I didn't know how it happened, but by the next moment I recalled, I was standing in front of Si's school. I still remember the dreadful and embarrassing feeling I had then.
"Ugh! My stomach is not well, Si! I have to go home!" I made excuses in an attempt to get away from there. But he held tight to my shirt and pulled me back.
"Do! Stop! You have to attend the parent meeting today!" he insisted while dragging me through the school's gates.
"But I don't want to… It's embarrassing to me that you told them I'm a house-husband. What are they going to think of me?" I complained.
"Stop whining!" Si scolded me and kept pulling me through the schoolyard. Eventually, I had to comply and go with him, only because I didn't want Si to be seen as the kid with no parent attending. But honestly, if I could choose, I would sprint out of that place in a heartbeat, with no hesitation.
Letting go of the urge to retreat, I began admiring the school. Although it was just for commoner's kids to have an education, it was still much better than even the school for scholars in South City. This school was much more spacious, clean, and well-built. In the classrooms I went by, the teachers there seemed very friendly and caring for the kids. They also have access to more variety of tools and toys to help kids learn more easily. Seeing the quality of it, my appreciation for Princess Sa Mi increased because she helped Si enroll here.
"How is school? Are you able to make friends? Was there anybody bully you?" I asked Si, trying to keep up with his new life here.
"Yeah, I have lots of friends!" Si said energetically. It didn't look like he was just acting it to make me not worry. "The teachers and classmates are nice. There are some… unfriendly people too," he added.
"There are always bad eggs in any place," I told him. "But if you can have a few friends, then that is good. Much better than what we've been through," I added. "But… how are they unfriendly to you?" I asked. A little in me was worrying that Si might be picked on again.
Si's mood was a little down as he responded, "There are some that kept saying I'm reaching high because I'm not a capital kid and because I haven't gone to school before. They say I'm dumb and inferior to them."
"Is that all?" I gently asked. It was painful for me to hear what Si heard, but I was thankful that he didn't hide it from me. "Did they do more than that? How did the students and teachers react?"
Si shook his head. "They didn't do anything else. The teachers and my friends see them as just childish talks so they just ignore them."
"How about you?" I asked him. "How do you feel when hearing those words?"
Si stopped, turned to me, and smiled. Not a fake smile, but a genuine one. "After what we've been through, they are just empty words to me."
I was stunned a bit by how mature he was. The Si in my mind was just a little boy with high energy, always jumping around and picking fights with me. But from his sacrifice in sharing food for Ly Giai and me, to this moment, there might be another side to him that I haven't seen fully yet.
…
Si walked me through a few more rooms until he stopped at a classroom that looked about twice as big compared to the others. "The parents are waiting in there. I'll go to my class now. See you in the afternoon!" he quickly dropped me and sprinted down the hall. I didn't even get the chance to tell him goodbye.
"Now I'm all alone with strangers," I murmured and pushed the door to come in. There were already about twenty other parents inside before me. They all looked like they had known one another already, so conversations and groups being divided up were natural. Only the new guy like me who just entered, knowing no one, was alone by himself. I took a few steps in and stood awkwardly by myself, then quietly moved to the back of the room to grab a cup of freshly made tea and stood by a corner to not stand out. "This isn't bad either. I'm not bothering anyone, and no one is bothering me," I told myself.
I stood there for quite some time while we were all waiting for the rest of the parents to show up. When everyone was present, an organizer appeared. "Parents and guardians, please gather before me for just a moment!" he called for us to gather around, and then he said, "As you all know, today's meeting is for you to talk with your child's teacher and understand their well-being while studying here. It is also a great opportunity to know your fellow parents too. Okay, as usual, a parent will follow me to their kid's teacher one by one. While waiting, please feel free to get yourselves food and drinks here. Let us begin!" They finished and started to call out to parents using the student's name, then they walked with the parent out of the room.
A lot of time had passed, more than an hour went by, and I was still waiting for Si's name to get called. I was beyond bored. Just stuck in a corner eating sweets and drinking tea, I couldn't get to talk to anyone. Everyone already had their groups to kill time with. I was about to fall asleep just standing in one place.
"Ly Si's parent!?" finally, Si's name was called. Since I couldn't remember my last name, we have decided to use Ly Giai's surname when registering Si for the school. I walked out and followed the organizer to Si's teacher.
