Ch.24Chapter 24. Entrance Ceremony (3)

Anyone could see it wasn’t an accidental fall.

I saw it clearly.

Cuss naturally tripped the girl behind her with a shoulder throw and sat on her.

I’m certain because that’s the move I often used on Cuss.

“Oh my god…”

But why did that crazy girl learn that move only to use it on some kid she just met?

Getting expelled for school violence on the first day wasn’t part of the plan.

“Oh my! Are you okay?”

Fortunately, it didn’t escalate into a big issue.

I was too far to hear clearly, but I could tell it was resolved peacefully.

Soon a teacher arrived, and the flattened girl got up by taking Cuss’s outstretched hand.

“Oh my. Looks like your feet got tangled.”

“Yes, they did.”

Apparently, I was the only one who noticed she deliberately tripped the girl.

That’s fine.

The rule is that if you’re going to hit someone, do it without leaving evidence.

I should also teach her later that if she’s going to hit kids, aim for the stomach, not the face.

“But that girl… is she really a new student?”

“She’s so tall?”

“Did she develop early?”

I heard murmuring around me, and sure enough, they were talking about Cuss.

I was so focused on Cuss that I hadn’t noticed, but looking at the whole scene from a distance, Cuss stood like a giant among the group of children.

The kids were busy looking up at her in amazement.

Was it too much to send someone her size to first grade?

No, that’s not it.

Her common sense is worse than a kindergartener’s.

If possible, I’d have sent her to kindergarten, but that didn’t seem right, so I bumped her up to elementary school.

I have no intention of transferring her to a higher grade now.

Unless Cuss studies well enough for grade acceleration.

Though that’s unlikely…

“Now we will begin the entrance ceremony. First, the principal will welcome the new students…”

After that, a formulaic, boring entrance ceremony followed.

I expected something different from an American aristocratic school, but there was nothing special.

Well, talking about aristocracy in America, especially in LA, is laughable to begin with.

Throughout the principal’s speech, Cuss fidgeted uncomfortably but didn’t cause any trouble.

That was a relief.

“Alright! Now we’ll take a tour of the school with a brief introduction! It will take about an hour, and parents are welcome to wait in the café next door~”

The entrance ceremony itself seemed to be over.

The students lined up and exited through the front door, while parents were guided to the back door.

I had to sit in my seat for a while to make sure Cuss properly stayed in line.

“So restless…”

As expected, she kept trying to leave the line and was being cautioned by the teacher.

Still, she didn’t show signs of picking fights with other kids like before.

Once Cuss disappeared through the door, I finally let out a deep sigh.

“Not easy, is it?”

“Excuse me?”

When I came to my senses, a chubby middle-aged man was sitting next to me.

Looking around, almost all the parents had already left…

“Who are you?”

“Julien Mehmed. I’m the vice principal of this school, ho ho.”

“Ah. The one who helped with Cuss’s admission…”

“Yes, that’s right. Ho ho.”

I politely turned and shook hands with the man who called himself the vice principal.

He had the physique of someone who might be called the king of the slums.

“I’m very sorry to tell you this belatedly.”

“Pardon? What do you mean?”

“Complete tuition exemption has become difficult, and after our meeting, it seems you’ll need to pay 30 percent. Complete exemption isn’t impossible, but that would require admission as a special student, which could…”

“Lead to stigmatization, right?”

“Yes, exactly.”

Even an expensive aristocratic school for the elite can’t openly practice discrimination.

On the surface, it must appear that anyone can enter and graduate.

So they have a special admission system for academically gifted but poor students, but as with any such system, there are side effects.

If it becomes known that Cuss is a special student, she’ll inevitably be bullied for being not just stupid but also poor.

“30 percent. Yes, I’ll pay it.”

“I’m truly sorry.”

“Not at all. I’m grateful just for approving her admission.”

I’m not worried about Cuss being bullied, but I am concerned that an irritated Cuss might go berserk.

With her temper, she’d tear off the bullies’ balls and give them vasectomies.

Because that’s what I taught her to do.

