TTRIA 4

Two small hands rested neatly on the fine fabric. Well-manicured nails and bright eyes full of curiosity. The owner of the note, with a voice whose gender was impossible to tell, was this very child. Jeff bent his waist to meet the child’s eye level.

“Yes, Mila. Thank you for welcoming me. I look forward to working with you too.”

Her round, plump cheeks turned red. It was because she realized he was greeting her about the note. Mila, as if pleased, smiled broadly and stepped back. Another child, who had been watching the girl’s actions, finally took a step forward and looked at Jeff.

“Hello. I’m Daniel Ward.”

His mouth, revealing a slight snaggletooth, opened wide in a bright smile.

“I’m sorry for being rude a moment ago. I was surprised because it’s the first time I’ve seen someone as cool as you up close, teacher. I look forward to working with you!”

The end of his sentence bounced cheerfully along with his lively smile. The way his freckle-filled cheeks wriggled and moved made him look like a rascal. Jeff returned the greeting with a faint smile.

“Thank you for calling me cool. I look forward to working with you too, Daniel.”

Now there was one child left.

Benjamin Torres. Despite being much taller than his peers, he looked utterly intimidated. His hesitation was evident as he darted his eyes here and there. The boy, after hesitating for a long time, avoided Jeff’s eyes and cautiously stepped forward.

“I, I’m Benjamin Torres….”

His small voice trembled as if it would dissolve into the air.

“A-age-wise, I’m the, the oldest, but… I’m probably the, the dumbest. I-I apologize in advance. Because t-teaching me will be very hard….”

“Benjamin Torres. That’s enough.”

Tsk, the agent clicked his tongue. His expression showed he was displeased with the boy’s timid attitude. Benjamin rolled his eyes, checking the agent’s expression. He looked anxious, clenching his hands tightly and watching for reactions. Jeff quietly took a step forward. As he stood with his back to the agent and closed the distance with Benjamin, the boy’s attention naturally turned to Jeff.

“You don’t have to apologize, Benjamin.”

When he spoke in a quiet whisper, Benjamin looked up with a surprised face.

“Let’s do our best from now on.”

“Yes, yes, teacher…!”

The tips of his ears turning red, the boy swallowed a small breath and returned to his spot. Jeff, after exchanging greetings with the children in turn, looked back at the agent.

“Now that we’ve introduced ourselves, I was thinking of moving to the study room with the children. Will you be observing the test as well?”

The agent shook his head.

“No. My role ends here. From now on, the education of the gifted children is entirely entrusted to the teacher. You can submit the lesson logs to the butler from now on.”

“I understand. Then I’ll be on my way.”

Jeff, with a light bow, gave a nod to the servant who was standing guard in a corner of the reception room. The quick-witted servant led the children out of the room. As they got further away from the reception room, the children began to exchange glances and let out sighs. A laugh escaped him at their appearance, as if they had just overcome a major hurdle. It seemed the stiff and authoritarian agent had made them uncomfortable.

The children’s study room was a space decorated with light green wallpaper and intricate raised plasterwork. It had good lighting, creating a fresh yet warm atmosphere. In one corner of the room, three desks were already prepared, and the children sitting in front of them quietly looked at Jeff. Their gazes were a mixture of nervousness and anticipation. Jeff, with a light smile, called for the servant.

“Is there anything you need?”

“Could you prepare some light refreshments for the children to eat?”

“Of course. What would you like, Mr. Lowell?”

“Coffee, please.”

“Yes. I will prepare it right away.”

Only after confirming the servant had left did Jeff approach the children. As he lightly shook the test papers in his hand, the children’s gazes all turned towards the paper.

“You know what’s in my hand, don’t you?”

“Yes.”

The children became noticeably quieter.

“Are you nervous?”

To Jeff’s question, the children answered with their own expressions. As he placed a sheet on each table, Benjamin, in particular, squeezed his eyes shut as if facing something fearsome. Seeing this, Daniel lightly patted Benjamin’s back and muttered playfully.

“It’s okay, Benjamin. The paper won’t hurt you!”

Mila, on the other hand, scanned the test paper with sparkling eyes.

“The test is just a formality, so you don’t need to be nervous. There’s no need to fear the results either. Just try to have a conversation with the sentences written on the paper. It’s good if you can communicate, and if you can’t, you can just learn with me step by step from now on.”

The three children, their ears perked, looked at Jeff. Jeff continued with a slight laugh.

“But there’s one thing you have to do. You have to fill in the blank spaces on the paper, one way or another. I’m not telling you to fill it with the answers to the questions, so relax your face, Benjamin.”

Jeff flicked the boy’s furrowed brow.

“For example, you can freely write things like, ‘I don’t know what this means or what it’s trying to say. I don’t know what kind of answer you want. Or this symbol looks like something. This sentence makes me think of this. I don’t know the answer to this question, but my thoughts are this.’ If it’s hard to express in words, you can draw a picture. Just fill the paper somehow. Then I, too, will accept your language, somehow. Do you understand?”

Just then, Mila raised her hand and asked a question.

“Is the answer not important?”

“Of course, the answer is important. Finding the answer is the purpose of the test.”

Jeff met each of the children’s gazes and added.

“However, what I want to check today is your attitude towards the problems, rather than whether you can get the answers right. I hope you will try to have a conversation with yourself when faced with a problem, rather than leaving the answer blank because you don’t know. Sometimes, as you have a conversation, you can naturally infer the answer.”

Jeff pulled over an empty chair and sat among the children. As he crossed his long legs and opened a book, the children’s gazes, filled with admiration, gathered on him. This was the perfect place for self-admiration. As children often do, they tend to admire adults just for being from the city. Jeff, finding it funny that he too was seen that way, opened his mouth.

“Alright, everyone. Shall we begin now?”

It was the perfect thing to say to divert their attention.