*for the first half of the chapter, I have a soundtrack (cha-chan)! And from next, I will put the link of soundtrack on the paragraph comment instead of writing it. This unwanted para looks bad, ne? Check the comment in this paragraph! And Enjoy!*
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Samuel continued explaining his words, "Because for who knows how long, our parents and our teachers teach us only about what to do, how to do, even when we get on the same role, we do the same. But nobody ever taught us, why to do it. Why to do, what we do; and that kept remaining in the dark. Tell me one thing, young man, why do we eat?"
Dew replied immediately, "To satisfy our hunger?"
"Precisely, but to be exact, to stay alive. Think about it, can you survive without eating? No, right? Hunger is like an alarm bell, that any more than this, it might be a risk to your survival. So that's it, whatever people do, is for survival. People tend to aspire for higher status, higher position, more money, a stable job, just to survive."
Another girl from a corner raised her hands. "Then we can see some authors were doctors or had other decent jobs. Then why writing? It's not like having their original jobs kept them empty stomached."
Another boy sitting beside the girl picked up from her words, "Yeah, and not that writing novels or anything makes that much money. We see so many poets or authors from the past, who barely managed their dailies. They were in heavy poverty or even didn't get recognized when they were alive. The work, effort, the time they gave on it, couldn't keep them alive. They had to die in the end. They are long gone already."
"Then shall I ask you another question? Do you remember those writers? Their life stories, or at least what works they have done?" Samuel asked those two students.
Almost everyone nodded in the affirmative.
"That's it. Even after being long gone, people remember them. Not only you bunch, but also the whole world remembers them, respects them, loves them and their works. Today, if I die, only my relatives are going to remember me for a year at most, and you guys will remember me as long as you are a student here, or if I make myself too much of an optimist, maybe until you die. And then, this Samuel Brown would be lost in nowhere. That's survival. Survival is not the trait of staying the soul in the human body. Survival is, keeping your memory awake and alive till the end of the world. Until the world keeps revolving around the sun, people will keep remembering them. And that's the survival they fought for."
Samuel returned to the dais before continuing from where he left off. "People desperately want to make themselves exist in this world. No one can avoid death, but then again, who wants to die right? So they go to any extent they can go to make themselves exist. Some become the best in their own field, the others who can't, take up another field. That's how this works. And in the end, these writers stay alive through his or her books."
Out of the blue, the bell rang. Samuel picked up the papers and assignment copies while ending his class. "So, whatever you do, make sure that leaves a never-erasing mark in everyone's life, and furthermore. So that, people know you, remember you. But of course, in a good way. There are too many examples of bad deeds done out of survival, so beware of it." After tidying his things, he looked towards the students once again, "Well then, young ladies and gentlemen, I take your leave for today. It was an honor to have such a lovely hour with you."
After the class ended, Airi shut her ears close, getting almost deaf by the squeals of Emma. "Oh my God, did you see that? Samuel sir is so…"
"Smooth as a playboy…" Both Hazel and Dew stated that almost in the same tone.
"Oh, no! He is so refined, just like any refined, well-mannered butler, with his extra polite tone." Emma grabbed both cheeks with her palm, as she felt heat rising in those cheeks.
"That's the part of him which is shady, Emma. Once you get a butler yourself, your normal life is long gone. This sweet refined butler you are drooling for, would squeeze out the last bit of life from you, to make you a perfect 'M'lady'," Airi finally released her ears in hope that she will not get attacked anymore by the squeals. "I mean, what's with the extra polite tone with his own students? Weird…"
Just then, Airi heard someone calling her from the front seats. "Airi, there's someone looking for you!"
Airi turned towards the door to see the person looking for her. To her surprise, that was Llyod.
"Yo, Airi Arne. come out right now." He had an arrogant tone in his words as if Airi was some kind of lowly human. And having one of the handsome seniors of the school come to their classroom in search of Airi, sure made other girls burn in jealousy.
"Guess that day wasn't enough to have a check on him," Airi muttered to herself.
But she didn't show the annoyance she was feeling on the surface. "Oh, if it isn't senior Llyod! Did senior Rena again send you to do her errands? You could just send someone to call for me, why did you come down here…"
Airi's words were clear and loud enough to everyone present in the class, and of course, the boys couldn't control their laughter in response to it.
On the contrary, Lloyd was boiling in rage but he couldn't talk but, or didn't dare to, recalling the event that happened some days ago in the student council office. Even Rena becomes triggered with a single mention of her. After that day, when Maria came to her sister about the update on Airi, Rena hissed at her and warned her angrily not to talk about that girl anymore.
Guess he shouldn't have talked that way just now. He could just let that go for now.
Lloyd tried to compose himself as he replied, "Miss Clara was calling for you in her office. I just wanted to let you know that, that's all."
Airi slowly got up from her seat to head towards the door. When she was about to cross Lloyd still standing across the door, she slowly muttered the way to make sure only Lloyd hears her. "How dare someone insignificant like you talk to me like that! Couldn't you tone down like normal? Or your parents didn't even bother to teach you?"
Lloyd flinched a bit by the sudden drop of the voice, and he felt a cold shiver run down his spine.
Airi looked back at him to meet his gaze. "Care to get some etiquette lessons from me then, senior? About how to perfectly act like an errand boy?"
To the people inside the classroom, it looked like she was just being in her usual self, cordial, friendly with a beautiful smile on her face, saying something to Lloyd. But the person in front of her surely felt chills with the smile yet harsh words slipping her lips.
And with that saying, Airi walked past Lloyd, without even looking back for once.
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At the office of Clara.
Airi knocked on the door lightly once, "Miss Celestine, it's Airi."
"Oh, yeah. You came? Come on in." Airi found her teacher sitting on her chair, with a lot of documentation in front of her. She seemed busy and annoyed by the content and amount of those papers.
"Miss, those papers look bad. And a lot too." Airi gazed around the room to find more papers.
"Yeah, they are the worst!" Clara sighed hard, resting her head on her palm. "I feel the pain already."
"What are those about?" Airi asked back, while she fetched a glass of water for her. "It's the usual thing of every year. By this time, we teachers get really busy."
"What's special about this time?"
"It's the student council election. And after getting done with it, it would be semester exams, and later annual sports day. Too much hectic."
"We do have elections here!?" Airi got such a surprised look on herself that Clara couldn't help laughing. "Then how do you think we got our president?"
"Nah, it's just… I heard she had been the president forever. So maybe it was for the…" Airi stopped in the middle, as she thought it wouldn't be good to talk about the influence of Rena's parents on the school and its staff.
But nevertheless, Clara understood her. "Well, yeah it was suggested to be like that. But in the end, some of us insisted on holding the election. And Rena was chosen. She had been good to her duties since the beginning, so it stayed that way. She gets elected every year, even though many candidates participate."
Airi nodded lightly, understanding Clara's words. "Well, then, I have called you regarding this, actually. So listen up, and let everyone in your class know on my behalf." Clara looked at Airi, resting her chin on top of her hands.
And in response, Airi looked up towards Clara, with a question on her mind, surfacing on her face.