The next morning, Arcane went to school as usual to teach mathematics. Before that, he went to the principal's office to say that he had finished making the math questions that would be given to the 12th grade students.
Considering they were about to graduate and would have to take several exams to test their competence.
"Let me see them," said the principal, then he checked the questions and seemed very satisfied with Arcane's work.
"The questions you made look neat and are also very clear for the students. I may not be as good as you at math and know if the questions you made are really helpful, but I'm sure you've done your best," he said again with a friendly smile on his face.
"Thank you." Arcane nodded his head, understanding the praise. "Everything I do is for the good of the students."
When the principal was about to return the flash drive he had borrowed from Arcane, the man looked at his face with a blank stare.
He looked at the math teacher as if he recognized the man's face but not Arcane. There was sadness in his gaze, as if it reminded him of something.
Arcane, realizing this, immediately took the flash drive from his hand.
"Mr. Stamford? Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked.
The principal, Donald Stamford, snapped out of his reverie and waved his hand. "It's nothing. Sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable."
"It's okay. I'm fine."
Donald then allowed Arcane to return to the staff room and prepare for the first class. The math teacher nodded slightly before finally leaving the principal's office.
He left the principal with a head full of questions, every time he saw Arcane in front of him.
It was as if a painful past had appeared before him.
Arcane himself stood silently in front of the principal's office door after closing it. He felt that Donald was thinking about something at the moment, and if that was true, it meant that the principal remembered something just as Arcane had hoped.
"Let him think about it all himself, until he realizes what should have been obvious from the start."
******
He taught as usual throughout the day, and unfortunately that day he had a teaching schedule in class 2A, where Freya Morgan was, the student he always tried to avoid.
Although he acknowledged that all classes with series A and B were very smart students compared to C to E. But he felt uncomfortable every time he entered class 2A because of the presence of that student.
"Good afternoon, everyone. I want you to study for 15 minutes, then I will give you a short test by asking you to solve five math problems without looking at your notes," he said while in classroom 2A.
The students immediately took out their books and began studying independently, memorizing all the math formulas and how to solve them for 15 minutes.
"If there is anything that still confuses you and you don't understand, you can ask me now. Come forward and bring your books to show me the formulas you don't understand," said Arcane again.
He hoped that the student sitting at the back would approach him, but the one who came to his desk to ask a question was one of the students sitting at the front, and that student was Freya.
"Mr. Romano, I want to ask about this formula. I still don't understand how to solve it," said Freya in a spoiled tone, as if she was trying to make her voice sound cute.
"What a pick me girl," muttered several female students who were whispering to each other.
"Sure, what part don't you understand?" asked Arcane, acting normal in front of her. He even kept his distance when they leaned over to look at the book on the table.
Freya pointed to a complicated formula, and he explained it to her. Using the pencil in his hand, he scribbled in his student's book to explain the formula.
Instead of paying attention to the book on the table, the girl was focused on his serious face as he explained.
Realizing that she was staring at him, he tapped her forehead with his pencil.
"The explanation of the formula is in the book, not on my face. Focus, there are only 5 minutes left in class and I won't explain it again later," he said firmly.
Freya, who had been tapped on the forehead with a pencil, felt so happy, as if Arcane was tapping it right now. In the girl's eyes, she felt that mathematics was tempting her, like teachers trying to be nice.
After 15 minutes had passed, Arcane finally wrote 5 questions on the whiteboard and asked his students to work on them on a piece of paper he had distributed.
He then sat down, watching them to make sure no one was cheating or working together. But once he also looked at his cell phone, which was exchanging messages with Julian.
[JULIAN]
What are you cooking tonight? I'll go shopping. Just write down the shopping list you need for cooking.
[ARCANE]
Are you sure you can pick good groceries?
[JULIAN]
Don't underestimate me! I know what's good and what's bad!
He chuckled softly as he read the message, knowing that Julian only meant to help him. Lately, he had been coming home late and was too tired to go shopping for dinner.
So, for the past few days, Julian has offered to do the grocery shopping himself. Arcane will be the one cooking.
Since Julian had already sent a message asking for a list of ingredients for dinner, Arcane typed out a few items he needed. He also transferred some money so Julian could go shopping.
[ARCANE]
Don't buy any more ice cream. You've been eating a lot of ice cream lately. If you get sick, there will be no one to take care of you at home.
[JULIAN]
Relax! I'm not so weak that I'll not get sick just from eating ice cream!
Once again, he smiled slightly every time she read Julian's messages, because he always included emojis and stickers that Arcane found cute.
Without him realizing it, one of his students who had just finished a small exam was looking at him smiling at his phone.
For some reason, it made the student feel so jealous, unhappy with the fact that someone could make him smile like that while she couldn't.
'Who is he texting? Could it be his husband?'