Irregularity

Rewarding Efforts

“Aiyo! Morning, Ren. What a great day, huh? Say, what are you planning to do on your birthday?”

Asking me something like that out of nowhere, there’s no way I can think of something on the spot.

“My birthday, huh? I don’t know. Since it’s the same day as the college entrance exam, I guess I’ll be studying?”

Right after I said those words, Ivan looked at me with a disappointed look on his face.

“Hey, Ren. I know I should be saying such things, but it's your birthday. Shouldn’t you at least enjoy yourself even for just a day?”

What’s this guy saying? I just told him that it’s the same day as my entrance exam. I can’t just skip it.

“Come to think of it, it’s been a long time since you got to celebrate your birthday. And for a few years now, I’m the only one who gets to receive a gift from you. That eats my conscience away every year, you know?”

“If it troubles you that much, then just a gift is fine. There’s no need to celebrate, is there?”

It’s true that I gave presents to Ivan every year, but it's not like he is the only I gave presents to. Though she may be irritating, I also give presents to Ema every time her birthday comes. I guess I just want to make the ones close to me happy during their birthdays. We’re still in high school, and I’m the one who has a part-time job after all, so it only makes sense for me to have a little freedom to give presents.

“You really hate celebrating it that much, huh? It’s like you curse the day you were born or something. Well, I can let you off this time since it’s the same day as your college entrance exam. It can’t be helped. Yup, it can’t be helped.”

While talking about my birthday, I can’t help but remember seeing Ivan that night. It’s been a few days since then so I was wondering if he got himself into some kind of trouble. I’m glad that wasn’t the case after seeing him in his usual self.

The day continued on like it is everyday. That’s what I thought but as soon as we were dismissed for the day, I was called to the teacher’s lounge for reasons unknown to me.

“Did I do something wrong, teacher?”

I asked my homeroom teacher who was walking with me to the teacher’s lounge.

“Hmmm, as far as I know you don’t have any offenses. It might be because of a request the school received a few days ago. As for the details, you’ll have to hear about it later when we get there.”

I have a bad feeling about this.

After hearing the initial information about the reason I was called, I have a really ominous feeling. What could it be to make me this nervous when I don’t get nervous this easily?

We arrived inside the teacher’s lounge and to my surprise, almost all the teachers had gathered. They all turned their gazes towards me that instantly made me feel uneasy. I immediately greeted them and bowed my head. The head teacher who was sitting in the corner waved his hand and called for me.

“Good afternoon, head teacher.”

“It’s good that you’re finally here. Did Mr. Oleg tell you anything yet?”

I shook my head after he told me that I will brief when I arrive here after all.

“Hmmm, I guess he doesn’t want to misspoke. Well, that’s fine. Please take a seat, Ren.”

The head teacher offered me warm tea. It was cold outside since it rained right before we were dismissed so it’s a good way to keep myself warm.

“Thank you, head teacher.” I said and took a sip of the tea which immediately warmed my body.

“I remember that you are shooting for a scholarship, right, Ren? As you already know, our school did not have any prior experience for having students like you shooting for college, so we haven’t prepared for anything. Considering how the people are living in our city, Sector D’s citizens are usually set to live their lives after they are evaluated.”

I understand the head teacher’s concern. I'm aware of it myself since public schools within our city are like the home for people who don’t have dreams and just want to finish at least secondary education. And within the entire history of our high school, this year’s batch was the first to show academic abilities.

It might feel honorable for us, but that spells trouble for the school which hasn't experienced such a thing in the past. They might feel troubled about the appearance of poor high school students shooting for college.

“We may not be able to support you here in our school, and we may have lost faith as well, but it seems like it’s not the end yet.”

The head teacher’s words surprised me. I was waiting for him to tell me to give up, however I did not expect him to speak in that manner as if there is indeed hope for me.

After saying that, he handed me a letter. I reluctantly received the letter but as soon as I saw the sender, I couldn't help but feel shocked.

“It seems like you are surprised about the sender of the letter. We were as equally surprised as you when we first saw it ourselves. It appears that word about our high school having promising students reached a few places. This request is not entirely from the company, but since the owner of the company is the one requesting, you can think of it as the company’s request.”

This is crazy. There is no way this is real. I was shocked. I was too shocked to even open up my mouth. If this is true then it will be a good opportunity for me no matter how I look at it. Before I get my hopes up, I need to understand why they picked me first.

“Why me?” I asked.

“You've been standing at the top of the rankings ever since you’ve started high school up to this day, it would be weird for someone other than you to receive it, right? As for the others, there are also minor companies willing to accept scholars. Your case is a bit different since the owner of the company himself requested you personally.”

I can’t help but smile. The moment I did, the head teacher also smiled and before I knew it, the other teachers were congratulating me. I’m so happy that I can’t express it with words. The head teacher knew it and shook my hand firmly.

“We're glad to have students like you studying here in our school even though we are so inadequate in so many ways. A rare gem will always show its brilliance even when surrounded and covered by mud.”

Hearing that made me so happy that I couldn’t think of anything else but look forward to how my parents would react if I told them the good news. But in order for that to be good news, I need to visit the address written in the letter so I sacrificed my 1 hour in the library to head to the said address. What is surprising is that it’s a bit close to my part time job, this will surely save me time later.