“It must have been a difficult decision… you’ve been through a lot.”

“Pardon?”

“When a child stands out like that, both the child and parents experience stress. That’s why some parents force their children into higher grades even if they can’t keep up with the curriculum.”

“Yes…”

“In that respect, enrolling her in first grade was a very good choice. If she learns quickly, I’ll do my best to give her opportunities for grade acceleration.”

“Thank you.”

Such detailed consideration.

Of course, if she never gets accelerated, she’ll be well past adulthood by the time she graduates.

I’ve truly received a great favor.

If he ever ends up in prison, I should repay him by passing on some tips for survival.

“Oh my. I’ve kept you too long. Social networking among parents is also important at this school. Though I don’t know much about that… haha.”

“Yes. I’ll be going then.”

I shook hands with Julien once more and stood up.

He truly had the physique of someone who might love McDonald’s, yet showed the qualities of an educator who loves children.

While the vice principal probably can’t directly intervene much, I feel that with him around, Cuss won’t face unreasonable injustice.

As I headed to the back, a person who might be a teacher or staff member who had been guiding parents earlier was waiting for me.

Following her guidance, I arrived at a spacious café located in the same building.

“So, my son… Oh.”

“…”

“…”

The atmosphere in the café became awkward as soon as I arrived.

What the hell.

Is my attire shabby?

No, I came wearing a proper, neat suit.

If it were about my clothes, people would have given me strange looks from the moment I entered the school.

It must be because of the incident during the entrance ceremony.

And there aren’t many possibilities for what that incident might be.

“I’ll have black tea, please.”

“What kind would you like?”

“What do you have?”

“Darjeeling, Assam, Earl Grey…”

“Assam, please.”

“Yes, order received.”

I sat at the only empty small table and ordered a drink.

I wanted to order coffee, but this place seemed to specialize in tea…

After I sat down, some people resumed their conversations, but I could still feel eyes on me.

“Are you Cuss’s father?”

“Honey, why are you…”

“…?”

As I waited, a smiling woman approached me.

Behind her, a man followed with a bewildered expression—probably her husband.

They were an exceptionally youthful-looking, attractive white couple.

“Yes, I am. May I help you?”

“No, I was just curious. Everyone was just talking about Cuss until a moment ago.”

“Ahem, hmm.”

People around us cleared their throats and averted their gazes.

Well, it’s understandable that she would be a topic of conversation.

Whether good or bad.

A child who clearly looks like she should be in sixth grade being a first-grader…

“If it’s not too intrusive, may I ask about your circumstances?”

“Honey, asking such things…”

“Oh, why not? I’m curious. If it’s rude, he won’t answer.”

“…”

What an interesting couple.

The husband seems to be under his wife’s thumb.

Looking closely, I can see the husband operating his phone with his left hand near his left ear, indicating he’s left-handed.

Yet his bangs are parted and swept to the left.

If a left-handed person styled their own hair, they would find it easier to sweep it to the right.

This suggests his right-handed wife combed his hair for him.

It might be too much to say he’s completely dominated by his wife, but at least a man with extreme pride wouldn’t let someone else style his hair on such an important day.

“Before that, shall we introduce ourselves? I’m Jinsoo Kim, Cuss’s father.”

“Ah, yes. I’m Sarah Tales. This is…”

“Alexander Tales.”

“We’re Alice’s parents. Hoho.”

I shook hands lightly with the couple.

Alice, huh.

I don’t recognize the name.

Do people here already know each other?

“By the way, Alice is the child who was involved when your daughter fell earlier.”

“Ah. I’m truly sorry about that.”

Son of a bitch.

No wonder they came over to confront me.

So they’re that Alice’s parents.

If Cuss tripped her, that Alice girl must have provoked her first.

I can see it without even being there.

Oh, they might not understand the term “video” these days.

“It’s fine. So, may I hear about your circumstances?”

“Cuss was an orphan. I adopted her recently.”

“Oh my…”

“So I wanted to send her to school, but her knowledge level was too low to match her age-appropriate grade.”

