Despite Chan's seemingly unbothered nature, Marzia noticed his shoulders shaking a wee bit. Chan's fists twitches, and soft, but clear droplets from his eyes fall to his pants. She didn't ask him again and just slowly extended her hand to rub his back gently. Marzia tried to shush him with her calm strokes on his shoulders without any words.
From the years she had endured living with the Dickins, she realized that sometimes, you don't need words to be comforted. Actions and gestures are enough to show people you understand others. And as the silence consoled both of them, a thought dawned on her. Marzia finally grasped the reason Chan was a spoiled brat and why he hated going to school.
It was not entirely because of how Ian treated him but also because he was blaming himself for what happened to his parents. His pain and anger that he couldn't show traversed to other people by expressing his appalling behavior. Marzia wanted to help the kid, but she didn't know how. She just hoped that, someday, Chan would finally open himself to her.
After a few minutes, finally, Ian arrived with his secretary, Romeo. Dressed in a dark, mossy-green suit, Marzia surmised that Ian had come from work. He looked rather dazzling in his sophisticated outfit. It's as if he came straight out of a romance comic.
Ian impassively looked at Marzia as he walked by Chan's side. "Miss Delta," he greeted her. He didn't question her presence in his nephew's school because he's partially the reason why she was hired. Last week, when he was about to transfer Chan to a different school since the little boy expressed how much he hated it here, Ian caught a glimpse of Marzia coming out of the HR, seemingly hopping in hopes of getting hired. Because of this, he backtracked and enrolled Chan in this school again.
He didn't know why he did this, but maybe his reason has got something to do with Marzia's protective nature. The man felt like Marzia would protect Chan no matter what, and it manifested today.
Nonetheless, Marzia just gave him a nod.
Romeo, on the other hand, winked at her. "How have you been, Miss Marzia? I was disappointed to know that you quit!"
"Hey… Uhm, I'm fine, and yeah—I'm sorry about that," Marzia politely replied to Ian's secretary.
Ian was about to say something when they noticed the door opened. The four of them glanced at the entrance to the principal's office and saw the bullies parents with their children, sitting on the couch, looking mad as ever.
Blocking the view, the principal instructed that they could come inside. Marzia, Chan, and Ian went inside the room. Chan sat beside Ian, and Marzia was on the opposite side. Since it was she who had seen what happened, the principal let her join them again upon Ian's arrival.
Meanwhile, the parents and the kids glared at Chan and Ian. Averting his gaze from their livid stares, Ian asked the principal while a concern etched in his eyebrows, "What happened? Did Chan get hurt?"
Principal Lewis clasped his fingers and propped them on his desk. "It's good that we can finally be able to talk with you, Mr. Harrison." Lewis then began to reiterate what happened.
"On behalf of Chan, I sincerely apologize for what happened," Ian said to the kids' parents. "I know he can be tough sometimes, but he's a good kid." He brushed Chan's hair and looked at him with fondness, but Chan just shook the man's hand away from him.
The father of the kid spat, "We don't need your apology, sir! Your kid should be punished!" She forced her son to look at Ian and pointed at the dirt on the kid's shirt. "Look what that little devil did to my son!"
"Yes! Expel him!" The other parent remarked, crossing his arms against his chest.
"I—I'm really sorry. I assure you that I'll talk this out with Chan." Ian tried to reason it out to them, but the parents had none of his explanations.
Principal Lewis raised his arms. "Calm down, everyone."
"Sir, just please give Chan a chance. He can be impish sometimes, but he's a sweet kid," Ian retorted to the principal, leaning toward him.
"I understand you, Mr. Harrison. We tried to tolerate your nephew and did our best to be patient with him. But what he needs is someone who can teach him what is right and what is wrong."
Sighing, the principal added, "All the teachers complain they find it hard to handle him. He always starts fights, he cuts classes, and he just hurt another student."
While listening to the back-and-forth repartee between them, Marzia pursed her lips in contemplation. She wanted to chime in on their conversation but couldn't do so, as all of them wanted to be heard out. Because of this, all she could do was listen to them while Principal Lewis struggled to appease both parties.
