A few journalists quieted.
As the head of students affairs took the microphone"This conference is about Crownside's victory, not conspiracy theories. As for the questions surrounding yesterday's events, I don't believe the incident has damaged the relationship between the two schools."
He folded his hands on the table.
"The schools may consider working together in the future. Ultimately, it depends on the faith and effort of both sides."
He paused.
"And no student is a problem simply because of the institution they attend. Whether they come from the Averis all-girls school or Crownside High, they are still students."
He picked up his glass and took a sip.
"It is our responsibility as teachers to help them grow."
The room settled again.
"As for tomorrow's competition, the outcome will depend on the effort of the students, their preparation, and, perhaps, a little luck."
He gave a small smile.
"And yes, the Averis students demonstrated the strength of their school."
The two Averis girls visibly relaxed.
"The competition was close. They earned two points, while Crownside earned three."
He raised one finger.
"If they had earned only one more point, the two schools would have been tied. So it should be obvious that Averis has capable students."
He leaned back slightly.
"It was always called a friendly competition, regardless of who won or lost. If you were paying attention yesterday, you wouldn't need to ask that question again."
A few journalists lowered their microphones.
The Dean's expression remained calmas he spoke.
"As for withdrawing, as Ava said, we are taught teamwork."
One of the Crownside students picked up his microphone.
"And teamwork works both ways."
He looked toward the audience.
"If Ava couldn't continue and had to withdraw, we would have supported her and carried on with the competition."
His expression became serious.
"Her sacrifice would not have been wasted."
He glanced briefly toward the Averis representatives before continuing.
"As for the new Averis representatives, we won't judge them because of the actions of individuals."
He shook his head.
"Dragging two schools into another conflict because of what a few people did would be unfair, especially after those students have already been given the opportunity to learn from their mistakes."
He lowered the microphone.
"And tomorrow, we'll treat the new representatives as students—not as suspects."
The Crownside student who had spoken earlier lifted his microphone again.
"As for the most memorable moment of the competition..."
He paused, thinking for a moment.
"For us, it was probably learning that losing once doesn't mean we'll lose again."
A faint smile crossed his face.
"We may have lost some of the challenges, but we won't bow our heads because of it. Losing today doesn't mean it will happen again tomorrow."
He glanced toward the two Averis students.
"And as for these two students, they have apologized and they've already seen where they went wrong. They should be allowed to move forward."
His expression became more serious.
"Bullying them online isn't the right way to handle this."
He looked toward the journalists.
"And there has never been an issue between our two schools before this. This was our first time meeting them."
He spread his hands slightly.
"So please don't turn one incident into something it isn't."
One of the Averis teachers finally leaned toward her microphone.
"The questions blaming our school need to stop."
Her voice remained polite, but the warning underneath it was unmistakable.
"Otherwise, we will have no choice but to consider legal action."
The two Averis girls slowly stood.
The cameras immediately turned toward them.
They bowed together.
"We're really sorry," one of them said.
Her voice was quieter than before.
"We never meant to harm anyone. We allowed the pressure of the competition to get into our heads, and we made a terrible decision."
The other girl continued.
"We've never had problems with anyone from Crownside before."
She lowered her head slightly.
"And yesterday, we took what one of the Crownside students said to heart. We understand now that we owe an even greater apology to our own people because we let them down."
She looked toward the cameras.
"Please don't use our actions to judge our school or our country."
Her voice strengthened.
"If you want to criticize what we did, then criticize us for it. Don't drag everyone else into it."
The girls bowed once more before returning to their seats.
The Vice President cleared his throat.
The small sound immediately drew everyone's attention.
He picked up his microphone.
"Yes... and no."
A few journalists exchanged confused glances.
"I came here not only because of the cabinet incident, but because this is a major competition. Leaders are expected to appear at important events involving our schools and our young people."
He adjusted his cuff.
"So my attendance shouldn't be reduced to yesterday's incident."
He paused.
"As for the two officials who came yesterday, they've already returned to their duties."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"It would be rather excessive for them to remain here simply because of one competition. And if they stayed, I'm sure you would find another dozen questions to ask them."
A few people laughed.
The Vice President shook his head.
"And this nonsense about two high officials being dragged out of Crownside?"
His expression became more serious.
"That's nonsense. Nothing like that happened."
Several cameras continued recording.
"And even if something like that had happened, do you honestly think something of that scale could simply be covered up?"
He raised a hand before anyone could interrupt.
"So let's end that subject here."
The room gradually quieted.
Before another journalist could raise a question, one of Ava's lawyers tapped lightly against the nearest camera.
Ava's lawyer stepped forward and tapped the nearest camera lightly.
Her assistant immediately began distributing a document to the journalists and media representatives.
The lawyer waited until several people had received a copy before speaking.
"Since Miss Ava has already addressed the questions concerning her injury, I'll make one brief clarification on her behalf."
He held up his own copy of the document.
"This is a formal legal notice concerning the publication and republication of material relating to Miss Ava and yesterday's cabinet incident."
The room quieted.
"Effective immediately, any media organization, journalist, broadcaster, photographer, or affiliated platform that intends to publish material concerning Miss Ava's injury is expected to ensure that the material is accurate, properly sourced, and does not falsely attribute responsibility to Miss Ava, Crownside High, or any other party."
His gaze moved across the room.
"Furthermore, no organization is authorized to use Miss Ava's name, photograph, recorded image, or personal information in a misleading report, fabricated account, defamatory publication, or material presented as evidence of misconduct when no such finding has been established."
A few journalists began reading through the document more carefully.
"This notice does not prevent legitimate reporting of yesterday's public event. You remain free to report the competition and the confirmed facts surrounding the incident."
He paused.
"What it does prevent is the deliberate distortion of those facts for publicity, harassment, or reputational damage."
Yesterday update sorry for not updating yesterday