Nina nodded. “Alright.”She returned to her room, clutching her phone, her mind filled with various faces. Frustrated, she tossed and turned until she eventually fell asleep. When she woke up, it was already the next day.Remembering her promise to Mr. Micah to teach the children, she quickly got ready. The man’s mother had prepared some oat porridge for breakfast. Nina drank half a bowl and then set off for the school with the man. Thinking of the students’ mistakes from the previous day, she decided to start with teaching them the alphabet. The classroom was very basic, with a wall painted in black to serve as the chalkboard and short pieces of chalk. Nina wrote the alphabet on the makeshift blackboard and introduced herself in the Yaren language, “Hello, everyone. My name is Nina. Since Mr. Micah is away, I will be your substitute teacher.” Regardless of Mr. Micah’s true nature, these children were innocent. She aimed to help them and, at the same time, build a positive image in front of Mr. Micah, hoping it might lead her to the Pharaoh eventually. However, the children didn’t listen to her. They deliberately spoke loudly, ignoring her presence.”Quiet!” Nina commanded, understanding their resistance. She was determined to help them and take on the task she had accepted.A boy immediately retorted, “Just because you speak some English and you’re from Birkham, doesn’t mean you can boss us around!” Sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ (ƒ)indNƟvᴇl.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.Nina recognized the boy as Sean, the same one who had thrown the stone at her yesterday.”If you don’t want to listen, you can leave. Don’t try to create a disruptive influence here,” Nina said calmly, though her Yaren was a bit slow.”What’s a disruptive influence? You’re just accusing us of nonsense! You came here with bad intentions!” Sean shouted, then abruptly flipped his desk over.”Ah!” A girl sitting in front of him was knocked down by the desk and cried out in pain.Instead of helping her, Sean sneered, “Are you stupid? You should’ve moved out of the way!”The girl began to sob loudly. Nina’s expression darkened as she walked over to lift the desk and helped the girl up. She noticed a red mark on the girl’s back from the impact. Sean remained defiant and unapologetic. Nina reassured the girl, “Don’t cry. I’ll get you some medicine for your back. Sit over there and wait for me, okay?”After settling the girl, Nina approached Sean with a stern expression. Seeing a long ruler on the desk, she picked it up. “Hold out your hand!””No!” Sean responded defiantly, showing no fear or remorse.Nina knew she had to establish authority by dealing with the troublemaker first. Sean had caused the girl to get hurt by flipping the desk, so he deserved some discipline.She firmly grabbed his hand and gave it two sharp taps with the ruler. “You will stand outside until you realize your mistake. The rest of you stay here. If you don’t want to learn, you can leave!”Leaving the students behind, Nina took the injured girl to Mr. Micah’s room in the school.The other children, surprised by Nina’s strictness, quietly sat back down.Sean, however, angrily ran off, clutching his sore hand.