel immediately.
The shelf was near where I sat; he must have heard my conversation with the cleaning lady.
With shaky hands, I paused the video and, with a heavy heart, looked at Yisroel.
"You were there. You heard what we talked about, right?"
He furrowed his brows, staying silent for a moment before finally nodding under my hopeful gaze.
"I heard it."