"Are you new here? I usually remember the faces of the students' parents?" the organizer asked me as we walked through the hall.
"Yes," I replied. "We just moved to the capital, so this is my first time coming here."
"I see. You must be one of the few surviving refugees from the capital attack recently right?" he asked.
"Yes, that's right," I said.
"I am so sorry for what you have been through. I heard there were less than one hundred survivors after the attack." they sounded genuine.
"Yes, we are blessed to still be alive," I replied.
The organizer nodded. "Well, it is a blessing that you and your kid made it here. You don't have to worry. This school welcomes all people from all places. Your kid won't get mistreated here, that I can say at least."
"Thanks," I said, but still remembered what Si told me. "In general, this school is great."
We then stopped at one small room and the organizer left me there. I went in and sat at the table in the middle of the room. Across me was a female teacher in her mid-thirties flipping through a set of papers. She kept the paper close to her face and squinted her eyes to have a better look at the pages. Only when I moved the chair and sat down that she see me.
"Oh, you're here! Sorry, I didn't notice," she apologized.
"You are fine," I said and gave a friendly smile.
The teacher extended her hand. "My name is Co Day. I am Si's teacher. I've always been curious to know who is the parent of such a bright child!"
I gave a firm handshake. "Thank you for thinking highly of our kid. My name is Thien." I avoided using my real name just in case, even though Princess told me that no one in the capital would remember a name from a news years ago. When I was afraid to go watch the princess's soldiers training, the big part of it was because I thought I would be recognized as Grass in an instant. It was Princess Sa Mi that eventually convinced me to go out. I had a lot of questions back then but kept to myself because I didn't know how friendly the princess would be, but I always wanted to have the chance to ask her about it.
"Thien… Nice name," the teacher commented. Once the greeting was over, we moved to the main subject. "Let's see here. In the report, it says that student Ly Si never had any form of education before coming here, is that correct?"
"Yes, that is correct," I nodded.
"May I ask why that is?" the teacher asked. "I am not trying to fault you or anything, maybe you had circumstances that couldn't get Si's to get educated."
"I know you have no ill intent," I replied. "To be honest with you, Si is not my kid. My partner and I were on the run from Ly's army when they attacked our city. On the way, we happened to meet Si and decided to treat him as our child. From what we know, Si was an orphan before meeting us. He had no guardian and his villagers didn't like him. That's why he couldn't go to school then."
The teacher's eyes soften. "You and your partner are his hero," she said.
I smiled, "Thank you, we were just doing what was right."
Then she continued. "Now that I understand what your circumstances were, I can confirm that the child is in great care. We can move on to the student's grades and achievements. I was very surprised when I learned that Si had no prior education, yet he was able to understand and absorb the lessons very quickly. He also did great on his assignments. Currently, he is standing fifth of our class of thirty students, a very impressive achievement," she commented.
"Wow! We didn't know he was doing so well," I was happily surprised to hear. Ly Giai and I only knew Si adapt to school quickly, but didn't know he was standing fifth in the class already. "It is nice to hear that, but is he having a good time with the students here? We are happy about his grades, but it is more important to us that Si is having a healthy school life."
"You don't have to worry about that. Si was the center of attention in our class. Besides a few childish comments, in general, the students adore him."
"Thank goodness," I was relieved to hear confirmation of what Si told me.
The teacher observed me, then said, "When I asked student Si about why he was studying so hard, not only listening to lessons and doing the assignments but also in other activities, he said that he has to because his parents sacrificed so much for him. I can see now how you are a great parent in his eyes."
I felt the appreciation in her words, genuine appreciation. "Thank you. We are just doing the best of our abilities."
After some more exchanges, we ended the session and I stepped out of the room. Awaited for me was a short kid. "Why are you here? You changed our outfit?"
"We are playing sport right now," Si said with his quick breaths and heavy sweat. He had changed his clothes to something more active. "Come with me, watch me play." He grabbed my hands and walked me to the school's field where green grass was all around. There was a bunch of kids running and laughing. We stopped not far from the other kids. "Since you are here anyway, come and watch," he said and quickly left. When his head turned away, I saw how unusually red his ears were.
"Someone just got caught eavesdropping," I smiled. "I guess dragging me here is his excuse as to why he was standing outside the room."