As the situation continued, Marzia couldn't help but focus her eyes on Ian's understanding nature and humility. The way he apologizes for the sake of Chan is enough to make the woman impressed. Somehow, in the recessive part of her heart, she felt a painstaking clench inside that perhaps touched her from his genuine actions. Marzia knew him to be a bold and proud man who believed he had everything, but she was surprised to see the soft side of him. He's not like other men, indeed. As the meeting came to an end, luckily, Principal Lewis gave Chan another chance. He didn't expel him but gave him a final warning. The other kids were also reprimanded for instigating the fight and were also punished, along with Chan spending time in detention for this month.
However, the parents of the three kids tried to complain about it but resigned in the end when Lewis finalized the decision. Ian, on the other hand, accepted the terms and let his nephew comprehend things. When the meeting ended, everyone dispersed and Marzia was the last one to go out. Marzia looked ahead and saw Ian and Chan in the distance.
As Ian talked it out to Chan in the parking lot, Marzia couldn't help but wonder how Ian would handle this. She just stared at them while Ian embraced Chan in the parking lot. Chan didn't contest and let his uncle into his personal space, but his face was etched with disgust. Marzia couldn't help but laugh.
Though she fought her urge to interfere, the woman couldn't help it anymore. She ran to them and by the time she had reached them, she called, "Mr. Harrison!"
Ian pivoted to his back, meeting Marzia's wide gaze. His eyebrows furrowed as she walked toward him. "Miss Delta? Is there something I need to do or fill up for Chan?"
Without giving him any notice, she replied, "No, uhm. It's not that." The woman heaved from all that running and Ian found it quite charming.
"Okay? Should I need to know something, then?" His eyebrow raised in curiosity.
"No… I—Uhm…" Marzia bit the inner corner of her lips before she spoke again. "I just want you to know that if you're still open, I can tutor Chan again... He's a nice kid. I don't want him to miss out on any opportunities just because he's a little different."
Ian's mouth pressed into a thin line while his eyes harrowed a penetrating gaze.
Marzia had already gotten the grasp of adjusting to her new job. The load of her work was not that heavy, and she still had time to prepare her lesson plan in advance. More so, her students didn't give her a hard time adapting to the new school.
To be honest, she was rather lucky. She landed a favorable job in her first work experience, where she could still do other things outside of school. Adding to this, her co-teacher, Cassandra, was amiable and approachable, and she could ask the latter any time she needed clarification. Same as with other teachers in her department, Marzia was grateful that she could rely on them for things that were new or confusing to her.
Apart from these things, the most important one that made her really glad was the enjoyment she felt upon teaching the kids. The walm welcome and accepting environment giddied her up.
"Are you sure?" Ian asked, and Marzia nodded with eagerness.
"I am! Please, give me another chance…" The spark in her eyes caught the man off guard. He looked away to hide the blushing face he had and heaved. "A—Alright. I guess you were quite moved by this kid, eh?"
Marzia chuckled softly. "Indeed," she answered and pulled her palm out, accepting the man's handshake.
…
After agreeing to continue tutoring Chan, the kid was still tough as a knuckle in school. Marzia found it hard to deal with him because he would frequently ignore him, or sometimes neglect her presence entirely by sleeping in her class and not listening during discussions. When Marzia called him for recitation, he would give her snide remarks and would talk back to the teacher like an old, insipid man.
Despite this, she tried to remain calm and patiently responded to Chan in a caring manner without enraging the child. Her co-teachers didn't like the way she treated him, as they thought it would only make him more arrogant and proud.
Notwithstanding their negative dissuasion towards her, Marzia attempted to explain Chan's special case to them. However, none of them were all ears and shrugged her idea out. Meanwhile, Cassandra was a little hesitant about this tactic and was still weighing out the pros and cons. But then again, how could Marzia be distraught by their decisions when Chan's erratic demeanor was already painted on them in unredeemable red?
Because of this, Marzia didn't push the issue through and left it for them to ponder. Eventually, the weekend came, and Marzia could finally have a one-on-one session with Chan. She left Deniece's flat early in the morning and went to Ian's manor for her part-time job of tutoring Chan on several subjects, most particularly good manners and right conduct.