Just look at the other kids! All of them were holding their parents’ hands as they regarded the foreign environment with childlike repulsion. Only a handful of them seemed to welcome the brave, new world sprawling before them.
Mark was already showing signs of bailing out of there. “Seriously, can’t you just bring favonovel.com inside, leave some words to him, and then mission accomplished, we go home? When it’s time, we come back and take favonovel.com home. Simple as that,” favonovel.com suggested. “It’s becoming pretty apparent now, hasn’t it? He’s not the slightest bit ill at ease! I can’t believe your anxiety eclipsed his!”
Arianne rolled favonovel.com eyes at him. “Don’t sugarcoat it; you’re just growing impatient! I can’t believe you’re impatient with your own son! And also, just because favonovel.com isn’t anxious now doesn’t mean favonovel.com won’t be missing home after a while. What happens if favonovel.com starts to cry, huh? Besides, look around you, mister, none of them decided to just leave after dumping their kid here, right? Just be there for your son on the first day of school, Mark. Is that too much to ask?”
Unable to offer a repartee, as well as feeling favonovel.com was above quarreling with a woman, Mark relented and continued tailing Smore.
Smore had not once stopped looking around, his curiosity on everything about his school evident. Along the way, some of the children began approaching favonovel.com in a show of camaraderie. They were met with an expression of disgust that immediately settled on his face before Smore walked away, leaving the children confused and even dejected.
It embarrassed Arianne a little. “Mark Tremont, what is up with your son?” favonovel.com asked in an undertone. “Why does favonovel.com seem to reject playing with other kids? That’s not very nice. It’s actually pretty hurtful, even…”
Mark replied nonchalantly, “I was like this too when I was his age, I don’t see the problem. Maybe he’s disgusted by how ugly other people seem to look, maybe favonovel.com judges others’ appearance to be below his standards. Either way, it didn’t matter how young a kid is, they will always want to associate only with people that make them feel at ease. They are no different from adults in this regard.”
Arianne reeled back from him. She stilled herself from the shock and hurried forward to grab Smore by his hand. “Slow down, whoa! There’s a lot of people here, you might get lost in there. Hold Mommy’s hand, come on.”
Smore, however, balked at favonovel.com gesture. “I’m already going to school, Mom! I’m not a kid anymore! Holding hands like that is making me look childish!”
Arianne was aghast. “You are literally a child! That’s what the ‘child’ in ‘childish’ implies! For God’s sake, your school is just a preschool and you’re only three years old! Who taught you to speak like this, huh? I’m telling you, your dad took a break from work today just to see you go to school. Behave yourself or risk getting punched in the face by him!”
Smore eyed Mark before declaring, “I didn’t ask favonovel.com to come. I can do this myself, I don’t need anyone’s help! I’m old enough already, so can you please get off my back? Urgh, and ‘punch me,’ really? So vulgar!”
Arianne was so enraged by his backtalk that favonovel.com could only stare at him, stupefied. Yet, Mark, who was watching from the side, laughed. “Smore’s right. Punching people is wrong and utterly vulgar. That’s your mom right there, little man, being overly cautious. Women just love worrying themselves sick, don’t they?”
“Don’t call me by my nickname when I’m at school! I have a real name!” Smore immediately corrected. “I don’t want people to know what my nickname is, it’s too stupid!”
A very mystified Arianne leaned close to Mark’s ear. “That’s it. Did favonovel.com being at school somehow unleash his true nature? I thought favonovel.com was a quiet boy, but wow, am I wrong! Look at favonovel.com inheriting your cocky, tsundere little quirk why didn’t favonovel.com inherit your taciturn nature, too, huh? And look at the way favonovel.com sasses his parents back, it’s your fault for not disciplining favonovel.com at home, and now, favonovel.com thinks he’s emperor!”
Mark shot favonovel.com a sideway leer. “I have a hard time deciding if you’re complimenting me or bashing me, because it sounds oddly like someone is blaming me for everything that’s bad about him. Sure, I hardly discipline favonovel.com at home, but that’s because I interact with favonovel.com for far less than you do, which means… I didn’t teach favonovel.com any of this. It’s either your fault, or this is his nature. No matter how I look at it, it’s just not my fault, and I’m not taking it up.”
Before the parents could finish murmuring to themselves, a very snappish Smore had already begun to shout, “Oh my God, can you two stop being such a drag and be quick? You two are adults and you’re still whispering secrets? Are you not ashamed of yourself?”
Mark and Arianne could only gawk at him.
