During lunchtime, Ellie strolled to the cafeteria with two other boys from the class. Before leaving, she turned her face to Joanna with a smile, "I showed you around the cafeteria yesterday. I suppose you can manage on your own today?"

As classmates jostled each other and whispered among themselves, Joanna remained at her desk, finishing a reading comprehension question. Seeing Ellie leave, her pen paused mid-air.

A gentle breeze flipped the pages of her textbook, filling the quiet classroom with the rustle of paper. Joanna pressed her hand firmly on the book, a tinge of loneliness sneaking in. The sting of unbidden tears threatened, but she clenched her resolve with deep breaths.

"Joanna, don’t give anyone a reason to tease you," she muttered to herself, motivated to overcome her Mandarin struggles with fierce determination.

Renewed, she banished any resentment, stood, collected her things, and remembered the path to the cafeteria from the day before. Meal tray in hand, she sat alone at a table for four, surveying the room where groups of students gathered naturally with their friends.

Ellie had joined some of the top-performing boys from their class at a table nearby, while others formed their own clusters. Joanna, feeling little inclination for socializing, focused on her lunch, washing her dishes afterward and retreating to the classroom for a quick nap.

As students trickled back, Ellie noticed Joanna and inquired, "Hey, did you eat? How come I didn’t see you in the cafeteria?"

Joanna, resting her head on her arms, nodded. Content, Ellie turned to chat with someone behind her until the break bell sounded, and the class settled into an afternoon hush.

Post final class, Joanna methodically packed her workbook, as the math teacher reminded everyone to complete their homework for submission the following day.

Adjusting her backpack strap, she felt a tap on her free shoulder.

“Anything you need from me?” Joanna asked the boy who stood unfamiliar to her, having never spoken before.

He was a head taller, with a nearly shaved head, the outline of his scalp visible. His bushy eyebrows and narrowly set eyes gave him a sharp contrast, further enhanced by his school uniform worn in disarray. He half-whispered, "Wait until the teacher leaves."

Once the teacher was out of sight, his supportive tap turned into a firm grip, "Newbie, do this for me," he demanded, dropping a workbook onto her desk with a thud.

It was the math homework assigned earlier. Joanna shook her head, "You should solve this yourself."

He glared harshly, veins bulging under the pressure of his grip on her shoulder as he threatened, "Be smart. If you don’t, you’d better watch your back."

With a final slap to her back, he joined a group of similarly attired boys outside, gleefully departing school grounds.

Witnessing everything, Ellie slung her backpack over one shoulder, "That’s Zach. He spends every lesson goofing off at the back. Don’t worry; he won’t be in the honors class after the next exam. Bear with him for now."

Joanna, not one to be easily intimidated, countered, "Why target me of all people?"

Ellie's gaze shifted upward, rolling her eyes with a resigned smile on her face that needed no words.

With clenched fists, Joanna eventually snatched the offending workbook off her desk, shoving it into her backpack roughly.

Jack was at the curb to pick her up again. On the ride home, he offered an apology for his absence that morning, explaining the urgency of a project at the northern headquarters, requiring him to make an early unscheduled visit.

“Aunt Lina mentioned you were late today?” Jack broached during dinner.

Joanna nodded, the morning’s absence lingered as a shadow over her day. Yet, observing the faint traces of fatigue around Jack's eyes, her grudge evaporated.

“Uncle Jack,” she pleaded with a feigned pout, “could you at least give me a heads-up before leaving next time?”

His chopsticks hesitated mid-air. Taught independence and years abroad had instilled a keen sense of freedom in Jack, but for Joanna, he made a promise as he redirected the food into her plate, "I’ll do my best."

Eyes lowered, she sniffed, “But I only have you, Uncle Jack. If you leave too…”

Her words dimmed in her voice, eyes threatening tears—a performance no man could resist. Jack’s resolve softened, appreciating her unique circumstance, coaxing gently, “Uncle Jack will never leave you. Don’t cry. I promise you’ll always know where I am."

Joanna’s tears retreated as quickly as they’d come, replaced by a smile as she placed food on his plate, "Thank you, Uncle Jack. Eat more."

Her sweet grin melted his heart—even had they not been seated, he would have patted her head for reassurance.

Dinner arrangements in this household saw Aunt Lina serving meals separately. Jack’s parents adhered to an early dining schedule. Upon returning home, they remained engaged in their pursuits—an accustomed arrangement since Joanna’s arrival.

