Chapter 236: Caretaker
Dasha’s birth—his survival—was the worst day in their lives. He had always known that. The fevour and joy that other parents took care of their children with was never seen in his parents. Their smiles were weak. They came late when he was supposed to be picked up for daycare. Everything revolving around him was half-assed.
They didn’t hate him. They just didn’t want him. But that wasn’t why he forgot this memory. It wasn’t due to his age or because his parents also wanted to forget it. It was a memory that naturally seeped into his brain. An event that kicked off everything. He was sitting by his lonesome in his new bed.
Five days passed.
No one talked to him save for his caretaker. She was nice. Everyone else was not. The older boys were mean and tall while the older girls hit people while laughing. The two sides were very divided and disrespectful. Everyone that was young or between them was forced to be their agents. Dasha remembered being told by the oldest boy to sneak into the girl’s section and dump a bucket of water onto one of them.
Dasha ignored the oldest boy. In return, he received a smack to the back of his head. It was his first time being hit. Dasha found the sensation to be peculiar. As he sat and mulled over the pain from the previous day, a shadow came over him.
"Dasha Pang, yes? My name is Dr. Ramsey. Nice to meet you." Dasha looked up. This man was smiling but he felt nothing in his smile.
"Hello."
Dr. Ramsey smiled. He was young with shoulder-length brown hair and crinkles at the edges of his eyes. "I’m here to conduct a study on bullying. Could you help me?"
Dasha nodded. Bullying, yes, that was a word that often echoed through the halls.