20 Freedom
Alba didn't go back immediately because she wanted to think about this matter further.
Not just the kids, but the teachers as well.
Lee Majors, the serious guy who had been the first to notice the kids' intellect. She had not given any worksheets to do on the first day, so, naturally, she had not caught on to it. Thus, Alba did not feel any guilt in it.
Stanley Gray, the typical nerdy science teacher - though he was more like Bill Nye, the Science Guy. However, other than the skinny body frame and dark-rimmed glasses, there were no other similarities in features. It was more of the way he approached science and his child-like enthusiasm. Which was perfect for primary school kids.
Both teachers were very good at their jobs and the kids loved them. It was once believed that men do not make good teachers, but that is hardly true. Like any profession, it all depended on how much effort you put into it.
Who said men could not be good teachers because they were not empathetic enough to be able to understand young children? In fact, studies had shown that men were more willing to play with the kids as opposed to women; and in turn, that could make them bond more.
At the end of the day, it wasn't the 'gender' that was important. It was passion and experience. Such 'gender' roles tend to be more apparent with inexperienced teachers but as they gained experience, the sort of attention and teachings did not differ.
From what Alba had seen, the two men were such people. Passionate, and experienced.
The only fly in the ointment was Sybil - and she didn't seem to 'fit', so to speak. Obviously, she cared for the children and she had been here far longer than she did, so why was she constantly trying to go against her?
Was it because she looked down on her, being the inexperienced one yet already being the home teacher of a class? Was there some sort of resentment of some kind or perhaps, she just felt superior due to her experience and looked down on her?
Alba shook her head.
She had a clear conscience and though she had no idea why she was offered this class, she was not stupid enough to reject it. If the Headmaster felt she was capable, why should she let him down?
Alba had no idea what Sybil's beef was. In fact, Alba was more than willing to listen to Sybil's opinion and thoughts. It's not like Sybil was talking nonsense but why did she have to act so confrontational about it?
It just made it so difficult to take what she was saying.
Alba sighed as she thought of the four special kids in her class and the work that they had done - and the work that she had to do. They had to have the best, yet at the same time, not lose their childhood.
She pursed her lips as she gathered the materials and got up. This was something that needed to be thought about in the comfort of the home. She had a lot to think about.
✿ Author posts on neovel ✿
With his new goal, Alex found his life at school was actually tolerable.
Fun, even.
Still, Alex looked forward to the weekend. Nothing beats staying at home, right?
Unless it meant his father dumping more training on him.
Luckily, this weekend was one where he could spend as he wished. His father had gone off on a business trip and after some persuasion from his mother, he got the weekend off.
Right now, he was in the training room.
His mother had gone off somewhere, taking Ariel along while Aurora was over at Fleur's place. Serene was out with friends.
He was staring at the adult-sized dummy that they used to learn the body parts. Alex was gritting his teeth, feeling extremely frustrated at the fact that the dummy was so much bigger than him.
What he found particularly interesting at school was identifying the weak points on the body and how to overcome someone. He would choose random targets but whenever his eyes landed on the adults, he felt anger and helplessness.
He was only seven, so what sort of damage could he do to an adult?
Without a weapon?
As much as he hated it, a child had no true defense against the strength of an adult. Even if he knew all the soft spots, it wasn't as if he could hit them while the adult was defending.
This was something his father kept nagging him about.
Alex preferred to use his fists as it felt more satisfying. Punching the dummy was, in a way, extremely relaxing.
However, in a real-life situation, it was not realistic.
His small hands and strength hardly caused much damage. The last time he managed to punch someone to his satisfaction had only been possible because his father had held the man down.
And that was two years ago!
The only good thing of that day was the fact that not only did he witness his father being all docile and accept Master Shifu's beatings, but he also had to placate his mother when she saw his injured hands.
The bad thing was … right after that, he could no longer use his hands to beat up someone. He always had to use his weapon.
Alex went to the weapons counter and took out his blade.
It was custom-made, and the design was based on what he had thought up. He merely described what was on his mind and the person had drawn it out beautifully.
Each year, the blade would be upgraded.
After all, the handgrip of a five-year-old and a seven-year-old is not the same. They are still growing. Thus, like how one would need to buy a new set of clothes as they grew, his weapon would also be adjusted accordingly.
The counter held his previous knives and he could see how his tastes had changed in just two years.
His first knife was really like a toy as it didn't really look like a real knife at all. It was not metal but a ceramic knife, so the white 'blade' looked really plastic.
Worse, it was akin to a kitchen knife whereby only one side was sharp. The white handle had little indents in them for his fingers to ensure that he didn't lose his grip on the knife.
What made it special was the design on the handle.
One that he envisioned and one that the designer created. It was truly beautiful to him.
At the bottom of the handle was a tree, with the roots deep in the soil and the branches spread out upwards. However, the highest part of the tree suddenly broke apart to form birds that flew upwards all the way to the hilt.
It represented freedom.
Alex felt like this represented his life.
He needed his family still to form the roots and foundation, to go high but to truly soar, he needed to break free and fly away.
He had done the research online and had found that the birds flying away seemed to be the common factor in such vision. It could be just the birds flying away, or escaping a birdcage, or - for some weird reason, a dandelion 'fluff' that flew out of the dandelion becoming birds that flew up.
It did not resonate with him.
He wasn't restricted, so a birdcage was out. A dandelion felt too whimsical; so when the designer suggested a tree and drew it out, Alex's eyes had lit up.
It was perfect.
Alex's eyes focused on the design on the handle.
The only thing he was happy about.
What he hated most of all of this knife was that it had a rounded tip.
A rounded tip, for goodness sake!
He could not stab anyone with it and instead, it could only be used to slice people.
Actually, Alex *did* try to stab someone with it but had failed miserably, of course. He barely managed to dodge the guy's retaliation and only escaped injury because his father knocked the guy out right after.
Alex got an earful from his father - and mother - after that.
As punishment, he had to use that stupid knife for two years.
Alex put down his first knife and his gaze landed on his latest knife.
The tree and bird symbol was still there, but this time, it was silver as the handle of his knife was black. Gone was the indent in the handle.
Alex picked up the knife and unsheathed it, his eyes gleaming at the silver gleam of the blade. It wasn't steel, but a special material that would not chip easily. He didn't know what it was and didn't care - what's more important is that it didn't look like a plastic knife!
Best of all, that stupid rounded tip was gone.
Alex picked it up and twirled it in his hands expertly.
He had to admit, using the 'toy' knife for two years made him quite adept at it without getting injuries. The knife was still new and had not been 'baptised' yet.
Alex couldn't wait for the day he could finally use his knife.
So much so, that the thought of having his father home didn't seem too bad.