A month prior, Jack’s mom had taken on a custom painting for a French client nestled in the city. Known for her mastery of landscapes and lifelike interpretations, the feedback received was, “It lacks a lived-in feel.”

Defensive remarks from her assistant chalked it up to cultural differences. Although she reluctantly accepted the client’s wishes to redo the piece, inspiration stalled, leaving her creatively blocked.

Taking a breather from the studio, her gaze accidentally fell on her son engaged in light-hearted banter with the young girl over dinner. The warm ambiance of laughter and steam from dishes offered a stark contrast to her dim studio, affirming the feeling of existing across disparate worlds.

Retreating quietly, Jack’s mom abandoned the notion of revisiting her work for now.

...

Concluding their heartwarming pact brought Joanna satisfaction as she returned to her room, humming spiritedly while setting out to tackle her math assignments.

Previously counted among the top students in her rural school, Joanna found herself humbled in Richmond’s honors environment. The academic rigor demanded heightened effort for success.

Working into the night, she approached only one daunting problem remaining when the familiar beep-beep-beep of an alarm startled her.

Much like the previous night, a commanding shout followed, “Catch that rascal, Mick!”

Already accustomed to the evening commotion, Joanna closed the window, yawning as she directed focus on her last problem. Task completed, she pulled out her language textbook for reading exercises, consigning Zach's unscratched workbook to oblivion after spotting her shoulder's red imprint from earlier.

As dawn broke, the math monitor collected assignments. Zach, lounging lazily with feet propped on the chair base in front, casually announced, "Check with the newbie."

Timid and slender, Lucas was their quiet classmate. Without probing further into Zach’s explanation, he scurried towards Joanna.

Handing over the workbook, Lucas conducted his routine completion check, "Hey, this hasn’t been done."

Joanna, matter-of-factly, "Nothing wrong with it. I didn’t do it."

Lucas grasped the situation, intending to caution Joanna. However, a glance at Zach, boisterously witting away with other delinquents, convinced him of silence. He added Zach's empty workbook to the pile with a resigned shrug.

Fortuitously, math class resumed that afternoon with their no-nonsense teacher, standing tall and unsmiling. Opening with a thud, he dispersed chalk dust across the podium, irately demanding, "Zach, up front! Why was your homework unfinished?"

The bang startled Joanna momentarily, but her conscience remained untroubled.

Initially dense-eyed from fatigue, comprehension of the unfolding scene struck Zach only after the second inquiry. His incredulous glare fixed on Joanna, sharp as twin daggers.

"Sir, I—I forgot," he fibbed.

Transgressions compounded under the teacher’s mounting ire, "Have your parents visit tomorrow. Maybe a lesson will stick.”

Cutting off further elaboration, he directed, "Class, begin!"

Ellie rose, "Good afternoon, Sir."

Their synchronized salutes followed suit. Bowing ensued.

Departing the class, Zach, seething with suppressed fury, stormed forward and kicked Joanna’s desk hard.

Books and a water bottle clattered unceremoniously to the floor, dragging Ellie’s belongings along for the ride. Her ensuing slam added, “Zach, what’s your problem?”

Unfazed, Zach sneered at her protest, "Shut it, Ellie! Hey, country bumpkin."

He shoved Joanna, "Pretty bold of you, setting me up with a blank submission!"

Congress with community service honed strength in Joanna; she skillfully returned her tilted desk upright, blocking his repeated assault, "I—I never...agreed."

Zach spat a curse, “Fine, you'll see. As long as I’m here in tenth grade, I’ll make your life hell!”

Indignant silence met her slow retrieval of fallen items, obscuring whether she was cowed.

Inside, trepidation stirred, but her resolve cemented: Zach might see her as provincial prey, but beneath the stuffing, lay bricks of the toughest sort.

Ellie, kneeling to gather scattered materials, vented, “Bad luck being next to you.”

“Sorry,” Joanna replied, remorse pulling her features. “I didn’t expect he’d be this vile.”

“Well,” Ellie relented, softening at Joanna’s contrite eyes.

Class resumed with Ellie’s pseudo-truancy, passing notes to Joanna: "Avoid going home alone."

Joanna scribbled, “?”

Ellie clarified, "Zach's cousin’s in middle school—a notorious troublemaker."

Older students commanded a natural intimidation, more so when one was outright delinquent.

“Thanks for the heads-up.”

With patience, Ellie retrieved her note, shredded it discreetly into the garbage.

Zach upheld his vengeful vow. During physical education, accompanied by his cronies, they openly bullied Joanna with audacious taunts.