บท 2: Chapter Two
It was Monday morning. His alarm was loud, going off right beside his ear. "Erm!" Aarush woke up while groaning. "Almost nine?" He got up from his large bed and lazily walked towards the bathroom. His room was large, bigger than the one he had in America. After washing up, he stepped out of his room while quickly putting on a checkered vest. He tied his hair back into a man bun and inserted his black earrings into his ears. "Class starts in half an hour, so I should get there soon." He followed an open hallway, which had a great view of the downstairs. The house was large, very large. There were multiple rooms, separated by a great distance. This house was much bigger than even the one back in Pakistan. It was extremely large. Down the stairs, there was a door on the right leading towards an indoor pond surrounded by small trees and plants. On his right was an open area. "Bali!" As he walked down the steps, he called out loudly while fixing his tie. "Bali!" He called out seeing that no one was answering.
"Yunus Sir! I'm here." Suddenly, from the right side of the hall came a middle aged man. He had dirty brown hair, while wearing a grey salwar kameez. In his hand was a tray filled with a bunch of food.
"Put my food here." Aarush pointed towards the table. As he finally fixed his tie, he sat down and began to munch on the food that Bali brought him. "Bali, a package will be coming in for me today. Don't open it, just take the things to the empty room beside the pond. Leave them there for me, I will handle it when I come home tonight, you got it?" Aarush spoke in a bland manner.
"Of course." Bali nodded quickly. He was Aarush's servant for the past five years, so he knew how Aarush was. "What about the designer…" He asked with a bit of hesitation.
"Tell them that if they don't come here today and get started, then they can forget the contract!" Aarush spoke with a frown. "I only ask them to come once a year, and they are still late?" He angrily took a sip of his water before placing it on the table. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette. Placing it into his mouth, he looked at Bali with a frown. "What are you waiting for?"
"Of course." With a fearful face, he quickly pulled out a match stick and started a small fire, proceeding to light the cigarette. After he was done, he grabbed the tray with the empty plates and glass, rushing away to the kitchen which was down a small hall.
Aarush just sat on his sofa, quietly smoking. "Nine now? Time to head out." He got up with the cigarette still in his mouth. "Bali, bring me the key to my bike!" He called out. Soon, running footsteps were heard and he saw Bali rushing over with a jumble of keys. "Next time, make sure to be ready before I leave." Aarush glared at him before walking out with the key. He got on his bike and slowly started it up. Before riding away, he finished his smoke and tossed the used cigarette on the ground. "There are three weeks before their exams, I need to prepare those kids well." He drove away while thinking out loud. For the past seven years, he wasn't lazing around in his sorrow, rather he was hard at work, doing everything he could to get his mind off Aeleya's death. He went to university for a few more years to complete the last bit of his Ph.D in math, and Adi helped him open up his very own clinic. Aarush had also completed his residency in neurosurgery only a year prior. Luckily, he had already been doing it for a few years back in America, if not he would still be a resident. "The principal also wants me to take over for another teacher today since they are sick. Why can't he just hire a substitute?" Not only did he advance his education and continue to be a doctor, he also continued to teach. Rather than at a university, he taught children at the upper primary level, usually in the seventh class. He was a very busy person. There wasn't a single day he wasn't working. Although it was a lot, it truly helped him calm his mind. He was able to complete the degree he wanted and even got to finish his residency. His credentials were boosted so much that everyone wanted to hire him. He was a special case now, similar to Dara.
Driving for a few dozen minutes, he finally arrived at a large school. The walls were beige, not the prettiest color. Various kids were walking in from the front entrance, wearing their plain uniforms. Aarush also got off his bike and entered from the same entrance. He was respectfully greeted by a few kids who knew him. He walked towards his own class, which was on the second floor of the building. Entering into the large class, there were about thirty seats and a green chalkboard. He walked behind his own table and began to write a few things on the board, waiting for the kids to walk in and settle down.