“Aurora BLDG, huh?”

I stood in a rather impressive building. Although it’s not as great as the skyscrapers in the news, it's good enough to catch anyone’s attention as it sticks out like a sore thumb. While looking around, I realized that there’s not many people going around the area. And what caught my attention in particular was the barricades that’s closing off an entire street section.

The door in front of me suddenly opened and I was surprised to see a tall man wearing an expensive tuxedo.

“Are you Ren Shury?” he asked.

His voice is rather deep as if he is speaking from under a really deep well. The way he stood firmly and intimidating height screams class. I have never been around such people in the past, so I don’t really know how to act nor respond other than bowing my head.

“Yes. I’m Ren Shury. I read the letter and was told to come here to this address.” I told him.

He looked at me as if he was trying to make sure I’m clear of anything before moving out of the way. His gaze felt like it could bore holes in my body so I was grateful that he was the only person, I was hopeful that he was the only person like that in the building, but I was wrong.

Right after entering, I saw countless people wearing the same tuxedo and the same intimidating gaze and presence. It made me feel like I came here to be imprisoned or something.

“Follow me, I will bring you to our master.”

‘Master’ huh? If they are this intimidating when they are just employees, I can’t even begin to think about their boss. We took the elevator and shortly reached the 5th floor. Just then, another set of people in tuxedos stood from both sides of an oversized door. It was like a scene I always see in movies. I thought it was amazing but if you’re experiencing it in person, it's rather overwhelmingly unnerving.

“This is as far as I can take you. Please enter, the master is waiting for you.”

He slightly opened the door, enough for me to get a glimpse of what is on the other side. But before I entered, I turned to the person who escorted me.

“Uhm, I know this is ridiculous to ask but isn’t there any etiquette I should look out for? I have never really met a high profile person in my entire life so maybe I might mess this up and…”

I panicked. It’s true that I have not met such a person in my life. What’s more is that this person might give me a scholarship and I don’t want to mess up such an opportunity the heavens have handed to me.

“Not at all. The master has already considered such a thing. Please do not make the master wait any more.”

Hearing that only made me more nervous that I couldn’t stop shaking. Once I enter this door, there’s no going back. It’s now or never.

I opened the door and right away, I saw a person standing beside the large glass window. I was mesmerized by the view before me. I can see everything below, the buildings, the cars, and the busy people going about their business that leave me in a daze.

But as soon as I’m admiring the view, the silhouette of the person standing next to the window brought me back to my senses.

“I’m Ren Shury. Thank you for having me,”

I blurted out in panic. The other guy told me that I don’t need to watch out for my etiquette while facing his master, and my attempt may have already left a ridiculous impression on me.

“Welcome, Ren Shury. There’s no need to be that nervous. I won’t eat you or anything. Please, take a seat. I would be greatly troubled if I leave my guest standing.”

I sat on the chair just as I was asked to. The room is unexpectedly spacious. Now that I managed to look around, I realized that there is no other furniture aside from the large office table and the chairs that we’re using.

“Have some tea to calm you down. We can’t discuss things if you’re on the edge of your seat, am I right?”

He’s right about that. If I can’t calm myself, I wouldn’t be able to understand anything. I took his offer and surely enough just as he said, the tea calmed my nerves. It worked like magic. And as soon as he saw I calmed down, he immediately went straight to business.

“I have heard of your achievements. It’s impressive to find someone like you in that kind of school. Sure, most of the public schools here accept students from all walks of life. But usually most of them accepted their fate in doing dirty work as their livelihood in the future. So when we moved here, I immediately got interested in the student whose grades are on par with fortunate students from private schools, and that student is you, Ren Shury.”

It’s almost the same as what our head teacher told us earlier. Their words somehow match in some ways. Did they discuss things way before I was told to come here? Rather than that, I am more curious as to what I needed to do to get the scholarship.

“May I ask the reason why I’m here?”

Instead of answering my question, he handed me 2 pieces of paper. Upon reading further, I realized it was a contract.

“Please read it to your heart’s content and tell me what you think.”

This is not good. I’m getting nervous again and so to calm myself down, I took another sip of tea and read the contract. The content is surprisingly easy to understand without a single thing that could harm me.

“I just need to tutor someone? Aside from the scholarship, will I also receive a paycheck depending on my performance?” I asked.

“I see that you understood it well. Indeed, that’s all you need to do. You will receive a scholarship and you will also be compensated for your tutoring. That’s not a bad offer, am I right?”

I took another sip of tea. I can’t seem to calm myself down after reading the contract. I mean, it’s not a bad offer by a mile. Not at all. If I were to be serious, it's too good of an offer for me. Apart from the scholarship, I’ll also be compensated for tutoring someone and the rate is by day at that.

“Excuse me, sir. I don’t want to be rude or anything but this is just too good to be true. There isn’t any catch, is there?”

He looked at me and chuckled as if I said something funny.

“You’re quite an interesting one. Of course there’s no catch. This place hardly has any good students let alone a teacher, so when I learned about you, I just couldn't pass and took the opportunity. Don’t worry about the compensation, I just want my daughter to have a good tutor.”

“Huh? Daughter?” I muttered in surprise.

“Yes, you’ll be teaching my daughter. 1 hour of tutoring for $100 is not a bad deal, right? When do you want to start?”