Matt’s suspension finally came to an end on Friday, bringing a sense of relief that it hadn’t dragged on for the dreaded five days. Still, the whole ordeal left a bitter taste in my mouth. It wasn’t just the fact that Matt had faced consequences—it was that the punishment felt unjust from the start. Standing up to someone like Gary Cecil, who had done nothing but torment others, shouldn’t have been met with this kind of backlash.
The halls felt a little brighter with Matt’s return, though. Even when he wasn’t saying much, his presence carried a certain strength that reminded me why we were friends. But beneath his usual confident exterior, I could see he was still carrying the weight of what had happened. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t right.
“Good to see you back,” I said as we passed eac
