Class Act

3

On the first day of school, Ten always had issues letting his boys walk out of the car by themselves. He wanted to hold their little hands, guiding them down the hallway, greeting their teacher, then telling them to have a good day. However, Hendery and Mark were well old enough to walk by themselves at the drop off circle. They were going into second grade after all, meaning they were now old enough to have their independence.

"Daddy!" Mark cooed, kicking excitedly in his seat, "Hyuckie and I are going to be in the same class finally!"

Ten chuckled, looking at Mark in the mirror. Mark and Donghyuck became best friends on the playground when they were in kindergarten. Hendery and Mark were in different classes and different recesses. Mark was scared to make friends, and Hyuck was the complete opposite. He had marched over to Mark, offered his hand, and they played for the rest of the time together. Ever since that, Ten tried his hardest to arrange play dates with Hyuck. Luckily, this year, they were finally in the same class.

"No fair!" Hendery pouted, crossing his arms, "I want Junnie in my class!"

"Junnie I think has the same playground time as us!"

Junnie, XiaoJun, had been friends with Hendery since he was in preschool. Luckily for them, they were paired in the same kindergarten and first grade class. This would be the first year they were separated, and Ten was dreading the stories Hendery would come home with because he was missing his best friend.

"Jun can have play dates, remember. That's what we did with Hyuck!"

Hendery nodded, still not satisfied with the answer, "Mr. Suh seems cool though. He has really cool glasses!"

Mark nodded, excitedly, "Yeah! And he's super duper tall! He's like, as tall as Uncle Lucas!"

Ten tried not to imagine their teacher towering over him by nearly half a foot while wearing spectacles. He fought the scenarios in his brain of calling him Mr.—

"Daddy, are you going to drop us off at the circle because we are big kids now?" Mark asked, sitting up taller.

Perfect intervention, "Yes! You two are all grown up. You don't need me to talk you down the halls anymore!"

Hendery whined, "So no first day kisses?"

"How about first day car kisses," Ten offered.

Hendery, seeming satisfied by the answer, nodded, looking out the window. The trio sat in silence, the sound of KidzBop filling the car. Soon, they arrived at the drop off circle and was greeted by Ms. Harper.

"Are you ready?" She asked, looking the boys, "We are so excited to see you this year!"

Ms. Harper was a nice lady, for being a white woman. Ten was scared at first enrolling his children in a school, then being half Thai and half Korean. After all the stereotypes that Asian Americans had, he worried about bullying, discrimination, and stereotyping. Luckily, he found a school and area with a large Asian population.

"Yea!" Mark grinned, undoing his seatbelt. He leaned over the Ten, pecking his cheek, "Bye Daddy! I love you!"

Hendery followed the actions, kissing Ten's other cheek, "Have a good day at work Daddy! I love you more than Markie!"

"Hey!" Mark said, flicking Hendery on the forehead.

"No fighting," Ten laughed, "I love both of you the same but wayyy more than you love me!"

"Daddy!" Hendery and Mark whined in unison.

"Now come on boys," Ms. Harper said, "Let's go see Mr. Suh! He is so excited to meet you!"

Ten watched as his boys ran up to the front door, and he smiled softly. He was glad he was able to experience these moments with his children. He started the car and drove off to his dance studio.

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Hope you enjoyed this little narration chapter!