The sign for the fourth class of the third grade reads the names of "Humbert" and "Striff" – indicating that the children in this classroom will be supervised by the two teachers. To be cautious, St. Thomas' Church Elementary accepted the new community member's job application, but it would not have put fifteen or twenty children into his hands for the time being, and in any case, it would be of some benefit to have an experienced and familiar teacher around him - brake him when necessary, or give him a gentle push at some point, just like the current child...... Oh, those are fearless little devils, and some of the new teachers will even be bullied to the point of crying.

The children entered the classroom before the first lesson, not very quiet, but not as noisy and chaotic as most people think, each child had their own orange tables and chairs, their school bags were placed next to their seats, Dolores carried his school bag on his back, and connected things that knocked over several people: "Sorry! The little girl shouted, continuing to cause trouble. Before that, another Kent kid slipped to the other side of the classroom early — like the inside seat in the second row on the school bus, which was also her exclusive place, though a little far from the teacher and the blackboard...... But it can avoid the tragedy (or farce) of being unfortunate enough to be in a group with Dolores in some activities, and the water cooler is just two steps away, so she doesn't need to leave her position when she wants to drink, just lean over and stretch her hand.

Anne folded her arms at the desk and placed her chin in the center of her arms, the child's body was full of energy, but Dolores's mental torture was more unbearable than housework and homework, she was always tired, and maybe she could lie on the desk and close her eyes and rest for a while before the teacher walked into the classroom - but she immediately saw a little golden-brown lamb, Sasha. Striff. Did he come to his father, Mr. Striff? It is possible that you may or may be lost. The classrooms of St. Thomas's Church Primary School are the same as other primary schools, in addition to hanging the teacher's name at the door, there will also be a sign hanging at the door, but other schools use all kinds of animals, and St. Thomas in order to show his identity as a church primary school, the door of each classroom is hung with religious figures, because every family living here will go to church on time to worship, and most children can easily identify the disciples of Jesus and other saints, but there are one or two exceptions every year...... The little boy sat down in an empty seat, and he pulled a book from his bag, and laid it on his desk, and Anne realized that her earlier assumption was wrong, because the book that the boy had brought out was the same book that their teacher, Mr. Humbert, had asked them to read.

The little brown-haired girl blinked tiredly, she had already expected what was going to happen, but Mr. Humbert motioned to Sasha, not Dolores, nor when she came to read aloud this abbreviated book of "The Biography of Francis of St. Five Wounds", Anne still involuntarily squirmed, like an invisible worm crawling on her skin, but even so, she performed better than Dolores, and Dolores smiled when Mr. Humbert's gaze swept over Anne without stopping, not only laughing, She also pushed the chair back with her ass, and she must have thought that Mr. Humbert would choose her to read aloud—but it was clear that Mr. Humbert had a new favorite.

Humbert's new darling did a good job, with clear pronunciation, correct sentence breaks, and the correct use of rising and falling tones, the only drawback being that the expression of emotions was not so distinct—but it seemed more suitable for reading aloud the reading material here, like the priest who stands on the reading platform to recount these sacred accounts for the faithful, and he does not need to shout, wave his arms, or make all sorts of exaggerated expressions, because the profound meaning of the text is already greater than the additional value that humans can give—it just needs to be complete. It is enough to state it clearly. Of course, children don't understand this, so they usually read it according to what they understand. For example, when a saint is being bullied, persecuted, or dies, the teacher rarely interrupts and instructs them...... After all, children who are only about nine or ten years old can read and understand the meaning in a cursory way.

The child was beautiful, and his voice was soft and steady—unlike the average child, whose vocal cords suddenly tense when certain syllables were pronounced—and his voice became more high-pitched than ever, which was not very flattering, and Anne noticed that Dolores was still shaking her chair impatiently at first, but now it had stopped, and she stared at Sasha, envious and unwilling. But what can she do? A year ago, Dolores was indeed quite popular with Humbert and even the teachers of the whole school, but after Anne appeared, the former's favorite child was changed, who can not put more snacks than the children who are excellent in learning, strong in hands-on ability, rich in imagination, delicate in appearance and gentle in temperament? Let alone......

The reading was over, and Humbert was praising Sasha. One of the reasons why Mr. Stryf, by the way, Sasha's father, Mr. Stryff will be teaching here, is that every teacher can't help but be more tolerant and value the children of their colleagues.

Dolores turned her head and grimaced at Anne.

A mocking grimace.

***

Lunchtime.

Lunches at St. Thomas' Church Elementary School are divided into two types, one that the children bring back from home themselves, and the other that the school provides, for two dollars a day, with a choice of drinks, staples, desserts and fruits.

