The narrator is in the student guidance room when he hears the thud of a man's foot. He realizes that it is the man who has been hit by a book. He apologizes to the man, saying that he threw the book but that he never intended to hit him. He tells the man that he is not responsible for the accident, and that the man should be taken to the infirmary. The narrator realizes that this is not the first time that he has had to apologize, and he apologizes again. He asks the man if he wants to help, and the man says that he does not want to help. He says that people will think he is the one who hit him, and so they should help him instead. He also says that his apology is not about lowering his head, but about avoiding his sweat and getting him up as soon as possible. He then asks the other students to follow him to his office, where he will ask the man how he plans to take responsibility for the incident. The other students follow him, but the narrator says that they should clean up the mess before he goes to the office. The man says he is letting the man off easy, since it is his first time in the room. He is not going to beat him, he says, but he will beat him until the man feels better. He curses the man until he feels better, and then he curses him until he gets better.