It’s not something to proudly announce, but I couldn’t just stay silent when asked.

And lying would be pointless as it would be discovered quickly.

“Ahaha… You must really love your daughter.”

“Of course.”

Look at that bitch’s fake laugh.

So damn annoying.

I responded with an equally forced smile.

“Is your wife too busy to come?”

“My wife… is no longer in this world.”

“Oh!”

Oh shit.

That slipped out.

I should have said I wasn’t married.

But it’s too late to take it back now.

Inadvertently, I’ve become a widower who lost his wife shortly after adopting Cuss.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. I hope my daughter and your daughter get along well. They’re in the same class, I believe.”

“Hoho. Indeed. What do you do for work? By the way, my husband…”

“I do this.”

She nudged her husband’s side, and he took out a business card from his pocket and handed it to me.

What? I thought the wife was the breadwinner since she seemed to control her husband.

“…!”

I flinched slightly after checking the business card.

Alexander Tales, was it? This man was a prosecutor working for the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office.

Could he have approached me knowing about my past?

“Haha, the card is a bit wrinkled. I don’t have many occasions to hand them out.”

“…”

Judging by his expression, that didn’t seem to be the case.

Well, it was a case from 10 years ago, so anyone who handled or saw my case would be well into middle age by now.

Unless they specifically investigated me, there’s no way they would know about a case from 10 years ago.

“I’m an engineer. I work at Tactum company.”

“Ah… an engineer…”

These people are terrible at managing their expressions.

Their faces seemed to question how a single father engineer with an adopted orphan child could get into this school.

Well, without the manager’s connections, Cuss would have been rejected from the document screening stage.

“That must be tough work. Not many people take on such jobs these days.”

“…”

But they’re openly looking down on me.

Despite appearances, my salary is higher than that of a district prosecutor.

Though not enough to afford the murderous housing prices at the Station…

“Ah… haha… It was nice chatting. Well…”

With an awkward laugh, Sarah and Alexander slowly backed away.

They gave me all their contempt, said what they wanted to say, and left.

They probably noticed the calluses on my palms and assumed I did manual labor. In reality, they’re knife scars.

An engineer… while that might be considered middle-class by general societal standards, to the people here, it’s at the very bottom of the pyramid.

“Your tea, sir.”

“Thank you.”

After the couple left, no one else approached me.

I didn’t particularly want to join any conversations either.

I slowly savored the black tea with Marlene, who had come with me.

“Hmm.”

It’s so bitter.

I shouldn’t have ordered something I don’t usually drink.

***

“Jinsoo!”

Cuss called out to me from a distance and came running.

I thought she would stop appropriately in front of me, but she charged right in and headbutted my stomach.

“Ugh.”

Wondering if she wanted to fight, I checked her face.

“Hehe…”

That didn’t seem to be the case.

Cuss bumped her forehead against my chest a few times before backing away.

“Are you affection-deprived?”

“Affection-deprived…? What’s that?”

“Never mind… Let’s go now.”

“Okay!”

I headed to the parking lot with an inexplicably energetic Cuss.

Judging by her good mood, nothing bad must have happened while touring the school.

I don’t mind if the parents look down on me, but I hope they don’t do the same to Cuss.

I’m the only one allowed to discipline this girl.

I drove out of the parking lot with Cuss.

“How was school?”

“Super big.”

“And?”

“Super spacious.”

“And?”

“Umm…”

Her impressions were too sparse.

Is it due to limited vocabulary, or did she just not pay attention?

The school must have emphasized its traditions and explained things thoroughly, but Cuss probably didn’t absorb any of it.

“You didn’t cause any trouble, right?”

“I didn’t. I followed the teacher’s instructions well, just like you told me.”

“Good, good.”

Well done.

Honestly, I was really worried until this morning.

Now I feel reassured.

I’m confident Cuss will do well in school.

“What was that about tripping the girl behind you in the auditorium?”

“Oh, that. I did it on purpose.”

“Why?”

“She lifted my skirt and saw my tail.”

“What?!”

The car screeched to a sudden stop.