DING DING
Ten minutes passed and the bell began to ring. It was nine thirty. Aarush stood by the door and waited for the last two kids to walk in. Unlike the other teachers in the school, he didn't get his education from India nor Pakistan, he got it in America, so he didn't agree with the whole 'beat the kids with a ruler' tactic. He was against it really. "You two are late, but make sure you arrive early next time. We have lots to cover." He waved the two relieved students to their desks. He walked in front of the classroom and looked at the various students. "As you guys know, in three weeks, you will be writing your exams. These marks are very important as they will decide your school and placement for the eight standard. If you do bad, you may have to repeat the seventh." He wasn't going to lie to the students, it wouldn't make them work harder. Honesty would be a better option, putting a bit of pressure on them as well. Plus, he knew their parents would be explaining all of this to them as well, so he wanted to prepare them beforehand. "As you know, the math one isn't going to be easy, but we have lots of time to get you ready. On the board, I have a few simple problems, let's work on them together. I'll then let you collaborate alone for a bit right after." He walked towards the board and picked up his chalk. "Alright, so the question is simple. Find x for the following equations:
x + 2 = 10
3x - 3 = 14
...
… these are the five questions. I will do the first three, you will do the other two." He then began to solve the first three slowly. Explaining as he went on. "The way you solve the first one is simple, you have to get x all alone. The way you get it alone is by getting rid of these two, but how do you do that?" He used a basic teaching method this time when doing the questions. This was mostly review for the students, as they had done many of these questions before.
"Yunus Sir," One of the female students raised her hand.
"Go ahead." Aarush smiled at her.
"Just move the two to the other side." She answered with a smile.
Aarush didn't do it right away, rather he looked at the class and asked with a smile. "Right, we have to move the two to the other side, but how? I can't just write a two out of nowhere. How do I move this two? Remember the rules we discussed before." He looked around the class, his eyes hovering on a few students who seemed to be struggling or having a difficult time remembering. He didn't give the answer nor picked on anyone just yet, giving these few students a couple more seconds. He wanted to see if they could get it or not. "Alright, let me explain it for you guys." One of the struggling students seemed to be enlightened, but the rest still showed a bit of confusion. "Well, the first question has plus two, right? Well, to get rid of the two, we have to make the two into a zero somehow. Once it is a zero, then x + 0 will just be x. But how would I turn a positive two into a zero?" He gave another hint, hoping this would help the students who seemed to be struggling.
"Oh!" He saw a student who seemed to be struggling, suddenly scream out. The class looked at him abruptly, causing the student to become embarrassed.
Aarush smiled at the boy. "Do you want to tell me how?" Aarush asked.
"Umm." He hesitated but got up from his seat and walked over. Aarush handed the boy his chalk and watched him fill in his work. "Well, the opposite of positive is negative, so we just do two minus two, which will give us zero." Aarush nodded his head. The young boy quickly went back to his desk with a proud smile.
"Alright, what now? x is all alone now, but is this our answer? Does x equal ten?" He looked at the students and saw a good portion nodding their heads, while a few shaking their heads. "Those who think that x equals ten go stand on that side of the room, and those who think that x equals something else, stand over there." He smiled and said this. "No need to worry about who's right or wrong, we're here to learn so mistakes are a good thing." The students nodded and began to distribute themselves around the class. Surprisingly, it was a thirty seventy split. Thirty were of course students who thought the answer was ten. 'Maybe I'm not teaching them well enough. I have been through this type of question in the past, so they should be getting it by now.' Aarush sighed at his own skills. He thought he was good, but it seemed like he was only good in his own dreams. "Someone from the ten group come here, while someone from the group who doesn't think it's ten come here as well." He looked at both groups and waited for a single student to walk out. The students bickered a little until two unfortunate students were pushed towards Aarush.
"Which one of us is right?" From the group that thought ten was wrong, the representative was a girl.
"You tell me. In front of me, I want both of you to explain why you think you are right. Convince the other person why you are right. Be loud enough so everyone can hear you." Aarush then leaned against his desk and watched the show.
