Chapter 51

Two days later, after the weekend ended, Taria and Ray went back to the city. They both had breakfast together then went out.

"Good morning, Taria"

"Good morning, Edrian"

"You seem tired, are you sick?"

"No no, I'm fine. I will go to class now, talk to you later", she said, then she left the teachers' room and headed towards the class.

Taria was tired, physically and mentally, yet that feeling disappeared once she heard the students talking about their classmate

"He got into another fight, what a beast"

"even his eyes are scary"

"I wish he wasn't at the same class as me"

"What are you talking about early in the morning? Talking behind a friend's back in unacceptable here", Taria said coldly after she opened the door fast, then she asked the students to stay calm and went out to look for Steven who was the hot topic to gossip about

She went to the back yard as the student said, and she found three students fighting against Steven who was already injured. Taria sent the students away after taking their names and classes to punish them later, then she took Steven to the clinic to treat his wound

"They were the ones who started it", Steven said calmly

"I didn't ask", Taria said while treating the bruises on his face and arms

"... thank you, for saving me", Steven said

"I didn't save you, I saved them. You know how to fight well. You was avoiding most of their punches easily, but your moves are unconfident and slow, to say it with other words, you were holding your abilities in", Taria said

"Ho..how did you know that?" Steven said

"You are not the first crazy man I meet in my life", Taria said, then she finished treating him and looked in his eyes, and said "I don't want you to fight in school again, however, never lose a fight that you can win"

"... they will call me a monster if I showed them that I can fight well", Steven said, with a concerned look in his eyes

"Who cares? Put yourself first, Steven, no one deserve being above you in your own story", Taria said, yet a familiar voice stopped their conversation

"Mommy, I'm here", Ray said calmly

"What are you doing here, sweetie?", Taria asked

"You forgot your phone at the teachers' room, and the kindergarten called asking you to come and take your son soon. I didn't want to interrupt your class so I went as it was my free time", Edrian said, then he looked at Steven and went to his side to check on him

"another fight, ha. Are you ok?" Edrian said

"Yes, teacher, thanks for your concerns", Steven said calmly, then he left the room and went to his class

Taria and Ray went to the class with Edrian, and on their way, he told them that everyone thinks that Steven killed his friend

"Steven was a boxer when he was younger. He liked that sport more than anything else in this world, and he even won the golden middle once. One day a year ago, he was fighting against his friend, yet that friend died in the middle of the competition. Steven was shocked, and he still blames himself for his friend's death even though many doctors indicated that the cause of death was a heart attack. After that, Steven never used his strength again, yet all the people whom he once won against started fighting him again, using his state as a key to win easily", Edrian said

Taria felt her chest tightened. Why would a child blame himself for the death of someone? and more importantly, how can someone use that to win? She wanted to talk to him and hug him tightly, yet she already missed a long period of the class time.

Taria entered the class, with a warm smile as she always does, and Ray entered after her, putting his hands on his pockets and wearing a steady face, making everyone in the class doubt that those two were blood related

"Is that really your son, teacher?"

"You don't look alike at all"

"I know, I know. He took after his father", Taria said

"Doubting your teacher's honesty is rude", Ray said coldly, making everyone's jaws drop

Ray sat beside Steven as it was the only empty seat, and he stayed calm all the time while his mother was teaching peacefully.

After the class ended, Taria asked Steven to help her with some paperwork, or that was what she used as an excuse to talk to him in private

"I heard that you were a boxer, there is a competition soon, are you planning on giving it a shot?" Taria said, yet Steven paused, then he looked at her smile while the look in his eyes was deep enough to give her chills

"No", he said coldly

"Steven… that friend…"

"STOP.. teacher. I won't go through this conversation anymore", Steven said

"NO, Steven. As your teacher I want the best for you", Taria said angrily

"You know nothing, teacher. How can you say that you know what is best for me?" Steven said, then he left the room saying that he had something to take care of.

During that time, students were gathering around Ray who was eating peacefully, unable to believe that someone as cold as him was actually the son of their warm lovely teacher

"Are they giving you a bad feeling?" Edrian said after he sat down beside Ray

"No, I don't care at all about them", Ray said calmly

"How old are you?" Edrian asked

"That is none of your business", Ray said, sending a shot into Edrian's heart, especially that he was doing his best as a person who hates young children

"How about your mother? She looks so young", Edrian said

Ray paused, then he looked at Edrian with a sharp cold look and said "that. is. also. none of your business"

"Oh come on. You are so different from her", Edrian said, yet he didn't give up on having a proper conversation with that child who kept ignoring him

"Are you having a peaceful time?" Taria said with a smile on her face after seeing Edrian struggling to catch Ray's attention

"Hahaha, peaceful! yeah, peaceful", Edrian said, making her giggle softly

"Did you talk with Steven?" Edrian asked after Taria sat down with them

"Yeah… I think that boy needs help. Why isn't his family doing anything?" Taria said

"His parents have five kids other than him, they never even came to the teachers-parents meeting", Edrian said

Flames started in Taria's eyes, she stood up fast, raising her hands up, then she said "I will help him then. I'm going to make him the winner of the next competition"

Edrian smiled when he saw how energetic she was, but the cold looks Ray sent him forced his smile to disappear fast

"I.. you.. talk", Edrian told Ray via signs

"never", Ray replayed, giving Edrian's forehead a blue shade