Dr. Hopkins was a good father, and although the lunch provided by St. Thomas Church Elementary School was quite delicious and nutritious, it was clearly not enough to meet the requirements of "Mr. Striff", who prepared three meals for Sasha and himself, and brought to school lunch with vegetable juice, rye bread, cottage cheese, thinly sliced foie gras, shortbread and sour cream vegetable salad. The sour cream salad was freshly made – Dr. Hopkins stirred the tomatoes, cucumbers, purple cabbage, onion rings and sweet corn kernels with a small silver fork to mix well with the bubbly sour cream: "How's the morning class?" ”

Sasha smiled in a strange, but hard-to-generalize—he had seen and been familiar with all sorts of "people" from books and from Hopkins's palace of memory, but they were no match for their living kind, especially when they were so close to you—and though it was only one morning, he felt that he had received more information than in the previous year: "Interesting, perhaps," the child carefully chose the words, "but I think I was jealous, Although it has not yet reached the stage of rejection or hatred. (Hopkins raises an eyebrow), but I think it would have been a week or two for Mr. Humbert to stick to his attention. ”

Mr. Hopkins parted a small tomato with a small fork: "All of them? ”

"Almost everything." Sasha recalled, and there were a few that were particularly strong.

"Feelings?"

Sasha sighed and held his chin, of course there would be no kindergartens and elementary schools in the Amazon jungle, he couldn't get close to school when he was in a small town, the feeling of being envied by a group of children was quite new, but this kind of bad feeling was too mild compared to the malice he had encountered before, it was a little bit like being surrounded by little furry beasts with no teeth and gnawing in protest, he knew it shouldn't, but he still thought it was cute, "I understand," he knew his father was reminding him, No matter how young a child is, he is a human being, and "children often do things that adults don't expect. ”

Dr. Hopkins curled his lips to hide his smile as he tore open the bread and add foie gras and cheese to make a foie gras sandwich: "That's right." ”

Sasha's eyes widened slightly, but he quickly understood his father's words, because looking in the direction that Dr. Hopkins suggested, the dark-skinned, imperfect but vibrant little girl, Dolores. Kent was rushing straight up with her lunch box, her attention almost entirely focused on Sasha as if it were a glass of ice cream covered with syrup and fruit and nuts.

"I don't think that kid likes you."

"She hates me."

Father and son disagree, but Dolores' next actions seem to counteract their words—she invites Sasha to share her lunch...... Of course, she will also share Sasha's lunch.

An act that seemed extremely intimate and kind, but there were small sparks of evil in those black eyes throughout.

Truth be told, Dolores' lunch, though not as elaborate as "Mr. Striff" had prepared, had surpassed the inferior sandwiches and hot dog buns that most lazy and careless housewives filled their own children's lunch boxes with only two or three sandwich ingredients — Sasha saw oily, bright red sausages sprinkled with black peppercorns and a thick layer of spice-tomato sauce-tuned macaroni, almond bread, and fries underneath. The color is bright and the aroma is tangy.

Sasha suspected she had spat in her lunch.

Neither Hopkins Big nor Hopkins Jr. accepted this obviously ill-intentioned suggestion, but before they could say the first word of rejection, Anne. Kent solved the problem for them.

"Eat yours." Annie. Kent almost chased after Dolores, "This is what Mommy did. She added: "Just because you're playing this trick all the time, she's in charge of lunch and dinner from today onwards, unless it happens like yesterday...... Dolores, for God's sake, or the devil's sake, sit down and eat. ”

Dolores closed her mouth, her suspicious gaze scanning between her own lunch box and Anne's.

"If you have any questions, you can call your mother directly."

Dolores walked away with her lunch box in her arms, and Anne. Kent crinkled his face, "I'm sorry," she said, "I'm really sorry, but don't bother with Dolores, she and every new kid comes here like this, she just doesn't want to eat the lunch I made." She bit her lip with her teeth and started a child's complaint: "She always has trouble with me, as long as she can make me unhappy, she will do anything." ”

"It doesn't matter," said Dr. Hopkins tolerantly, "though I can see that your mother's craft is very good." But alas, Sasha couldn't exchange lunch with the others...... He is allergic to many things. He pushed the sour cream salad towards Sasha: "You used to make lunch...... Well? And maybe dinner? ”

"Mommy is pregnant," replied Anne listlessly, "I can't walk with a big belly, Dad works outside, and Dolores and I share the housework, she weeds, waters the garden, sweeps the leaves, etc., and I clean the inside of the room, do the laundry, and cook." Our age allows us to do these things......" she added in time, "not to mention that we can receive double allowances for housework." ”

"And I love cooking and doing laundry." "Unlike Dolores, she has an aversion to any kind of work, both mental and physical," she said. ”

(To be continued)