"I'll go first." The young boy from the ten group started with a bit of confidence. "So look. Our goal is to make x alone, and if you look at the work on the board, it is alone. We followed the rules, so that means x has to be ten since two is now gone. It can't be anything else." He had a smug look, but the girl wasn't any less confident.
"You're wrong." She spoke in a straightforward manner. "All the rules weren't used."
"What do you mean?" The boy asked.
The girl didn't answer right away and just walked to the board. "Look." She picked up the chalk and began to rewrite the question and did it her own way. "Our goal is to make x all alone, so we have to get rid of this two, but getting rid of doesn't mean making it disappear completely. Remember how we were taught a very important rule that Sir Yunus kept on repeating? 'What you do to one side, you must do to the other'!" Towards the end, the rest of the class joined in, even the thirty percent.
"Oh yea!" The boy finally remembered. He quickly grabbed the chalk from her and completed the question. "The answer is eight, right?" He looked at Aarush and asked.
"Is it?" Aarush didn't clarify just yet, rather he looked at the rest of the class. "Whoever thinks it's eight, join that group, whoever thinks it's ten, stay on that side, and whoever thinks it's something else, stand over there." He watched as everyone gathered under the flag of eight. Although he couldn't guarantee that everyone understood, it was still better than before. "Good, yes, x does equal eight." Aarush smiled and circled the number. "Everyone sit back down." He then continued with the examples in a similar fashion. Sure it took a while, but it would help the students. The more actively they participated, the better. After an hour, the bell rang and everyone began to leave the class. "Everyone grab this booklet, it will have lots of review questions so do them and bring them to me by Friday. I will also contact your parents, letting them know that I have handed this out, so no funny business." Aarush never had much parental involvement in his education rather than just being told to get good grades and to not disappoint them, which he always found to be unfortunate. If his parents were more involved, maybe he would have done better.
"Oh no…" The class whined while grabbing the booklets. All of them carried frowns or worried expressions. Aarush ignored all of this and just smiled.
"Alright, the next class should be here soon." His schedule for school was usually to teach three classes. Two math classes and one english class. Each class was an hour long, or fifty minutes. So, his next class would begin at ten thirty. It was currently ten twenty. He began to write up the lesson, which was the exact same. His grade level would remain the same, at least this year.
The lesson began when everyone arrived and it went on smoothly. Nothing major happened as the class was basically around the same level as the one he was previously teaching. A few students were struggling, but most of them understood it. Many questions were asked and Aarush answered in various ways. Sometimes answering directly, sometimes with another question, sometimes even having the student try and prove why their way of thinking was right or wrong. One thing he remembered an old teacher of his teaching him was, 'if you have an answer, by explaining it to others, you can more easily find why it's right or wrong, or even find out why it's the best'. Teaching was the best way to learn.
Time swiftly moved on and Aarush finished all of his classes. His english class wasn't really too active as they were mostly reading during the class. It was a novel that was assigned to the class which would be tested. Best solution was to read the book. Normally, he would leave right after this last class, heading home for a bit and then opening up his clinic at four, yet he had to cover for a teacher. It was a math lesson of a higher class. More difficult questions with a more mature group of students. "Alright everyone, I'm Mr. Yunus, and I'll be teaching your class today. Some of you may know me since I do recognize a few of you from my old classes. Anyways, just like everyone in this school, you guys have exams soon too, so I'll try my best to prepare you guys for it." He smiled and began the lesson. The lesson went a lot more smoothly then his previous classes since the students were a lot more mature, so they knew which points to keep in memory. "Does anyone want to come up and solve this question?"
"Reni does!" Suddenly, a younger boy spoke loudly. He had a mischievous expression.
"No I don't." A young girl with a ponytail rebutted back in anger. "Shut up, if you're so smart, go and solve the question yourself. Why are you being so annoying?"
