Breaking ties

After spending the next hour or so to discuss Gerhardt's duty in further detail, he returned to his world for the day which left Ensen alone.

Ensen planned to officially open the Academy on Monday and considering that it was Friday afternoon he had quite a bit of work to get done.

Realistically it wasn't too much work because there were only five students, but it was a great opportunity to help nurture a sense of belonging and comfort.

Heading to the cafeteria, Ensen smiled in satisfaction looking at the modern black round tables that had chairs surrounding them. While they were spaced out quite generously, it was not an issue realistically.

Beginning his work, Ensen began shifting the tables around as his mind began to wander.

Thinking about how he would only earn 10 dollars a month from his five students combined, Ensen struggled to hold back his tears.

"I really am bleeding money. On the bright side, most of the heavy expenses are over." Ensen muttered out loud.

'Maybe I could try to get a government grant if I focus on educating the underprivileged kids in the countryside?' Ensen thought to himself but decided to put the idea on hold for now. A grant would involve a lot of legal matters such as recording spending and logging many things in general which he simply did not have time for at the moment.

After spending the next few hours reorganizing the cafeteria for the opening, Ensen mainly accomplished his goal for the day.

Feeling exhausted by the end, Ensen took a small break in the staff bathroom before heading to his car and driving back home.

As he was returning home, Ensen coincidentally drove past the restaurant he had recommended to Kaitlin earlier in the day. Looking through the large window on the front of the building, he saw her sitting with three people.

Beside her was a middle-aged female with a formal black suit whereas on the opposite was a rather rough-looking man with a small scar on his cheek with a similar dressed middle-aged man to the right of him.

'That looks… interesting. I wonder what it's about.' Ensen thought to himself as he kept driving.

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Shifting her feet nervously under the table, Kaitlin looked directly at the rough-looking man in front of her with a piercing, cold gaze.

"That should be about it then. There will be five million dollars transferred into the bank account I gave you in three days' time." The man dressed in the suit said calmly.

After pausing for a moment, he continued "And in return, you will not tell another living being about this matter. I cannot guarantee your safety if you decide to do that."

Noticing that neither Kaitlin nor the woman next to her had any objections, the man stood up from his seat and looked towards the rough-looking man and said in a respectful tone "Come on Jordan, we should get going."

A few moments later they both left the restaurant before returning to their cars.

"Why are we being so kind to her? She has nothing on us." Jordan said with a tone full of irritation.

"It is simpler this way. Besides, she's moved quite far away so it'll be fine." The suited man said calmly.

"So even if we do something it wouldn't be traced back to us. Do you really think she has any leverage? She's just the widow of the former boss, nothing impressive about her." Jordan said, enraged.

"Enough Jordan, now let's get back, we have a long drive ahead of us." The man said with a slightly harsh tone, obviously unwilling to discuss the matter further.

Immediately after hearing this, Jordan shut his mouth as if scared to provoke the man.

Back inside the restaurant, Kaitlin sat there for a moment before getting up slowly.

"I'm sorry ma'am, this is the best I could do. You are no longer affiliated with us in any way and even get some money out of it. Isn't this a good thing?" The woman next to her said.

Without pausing for even a moment, Kaitlin spoke "Give me the bank account, then you can return. As you said, we are strangers now."

The woman froze hearing the blunt words from Kaitlin but unconsciously held the bank card out.

Grabbing the card swiftly, Kaitlin turned around and exited the restaurant. Looking around, she found no sight of the men who exited earlier. With a sigh of relief, she headed to her car and began to head home.

With a stiff face, Kaitlin did her best to hold back her tears, but it was no use. With tears running down her face she arrived at her apartment building. Wiping her tears, she put on her cold face that she used to wear every day and entered her apartment.

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Ensen arrived in his apartment a few minutes prior to Kaitlin returning to the apartment building. After he had cooked a small meal he picked up his phone and began to call his student to notify them that school would be starting on Monday. Although he only had two numbers to call at this point, Ensen knew that his call with the orphanage would be a bit longer so he began with the siblings, Leah and Brian.

Afterward was the call with the orphanage. It went rather smoothly until the topic of transportation came up, although there was a minor interruption when Ensen heard a loud slamming noise coming from the hallway.

Unlike the siblings, they were a little far from the Academy. While Ensen brainstormed with the caretakers for a few minutes before coming to a decision, he would be picking them up every day for the next while.

While it was not the most practical option in the slightest, Ensen needed to save money where he could afford to.

As such, Ensen proceeded to do some chores and light research before bed.

Ensen decided to take a small look at his status before going to sleep.

[Ensen Fuentes]

[Education Points: 2]

[Academy Rank: Null]

[Age: 27]

[Math average: C]

[Science average: F-]

[English average: F-]

[Foreign language average: F-]

[Sports average: F-]

[Teaching average: D+]

[administration average: D+]

[Other]

[Skill Market]

[Product Market]

[Auction House]

Looking at his education points with a frown, Ensen thought to himself "I worked so hard to complete that mission, but all of those 100 points went directly to paying back the system. What a loan shark.'

Quickly drifting off to sleep, Ensen woke up the next day early to make sure he would get lots of work done on the opening today.

After a quick breakfast, Ensen heard a knock at the door.

Looking down, he found the situation familiar. There was a small note with a five-dollar bill taped on asking for more cookies.

Glancing at Kaitlin's door slightly, Ensen thought he saw an eye in the peephole but he couldn't be sure.

Smiling to himself, Ensen decided that a small delay wouldn't be the end of the world.

After spending a bit of time making another batch of cookies, Ensen filled up the usual container before dropping them off in front of her door with the money she had given him like before.

Heading to his car in a slightly hurried pace, Ensen knew he would have to work a bit harder to make sure he made the deadline.

Driving around town, Ensen soon found a small little clothing store near the edge of the city that had a big sale on.

'Well I know I'm tight on money, but what kind of principal would I be if my students don't even have clothes to wear.' Ensen thought to himself as he walked inside.

After browsing for around an hour Ensen managed to pick out clothes for each of his students. While he did focus a little more on clothes for the students from the orphanage, he did not neglect the siblings.

Looking at the three bags in his hands, Ensen knew that every penny he had spent had been worth it.

After running around to grab a few more things, Ensen returned home with a large amount of bags in hand. After placing all of the bags onto the kitchen counter, Ensen proceeded to grab a few things out.

'Okay, so their clothes, notepads, pens, then there's… where is it? Oh, there it is.' Ensen thought as he smiled softly.

Grabbing a small pile of gift bags that had been folded up, he proceeded to spend the next hour making a personalized bag for each person. Although he didn't know them too well at this point he had a rough idea about what they would like.