Forever Together

- 12 -

It was the last period in Henzel's school. He was eagerly waiting for Benno to come and meet his teacher.

Since his class will be over at 4.00 p.m., Lorenzo has promised that he will send Benno at 3.45 the noon.

"Hey Henzel, what about your father? Won't he come here and accept the reward which you and your father have to receive from the teacher?", his classmate said louder and mockingly to him.

Even though his intention was to make Henzel sad or to disappoint him, he failed in that.

"You wait and see. My father is not a guy up to your imagination. He's a very cool guy and doesn't take these silly things seriously. So, keep your such wishes with you.", Henzel said confidently and firmly.

The clock struck 3:55, Henzel was worried, since Benno didn't come.

"Henzel, Where is your father? It's 3.55 p.m. and the class is about to be finished.", the teacher asked Henzel.

"Yes Madam, h-he is on his way.", Henzel answered doubtfully.

When Henzel turned and looked at the doorway of his classroom, his eyes went stuck for a while, and he was shocked. He was really shocked to see that it was Jackson instead of Benno who came to meet his teacher.

The teacher approached Jackson on seeing him.

"Excuse me! You here for?", the teacher asked.

Henzel kept his ears sharply opened to listen to their conversation.

"Is that you who called Henzel's guardian to talk about his result?" Jackson asked her.

On hearing that, Henzel approached them.

"Sorry, I mean I wanted to meet his father, and not his brother. But it's okay, never mind.", the teacher told Jackson.

"Sorry! I'm not his brother, but the father.", Jackson said with a smile.

"Oops...! Sorry. I thought you are-"

"That's okay."

"So, you are Mr. Jackson O'Brien, right?"

"Yes, I am."

"Good evening. I called you here to convey to you, Henzel's marks for the latest exam. Do you wanna know how much he got?"

"Yeah."

"He ranks the topper in this class if we check from backward. He got just 5 out of 50.", she told Jackson gesturing to Henzel.

Henzel looked nowhere but down, scratching on his friend's table with his pencil.

"Henzel, look straight.", Jackson told him.

Henzel looked straight. The teacher handed over the paper to Jackson, "Please have a look at it, sir."

Jackson was so angry at Henzel.

"He was not like this before. Henzel was one of the brilliant students in our school." The teacher turned to Henzel, "Didn't you study for the exam?"

"But, I have an excuse," Henzel said.

"Excuse? After scoring just 5 marks, do you have an excuse? Okay, what is it?" The teacher asked.

"It was Ruth's marriage." He said.

"I asked whether you studied or not. If you have a good answer for that then speak." The teacher said.

"It was Ruth's marriage and how can I study in between the function?" Henzel supported himself.

"You were free. You had no responsibilities in her marriage. You should have studied. Now shut up!" Jackson said.

Henzel stayed silently, staring down. He was almost about to cry.

"Is he going for tuition?" Teacher asked.

"No," Jackson said.

"If it is difficult for him to study, it would be better to go for tuition." The teacher advised.

Jackson said nothing but just kept on listening to what the teacher is saying,

"In any case, you need to make sure that Henzel does not hesitate to study anymore." The teacher told Jackson. "Henzel, you need to worry about your own future. Your future will not be good just because others suffered and you just stayed in a safe zone."

"I'll look after his studies," Jackson assured.

"Oh, that would be so grateful of you. The session ending exam starts next week. Henzel, go home and start studying today itself. Don't waste time. I see a bright future in a brilliant student like you." The teacher smiled.

"Thank you," Jackson smiled and left. Henzel followed him. Jackson looked so angry.