Aarush saw the scene and raised an eyebrow. "Hey, you." Aarush pointed at the young boy with a frown. "Why are you forcing others to come up?" Seeing someone provoke another student for no reason made him a little angry. He had been watching most of the class, so he got a feel of who understood the topics and who didn't. Reni was one of the few who was struggling even after having the information in front of her, while the boy could be considered one of the smarter students in the class. "Come up here and solve the question."
The boy walked over with a confident smile. He picked up chalk and solved it with ease. "Here you go Yunus sir. The answer is y=-3x+5." Aarush nodded his head. It was the right answer.
"Alright, go back to your seat, but stop provoking others. Even if you get a question right, I will still punish you if you cause trouble." Aarush glared at the boy who meekly walked back to his seat. He continued his lesson and soon the final bell rang.
"Bye, Yunus Sir." Students waved towards him before running off with their friends. Aarush smiled at them and continued to pack up his things. He picked up a stack of papers which consisted of quizzes from his other classes which he needed to mark.
"I'll do it back at the clinic during my break." He sighed and shoved the pages neatly into a folder.
"Yunus Sir…" Suddenly, he heard a mouse-like voice from in front. He looked up and saw that it was Reni. She was a pretty little girl, with black eyes. Looking at her, he couldn't help but think of his little sister, Maya.
'She's probably very different from before, older and more mature. She should be twenty five now, right?' Although he kept up to date with his family, he still hadn't seen them in a while, he only heard things from Dara and his other friends. That was it."Yes, Reni? Do you have a question?" It was already three and he needed to get to the clinic before four. Although he was in a rush, he couldn't be impatient with a student.
"Umm, I heard you hold tutoring lessons on Saturdays." She said quietly.
"Of course. Would you like to join?" He did tutoring on Saturday, and it was free of charge. He wasn't in need of money, rather he wanted to keep himself as busy as possible, plus he loved teaching.
She nodded her head with a bitter smile. "I'm not getting a lot of the lessons, so I need extra help. My aunty helps me with english, but she isn't too amazing at math. If you have any space, would it be possible for me to join?"
Aarush smiled and nodded his head. "Of course, you luckily came to me early. I only ever help ten students at a time, any more and then it becomes too much like a classroom. I'll write your name down and you can just come to my house on Saturday." He wrote her name in one of his small notebooks and also passed her a piece of paper. "Here is the address. Also, if you want to, lots of students come to see me during class breaks for extra help, you can come then as well." Aarush was open to teaching all subjects, but he was most familiar with english, math, and medical studies. Of course, at their ages, biology wasn't human anatomy, mosty earth science things. Still, he wasn't unfamiliar with it as he had done some of it in university as his option classes.
"Really?" She smiled brightly. "Thank you. I'll come and ask for help then when you're free." She smiled and ran off. Aarush watched her leave and then smiled.
'Maya used to ask me for help back then as well, but I would normally just shoo her off.' He smiled thinking up to this point. He felt a little nostalgic thinking of his family. He avoided them for so long that now he missed them, yet he didn't know if he wanted to see them still. If he saw them, he would think of Aeleya which might drive him mad, plus he didn't have great memories with them either, so seeing them might make him mad regardless. 'I don't know, it's been seven years. Even if they come and see me, it shouldn't be too terrible. I know that mom and dad are still hurt about not seeing me, even Maaz and Maya are a little worried, but they're luckily doing fine. I heard that aunty and uncle moved on after Aeleya's death as well and are living happily too. I still feel guilty for not protecting their daughter…' He had many problems he didn't want to face. He was scared, especially of facing Aeleya's parents and brother. He was supposed to look after her, care for her, and protect her, yet she died in his arms. He knew they didn't blame him and even worried for him, but he still felt too guilty and ashamed to meet them. 'Nothing I can do for now. I missed everyone, maybe I should face them soon? Mom and dad are a lot older now, I'm a little worried about them too.'
He sighed and got up from his seat, leaving the school with various thoughts filling his mind.
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