From that day on, I started tutoring Jao-Jom in math one-on-one. I often felt that this child was pretending to be stupid. But whenever she realized that I noticed, she would act clumsy, writing numbers wrong on purpose. But I didn't pay much attention to this because I saw it as my duty as a teacher to do my best.
We met each other almost every day - morning, noon, and night...
Sometimes, I found her adorable. Other times, she was annoying because she was so talkative.
We were still a teacher and a student who sometimes had a cold relationship. I wasn't sure if it's normal or if it's because we were only a few years apart, which made us more like sisters. Besides, when we first met, we didn't know that
we would end up as teacher and student, so there was something inexplicable about our relationship.
For example, when I was caught keeping a cat in my room, Jao-Jom used it to blackmail me into tutoring her in math.
I’m someone who always follows the rules, never breaks them. The cat was the first thing that made me break my own rules for no reason, and I don’t like that about myself. It’s dishonest, a bad example. But more than that, being blackmailed by my own student and constantly worrying about getting caught makes me stressed out.
"I like you so much it’s driving me crazy. Please…don’t push me away."
It’s not like I don’t know…
Because once upon a time, I had a huge crush on Mr. Aekaphop. Even now, as we tried to date as adults, everything stayed within the boundaries I set. Nothing more than dinners, movies, or phone calls to check in on each other. I knew how Jao-Jom felt, so I didn’t want to hurt her too much.
I didn’t reject her, but I didn’t get her hopes up either.
"You’re too relaxed about it, making me feel a little weird. It’s like you don’t take my feelings seriously."
"Isn’t it good to be relaxed? It won’t be weird."
"Yes, but I feel like you’re too comfortable."
“...”
"Why is that?"
"That our relationship will never be possible."
Back then, I really thought so. There was nothing more to it than the affection a teacher has for a student who admires her. But rejecting her like that didn’t seem to lessen Jao-Jom’s efforts towards me. So I let the persistent child do whatever she wanted, since I had set the limit.
After some discussion, we became closer. Maybe it was because we shared the responsibility of taking care of Virarnarati-savitrithita, our cat. We had more to discuss, and I was surprised by her unusual abilities.
Jao-Jom could read minds...
Believe it or not, this ability got me thinking when a trainee teacher tricked me into talking in a secluded place. Fortunately, the persistent child saw it and helped me just in time. But it didn't surprise me as much as when she read a dog's mind in a grooming salon.
"Can you read a dog's mind?"
"But you don't believe me."
I was curious, but I didn't believe her, so I sarcastically pretended to ask her to read the dog's mind. Jao-Jom, seeing my obvious lack of conviction, became even more irritated.
"I can't understand dog language."
"Well, you can't communicate if you can't understand."
I was really foolish to believe for a moment that Jao-Jom had such a unique ability. For a moment, I was afraid that if Jao-Jom could really read minds, then what she said about Mr. Aekaphop having a family might be true.
