CHAPTER 2

"I can?"

"Yes, why not?"

I imitated his cheery smile.

I can't help but show him how much I'm happy because of what he told me.

The vice president shook my hand and excused himself. I roam my eyes on the empty classroom.

I am a full-time teacher now to high school students, I passed the interview and met all the requirements, and because an English teacher resigned from this school last week, they had a vacant slot; they accepted me immediately. Not to mention I have a four-year teaching experience overseas, I'd like to think I became full-time because of my experience.

The vice president of this school informed me that I could still enroll my child in their kindergarten program. I didn't ask any further questions for fear that he might change his mind.

It was late in the afternoon, I was done with my teaching duties and went to the faculty room, my table was in the far corner and I passed a male teacher taking his burger in one big bite, a female who looked like a terror one and has a lot of weight on the side, and a lanky woman that's checking some paper.

I walked my way greeting the teachers silently until I arrived at my desk, I was excited to see Levi after I enrolled him in the same school where I'm teaching, just like what I said before I left him alone in the house by morning, he woke up extra early to walk me out of the door, he'll be so enthralled when I broke this news on him.

I don't want to leave him alone but his brave face and the promise we exchanged that I'll enroll him at the same school where I'm teaching gave me the courage to go throughout the day and asked the school.

"Hey." A hand tapped on my table caught my attention, she was wearing a silver bracelet with red stones around, I looked up to the owner of the hand and saw the lanky female teacher nearest to my table.

"Hi, I'm Candice, nice to meet you," she introduced herself and gave me a triangle-cut bread filled with orange mustard that she got from her drawer.

"I'm Sulli," I said and returned the smile but pushed back the bread she was offering.

"It's fine! We own a bakery," she insisted.

She placed the bread just beside the paper in front of me.

"You have a son?" She pointed to the birth certificate of Levi on my table and raised a brow at me.

I clasped my hands on my lap and avoided eye contact. "I'm a single mother."

The person I diverted my eyes to was also looking at me with a slight close-lipped smile.

"We're around the same age, you have your kid now huh? Nice." The female teacher who was overweight said, putting down her pen and rolling her seat at my table.

Candice looked at her for a second then she returned her haze to mine. "Hey, I saw your resumé, you graduated from law school? Why are you here then? Why didn't you practice?"

"Candice, that's obvious, of course, she got pregnant after she graduated law," the fat teacher answered for me.

I bit my lip and slumped my shoulders, she's not wrong though, in fact, I'm amused by how fast she computed the years and connected the dots on my history, she's like the person who doesn't need a resumé or an autobiography, just one look on a person with her keen eyes, she would surely hit the right words to say. I'd say she reminded me of a cartoon character Levi and I watched countless times, the character was a princess who got cursed and became fat and unpleasant.

"Nana shut up." Candice nudged her.

I hid myself more on my table and my lips formed into a thin line as my hands massaged the numbing pain on my legs; I'm not used to wearing heels.

"Excuse me, ladies, I heard your conversation." My eyes turned to the man who rolled himself on our side, he looked at me and smiled.

"I'm Jacob, by the way, I already introduced myself earlier, didn't I?"

"Yes," I replied and shook his hand, he's the one beside the vice principal that I saw earlier.

"I didn't know you have a son," he commented.

Those words ran through my head for a while, I hung up like a phone and wondered if I was not in the right place to have a child. I am, I'm at the right age, what’s the matter with them?

The bell rang and the vice president of the school entered to dismiss us, that's also their cue to go to their proper places.

I immediately arranged the papers on my table that Levi would need and sought for the Montessori.

Just a few walks away after I passed the rabbit cage where they kept a few rabbits was the kindergarten, the teacher smiled at me and instructed me to go to the head teacher.

She's like a breath of fresh air compared to the teachers around me in the faculty room, she's young and has a soft voice, and graceful movements that made me appeased with what was happening and what was going to happen.

"You're the newly hired teacher."

The teacher spoke softly but with weight and suspicion in her tone, it felt awkward I wondered what her true intentions.

I'm the newly hired teacher yet I feel like the Montessori already knew me. Maybe the vice president informed them, why am I suddenly overthinking things? I'm not the kind of teenager a few years ago, I have my son now, and I should think maturely.

-

When I arrived home, Levi welcomed me with warmth and sweetness, I decided to have our dinner at a restaurant so we walked out of the house again.

When we were happily walking on the sidewalk, Levi grasped my hand tightly. "Ma, about what I told you last night, I'm sorry."

His head was bowed down and he looked apologetic. "I shouldn't ask for my father. It's just that... the thought of you leaving me alone to find a job scared me, it should've been the job of a father, the job-finding one. You should stay at home, Ma."

"No, Levi, I get your point but you should not limit the job of a mother, you should not think that just because she's a mother doesn't mean she should stay at home and do all the chores, while the husband finds a job, some people may misunderstand you, who said that?" I said, walking slowly so that he could keep up with my pace, it was late afternoon, and the sun was setting in the west, I heaved a relaxing sigh and fiddled with the small hands of my child holding onto mine.

At times like this, I don't regret being a mother, I don't regret having a child whom I can talk and share my feelings and knowledge with.

"Auntie's husband did! He said a family should be composed of a father a mother and children! And the father has a job!"

I frowned but didn't let Levi see it, my sister's husband has a different viewpoint in life than mine, and that's why we left New Zealand for good.

We saw the end of the sidewalk, we waited on the side of the pedestrian lane to cross the sidewalk and a red stop sign signaling for us to stop would notify us if it turned green.

Levi watched as fast cars drove and I decided to crouch in front of my kid. "Listen, Levi, what uncle said to you is the common way, that's what it is, but you should know that each family is unique, sometimes it only has a mom and no father, and vice versa, that is also called a family, what important is: a family should love each other until the end."

A little kid in the corner of my eye suddenly showed up running and he was about to pass the road.

"So, my father does not love you?"

What Levi said made my eyes grow wide, I didn't hear the sound of the stoplight notifying us that it was safe to cross the sidewalk, and speeding cars passed by, it looked like a scene from the movie, I turned to face the road and didn't hesitate to push the kid away from a speeding car.

The next thing I knew was the car made a skid mark and Levi shouting 'Mom'.