Chapter 28: School (5)
One boy stepped forward. He had short black hair and an angry look on his face. He was clearly annoyed by Adam’s words.
"Teacher," he responded, his voice full of cynicism. "If you think we are so worthless and you say that you are very rich and left your business to come here... well I do not think you look rich." He looked Adam up and down.
"In fact I think you are lower than the lower middle class. You probably live on the street."
Adam had expected a reaction like this. He had known his words would provoke them. He had been looking down at his own hands with an air of arrogant boredom.
Now he slowly lifted his head. He looked at the boy who had spoken. There was no anger on his face. No reaction at all to the boy’s insult.
In his mind Adam felt a pang of sadness. He thought You are right and you are wrong. I was poor before. But what I told you now is not a lie. Of course the students could not hear his thoughts. All they saw was his calm arrogant expression.
Adam pointed a single finger at the boy. He crooked it beckoning him forward. "Come here," he said his voice soft but commanding.
All the students in the class were shocked by Adam’s attitude. The boy himself was also surprised. He had thought this teacher was just another new temporary hire. That’s why most of the students had been ignoring him.
But when Adam had called them worthless it had hurt their pride. They wanted to argue with him. They wanted to prove that they were not worthless.
When the black-haired boy had tried to insult Adam everyone had expected the new teacher to get angry. They were surprised to see that Adam was not angry at all. He was acting very arrogant. As if he really was very rich.
The boy walked forward. He stood in front of Adam. Adam looked down at him. "What is your name, short boy?" Adam asked. His tone was dismissive.
The boy’s face turned red with anger. He hated being called short. It was a sensitive topic for him. It was a name that had been used to tease him by only a few people.