We're in This Together

Episode 21 (Part3)

After completing our relay race, we continued with more games involving both kids and their drivers. Everyone eagerly participated until we took a lunch break, during which all eagerly joined our food gathering. It took nearly a couple of hours to finish the break. However, despite the break being over, I hadn't had my lunch yet because I was busy feeding some of the kids who needed assistance. As the lunch break ended, the kids were full of energy again and eagerly awaited more activities, while we were nearly exhausted. I let out a deep sigh, resting both hands on the food counter as I glanced towards the kids.

"How do they still have so much energy?" Lily appeared from behind me and remarked. I simply nodded in agreement instead of speaking. I was completely exhausted from participating in the relay race, managing the food count, and feeding some of the youngest kids. Therefore, I didn't have much energy left to respond to Lily. She gently placed her hand on my shoulder.

"I'm sorry for disrupting your holiday, Jennifer," she said slowly. I could sense the nervousness and sorrow in her tone. I let out a small sigh and turned slightly towards her.

"I'm fine, Lily. I'm just a little tired," I replied with a weak smile, doing my best to muster some cheerfulness. She returned the gesture with a small smile, gently rubbing my shoulder. Then, she turned her attention back to the kids.

"I guess it's my turn now," she said with a wink and walked towards the kids

"I'm afraid, but would you be okay with cleaning up the stuff?" She paused her steps and asked me again.

"It's okay, I'll handle it," I nodded in agreement. As she heard my agreement, she swiftly ran towards the kids and led them back into the school with her. As soon as they disappeared from my view, I let out a tired smile, wincing a little because my back hurt. After a few seconds of a short break, I started cleaning up the food area, rearranging chairs and returning them to the storage room, along with various other tasks.

As I busied myself with the cleaning up, I heard footsteps slowly approaching from a distance. As they drew nearer, I heard someone calling out my name.

"Hello there," Charles greeted as he entered the area. I slightly turned my head towards him.

"Hello, Charles," I returned with a small smile.

"Can I help you?" he swiftly added with his soft smile. I paused for a moment and looked up at him.

"Well, be my guest, Charles," I swiftly answered with a huge smile, which he also returned. With Charles's help, all the tasks I had to do were swiftly completed in an hour. As we both placed some items back into boxes and returned them to the storage room, we shared small chuckles and sighs of relief.

"Well, I think we're done," he said with a small sigh.

"Yeah, I have to thank you for your help, Charles," I added with a small smile. As he heard my words, he turned his head slightly towards me, looking at me with soft eyes and a gentle smile.

"Would you like to have coffee?" he asked before I turned my heels towards the field.

"Sounds good," I replied with a small smile. Then, we both slowly walked into the school and took a seat on a bench in the school's courtyard.

"Here's your ready-made coffee," I said with a small giggle, and he chuckled in response.

"Sometimes these coffees hit different," he added as he took a sip from his paper cup. I nodded in agreement and took a sip as well. We both sat in comfortable silence, taking in our surroundings, until he broke the silence by starting a conversation.

"By the way, you're really good at sports, Jennifer," he said.

"I was a decent athlete when I was young," I replied with a chuckle, and he joined in with small chuckles. Then, he paused for a moment and looked at me until our eyes met. Without saying anything or breaking our silence, our gazes locked onto each other, delving into our souls. A slight smile slowly appeared on his face