Kaki, with his mind and heart racing, thought to himself:
*"This is a new start. I don't wanna repeat my mistakes. I know I've been the problem, but now I just want her to like me. I wanna feel what it's like to be loved. Seven years old, and I'm already thinking about love... I've done everything she wanted, but she doesn't love me. She loves my sister more.
At home, I'm the one who does everything—I wash, clean, take care of stuff. And still... it's not enough. Damn, I don't even know what I want anymore. Whatever. I can't think about this now; I've got two minutes before class starts."*
---
The teacher entered the room, her presence commanding attention.
"Hello, everyone. I'm Professor Mills, and I'll be your teacher until Class 4. Let's start by getting to know each other."
Kaki's thoughts spiraled again:
"What should I say? I don't want to mention my sister. I don't want her to have problems because of me or for anyone to use that against us. She's on the third floor, and I'm on the first. That's all they need to know. Yeah, I'll keep it simple."
The classroom was chaos. Kids were yelling, laughing, and running around. The teacher, frustrated, raised her voice.
"Quiet! If you don't settle down, you'll learn the hard way what happens to bad people. Kaki, stand up and share your story!"
Kaki froze.
"What? Why me? Why do I have to say something?"
His mind raced:
"No, no, no. I can't do this. How does she know about me? Is she trying to humiliate me? Great, now I'm gonna be the loser of the school. The joke everyone laughs at. Why? Damn it. You know what? Fine. I don't care what they think of me. I can take it. But... what about her? She doesn't deserve this."
Kaki stood up, his voice trembling.
"I... I don't know my real parents. I live with another mother. That's…"
Before he could finish, his voice cracked. He quickly sat down, head low, staring at his desk as if it could shield him from the world.
The bell rang, but Kaki didn't move.
"Now my life here is going to be hell. Why, God? Why?"