The bell rang loudly, shattering the silence in the hallway of Children Smart School. Aruna took a deep breath, trying to push the remnants of her frustration with Gavin from her mind. Right now, her main focus was her students—and of course, Kenzie.
With a forced smile that she made as warm as possible, Aruna opened the door to classroom B-1. The moment she stepped over the threshold, a chorus of excited voices greeted her.
“Miss Arunaaa!”
Dozens of four-year-olds sitting in a circle on colorful benches cheered in unison. They immediately got up and scampered over to Aruna, jostling one another to shake the hand of their beloved teacher, who had been absent for a week.
“Miss Aruna, I missed you!” babbled a little curly-haired prince named Leo.
“Miss, why didn’t you come in yesterday? I brought you chocolate, but it melted,” Kiara chimed in, a little girl wearing a pink headband.
Warmth spread through Aruna’s heart. The exhaustion and tightness that had weighed on her since dawn slowly lifted as she saw the children’s genuine excitement. “Miss missed you all so much, too. I’m sorry I had something to take care of yesterday, but I’m back now.”
However, the children’s attention didn’t stay on Aruna’s face for long. Their round, curious eyes dropped in unison, fixing on the toddler who had been hiding behind Aruna’s legs, clutching the hem of her pastel blouse. Kenzie frowned, looking confused and a little frightened by the crowd of children surrounding him, all bigger than he was.
“Whoa… Miss Aruna brought a living doll?” Leo asked innocently, pointing at Kenzie with wide eyes.
“Not a doll, Leo! He’s a baby! Aw, his cheeks are so cute, like steamed buns!” Kiara squealed, nearly pinching Kenzie’s cheek before Aruna gently stopped her.
“Miss, who is he? Why does he look like Miss Aruna?” another student asked in rapid succession. The orderly classroom suddenly grew noisy with the arrival of its tiny guest in a monkey-print shirt.
Aruna knelt in the middle of the circle, bringing herself down to the children’s height as she wrapped an arm around Kenzie’s little shoulders to make him feel safe.
“Smart kids, listen to Miss for a moment, okay?” Aruna said softly, instantly quieting the entire class. “His name is Kenzie. Kenzie is Miss Aruna’s nephew. Starting today, Kenzie will be learning and playing in our classroom for a little while. But because Kenzie is still small—he’s only 1.6 years old—he can’t speak as clearly as you can yet. So you need to be gentle with Kenzie and look after him, okay? Don’t get him to do anything naughty.”
“Okay, Miss!” the children answered enthusiastically in unison. To them, Kenzie’s presence wasn’t a disruption but an adorable new toy.
“I want to give Baby Eji my toy car!” Leo shouted, immediately running to his toy locker to grab a red plastic race car. He held it out in front of Kenzie’s face. “This is for you, Baby.”
Kenzie looked at the toy. His round eyes blinked twice. Slowly, his fear began to fade in the face of the children’s friendliness. His tiny hand reached out and hesitantly accepted the toy car. “Tank oo… Tata…” Kenzie lisped, giving them a faint smile that revealed a row of tiny teeth.
“Wow, he can talk! His voice is so cute!” the girls squealed excitedly at Kenzie’s adorable behavior.
Aruna smiled with relief at their positive response. She then led Kenzie to the corner of the classroom, beside the reading area covered with a soft foam mat and filled with large pillows. There, Aruna took several of Kenzie’s own wooden blocks from her large backpack, along with the lukewarm bottle of milk she had prepared at home.
“Sit here for a while, sweetheart. Play with your blocks. Auntie has to teach your big brothers and sisters up front. If you need anything, call Auntie, okay?” Aruna whispered as she stroked her nephew’s fine hair.
Kenzie obediently nodded and immediately began arranging the wooden blocks on the mat, occasionally playing with the red car Leo had given him.
The lesson began. Aruna led the class by reading aloud from a large storybook, then invited the children to sing along with her. Throughout the activities, the classroom remained lively but orderly. Aruna’s students occasionally glanced toward the corner to make sure their “guest of honor” was doing all right.
Whenever Kenzie managed to stack his blocks into a tall tower, several children sitting in the back row would turn around and clap silently, giving Kenzie a thumbs-up. Pleased by the attention, Kenzie looked happy and didn’t fuss at all. He sat quietly, occasionally drinking his milk while watching his aunt sing at the front of the classroom with sparkling eyes.
Seeing how well Kenzie behaved, Aruna’s chest throbbed with deep emotion. This tiny child, who had just lost the warm embrace of his parents, seemed to understand that his aunt was fighting hard for his sake. Kenzie didn’t cry or look for his Mom even once during class.
Sis Adisti, Sis Rendy… look at Kenzie. He’s such a smart, strong boy, Aruna thought, holding back the tears that nearly ruined her makeup.
Yet in the midst of her emotion and pride in Kenzie, Aruna’s thoughts once again turned to Gavin. The warmth in her heart suddenly evaporated, replaced by an eruption of irritation that burned in her chest.
How could a biological uncle be cruel enough to run away for his own pleasure and leave such a smart little boy to fend for himself? While the unrelated children in this class welcomed Kenzie with open arms and showered him with affection, Gavin—who shared his blood—treated Kenzie’s presence like a burden that wasted his “precious” time.
You’re absolutely unbelievable, Gavin. You’re out there having fun while leaving me to struggle through all of this alone, Aruna raged inwardly. Her hand, which was holding a colorful marker, unconsciously tightened around it.
The clock on the wall kept moving, and Aruna could hardly wait for the school day to end. She was determined that the moment she set foot in the apartment, she wouldn’t give her selfish husband even the slightest chance to make excuses again. A fitting revenge had already taken shape in Aruna’s mind, ready to welcome the return of that chameleon-faced playboy.
To be continued…