Emely smiled as she stroked Clara's head. Then, now his gaze shifted to Ben. The boy's eagle eyes reminded him of someone.
"What about Ben?"
The child who looked quiet didn't answer right away. He seemed to be thinking about something.
"Ben wasn't picked up?"
"Wanna go with Clara," Ben answered bluntly.
Emely smiled cutely at Ben's answer. He seemed to see himself and Leo, his childhood friend. Remembering Leo, Emely seemed to be interested in flashes of the past.
"Leo will be Emily's husband!" cried an 8-year-old child at 5-year-old Emely.
At that time, even Emely didn't get the point. However, little Emely felt comfortable and protected when she was with Leo. He felt he had a protector.
Leo, the son of a policeman who is none other than his neighbor, often watches him from afar. Sometimes pick up Emely at school without being asked. The reason for wanting to accompany Emely.
Or sometimes Leo plays in Emily's yard which sometimes makes Emily's mother smile funny. And when many neighbors praised Emily's beauty, some even mischievously asked Emely to be their future son-in-law, Leo quickly claimed that he was Emily's future husband.
All of that continued until Emely graduated from elementary school. He seemed to get a suggestion, that he was indeed Leo's future wife. However, all of that settles down when Leo is forced to move out of his house because his father has moved assignments.
And since junior high school until now, Emely had never heard from Leo. That makes Emely disappointed and confines herself to the opposite sex.
"Teacher," Ben called, bringing Emely out of her daydream for a moment.
Emely blinked and shook her head, trying to shake off the flash of the past. He turned his attention back to Clara and Ben.
"Em, how about I take you two with me? Since lunch is about to come, you must be hungry, right?" Emely gave suggestions to the two students.
Anyway, it's close to lunchtime. He couldn't bear to let the two children wait for the pick-up with an empty stomach. Let him spend a little money, the important thing is that his worries are resolved.
***
Emely looked anxiously at her two students who looked voraciously eating fried chicken from one of the well-known products. It seemed that Emily's decision to invite the two of them to eat was indeed the right one.
"Ben, who do you usually pick up with?"
The boy's handsome face looked up with a mouth full of food and it made Emely smile funny.
"Father, Mom." As usual, the answers are always short and to the point.
Ben is a transfer kid. So, Zoya doesn't know much about the kid yet. Unlike Clara, the little girl is usually picked up by a middle-aged woman who Emely knows is her nanny.
Even in parental contact, Emely only got the name, Mr. Wilson. It's also an overflow file from the previous school. Understandably, this is the first week of school after the holidays. So, Emely doesn't know the guardians of her students.
Emely had known Clara from the kindergarten next door to this school because the little girl was always the last one to come home to wait for a pick-up. However, this time was different, he said that Clara was picked up by her father, who as far as Emely knew had never seen her.
"What about Clara, what? Nanny isn't picking up now?" Emely asked attracting the little girl's attention.
Clara's face was gloomy. He shook his head weakly as he put down the rest of the fried chicken he was about to eat. Seeing that, Emely felt bad.
"Nanny went home, Mom. So, Dad picked her up. But, Dad broke his promise," he answered looking down.
There seemed to be a pool of tears that adorned her beautiful eyes. Emely immediately stroked Clara's head affectionately.
"Maybe, Dad is still busy. After this Mom will take you home, so don't be sad, okay," said Emely trying to cheer her up.
"Ben will also take Clara home," added Ben, as if trying to cheer him up.
Once again Emely smiled at the behavior of the two cute creatures. The girl again asked something else to divert Clara's sadness. Until it was finally time to go home, Emely took Clara first. That also includes Ben's request.
***
"Thank you, son. To bother delivering Clara," said a woman in her 50s, who turned out to be Clara's grandmother.
"It's okay, Auntie. I happen to be free, so you can take it," replied Emely politely.
The middle-aged woman scrutinized Emily's face. He seemed familiar with the girl.
"Oh yeah, want a drink first?" bargained the woman named Mareta.
Emely refused subtly with the excuse of having to take Ben. After all, just seeing the magnificent house standing in front of her made Emely hesitate.
"Then thank you, son. Clara's father is unreliable!" cried Mareta, furious. Emily just smiled faintly in response.
"Oh yes, with whom teacher?" asked Mareta, forgetting to ask for Emily's name.
Emely reached out and said, "Emely. Emely Medina."
Mareta's face was dumbfounded when she heard the name mentioned. Without a word, Mareta hugged Emely tightly, making the owner gasp in surprise.
"Aunt ...."
"It was you, son. Thank you, my God. It was you." Those were the only words that Martha kept muttering until she let go of the hug.
Emely who was still confused was about to ask but was held back by Mareta's words.
"Take the child first. You'll come back here sometime later. Auntie will be happy to wait for you."
Emely was still confused about the direction of Mareta's conversation. However, she couldn't ask much considering that Ben was still with her. He said goodbye and rushed to take Ben.
During the trip, Emely continued to be terrorized by many questions about Clara and Mareta. However, she should be able to put off that curiosity when her heart was taken aback by Ben's statement.
"Mom, that's Dad just got home," said Ben, making Emily's body hot and cold.
His sitting position in the passenger seat allowed him to freely poke his head out of the back window of the taxi. His heart skipped a beat as his eyes caught a clear view of the figure. A strange feeling crept into the recesses of his heart, he was crushed by a reality that shocked him.
"Is that Ben's father?" Emely asked again.
Ben nodded firmly. He then grabbed the teacher's hand to get out of the taxi. Reluctance to meet face to face, shame, and whatever other feelings. However, she couldn't possibly let Ben into her house alone.
Today is a day full of surprises for him. Just about Mareta and Clara had surprised him, let alone Ben's father figure. His body felt like it wanted to split apart.