Dream High This education complex is divided into three sections. The first is primary to middle school, the second is high school, and the third is university. The Dream High group management team's decision to build all these sections on one premise allows students to draw inspiration from their upper school. These three sections share a common area that includes an art room, a music room, a dance room, and a gym. However, each school and the university also have separate spaces for these activities.
"I feel kind of bad for that little boy. He gets scolded every day because of us, and we never even cared," Kevin said.
"Yeah... We could have at least said sorry," Nivya admitted.
"But Miss Yaan never said anything bad to him. She even made sure he was okay," Sayan added.
"That's really sweet of her. Sometimes I wonder what's going on in that little head of his. He's so quiet for his age," Rain said with concern. Being the leader of the orchestra, he was the only one who talked to Isadul.
"Like sister, like brother," Sayan said with a small smile.
"You mean Anya? Yeah, I've never seen her say no to anyone. She's always with everyone, yet somehow, she's always alone. So mysterious. We'll never really know what she's thinking," Kiyara mused.
"But they're nothing like their elder brother," Ashvidh remarked.
"Ha! Ragav. I love his attitude. So cool..." And here we go again -Dion, who had been silent all this time, started fanboying over Ragav.
"Anyway, what do you all think about our new teacher? Do you think she really means it when she says she wants to understand us?" Kiyara asked as they walked.
"I... I don't know. We've never had a teacher like her before, have we?" Dion said, thinking back to what had happened in class.
"Hmm... You're right. But I think we should give her a chance. We've done everything to protect ourselves up until now. If someone is actually willing to understand us, maybe it'll turn out okay," Kiyara said thoughtfully.
"I agree. But we can't trust anyone too quickly, can we? We've been hurt before, and we've been through a lot. Still... I sensed something different about her. She didn't look at us with judgment, and she even looked after that little boy. I think we should give her a chance, just not let our guard down too soon," Ashvidh voiced his thoughts.
"That makes sense. We can start with the task she gave us before we left. Once we finish, we can work on it and hand it in," Sayan quickly agreed.
"Alright then, see you all later." They went their separate ways to attend to their own duties.
---
Meanwhile, Yunara collected the students' papers, where they had written about their likes and dislikes, and carefully placed them in her file.
"Alright. We still have a few minutes. I want to talk about what I'll be teaching this semester. I've been assigned as your Psychological Literature teacher. And as your class teacher, I'll also be helping with other subjects due to the lack of teachers."
"There aren't too few teachers. They just don't want to teach us. That's the real problem," a girl muttered, her frustration evident.
"It's okay. Let's try our best to be better than this. I'm with you."
Yunara's words brought tears to the students' eyes. They never heard anything like that.
---
Time passed like lightning.
Yunara sat reading through the students' papers, a small smile on her lips, though her eyes glistened with unshed tears.
"They must have been so alone and gone through so much," she thought.
She scanned their answers, trying to guess who wrote each one. It felt like a game. She enjoyed it, but more than that, she was trying to understand them. Then, a note caught her eye.
"Thank you for taking care of my little brother, Miss Yaan. I was so worried about him. He's going through a lot these days, and I hate that I can't do anything for him."
This was written at the end of a note. The writer had an interest in drawing, listening to music, writing, and taking care of loved ones. They hated arguments and feeling helpless when their younger brother was sad. They also disliked how their elder brother kept fighting with everyone and distancing himself from them.
"Who is this?" Yunara wondered.
The little brother they were talking about was most likely Isadul. That meant they had their own struggles as a family. She had sensed something was off about Isadul.
When she went through the papers, he thought about their behaviour and noticed similarities in their interests and dislikes. Maybe... I can do something.
After hours of reading, she returned to her daily chores.
She lived alone, but her home always felt lively-just as her grandmother used to say.
"The Song of the Secret Garden" played softly in the background. It was the music she always listened to when she needed warmth.
Memories surfaced- Some beautiful memories, bittersweet ones, ones she could barely remember, and some others she wouldn't dare revisit. They flashed through her mind like a film.
"Maybe one day, it will stop hurting," she thought.
She listened to the music and started preparing a simple dinner.
While waiting for her toast, she hummed along to the tune. She could almost feel it- a garden full of green, a house at the centre, singing and dancing around her grandmother as she played the piano... Her eyes welled up. Quickly, she wiped them, took out her toast, and began making another dish to distract herself.
---
At the same time, in another part of the village, a mansion-like house stood tall. From the outside, it looked warm and welcoming. But for those who lived inside, it felt like a cage.
"You're the reason we lost that contract!"
"No! You're the reason! If you hadn't interfered, I would have handled it just fine!"
"Oh, sure. If you say so."
"What? Do you think only you can do business? Remember, this is my hard-earned money too!"
As their voices rose, Anya sighed and headed downstairs.
This was nothing new. Her parents arguing over their business was a normal occurrence.
"Mom..."
"But if you hadn't said that-"
"Mom..."
"They would have given us-"
"MOM!" Anya raised her voice
"WHAT?" her mother snapped, making Anya flinch.
"Bear isn't feeling well. He's had a fever since this evening. He just went to sleep. Can you please lower your voice?"
"And I have a headache too," she thought.
"Oh. Did he take his medicine?"
"Yeah."
"Okay. Did you eat?"
"Yes, Mom."
"You can go to bed then."
"Okay, Mom. Good night."
"Hmm. Good night."
Anya went back to her room. That conversation didn't surprise her. They were always like this. But what she hated most was the shouting. They ignored what she told them.
"Ugh... Again... I hate this."
She lay back, put on her earphones, and played some music. But guilt started creeping in. She buried her face in her pillow.
"What the hell," she muttered under her breath, then tossed her pillow aside and got out of bed.
She went to Isadul's room.
When she reached him, she saw tear streaks running down his cheeks. Her heart clenched.
"I'm so sorry, my Bear."
Tears welled in her own eyes as well.
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