The dismissal bell rang and I was interrupted halfway through my sentence. The children were grinning from ear to ear and I shook my head. I walked back to my desk and looked at my students.

"Fine, you're all dismissed." Cheers erupted and I held up my hand and the room was immediately silenced. "But, I expect you all to do your homework. No excuses."

"Yes, Miss Vi!" they all said in unison. With a nod, I let the kids go.

I was preparing my things when I noticed Kian and Dawn still sitting on their chairs. The little boy had his hand on her shoulder, and my heart clenched when I saw her glistening eyes. Leaving my messy desk, I went to the kids.

My old flats remained silent even though I was walking quickly. My head was getting heavy and I gasped when I saw a tear fell down Dawn's porcelain face. The children then noticed me.

I knelt in front of her as Kian moved to her side. The cold tile pressed on my bare knees yet I ignored the sting. My palms were sweaty and I rubbed them against my black slacks before holding the girl's hands.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

Only a sniffle escaped her lips and Kian spoke up for her. "She was being teased again, Miss Ruiz," he answered and I took note of his clenched fists. I closed my eyes for a moment and when I opened them, I smiled reassuringly at the kids.

"Tell me what happened, sweetie," I cooed at Dawn as she brushed bangs away from her face. She sniffled a few times and I saw Kian rubbing her back and I was screaming internally.

"T-they said that Daddy w-was a criminal and that he was a bad person," she cried and I lent her my shoulder. My heart ached at the cute little girl bawling her eyes out and I felt tears threatening my own.

This had been the third time that something like this happened. I have not witnessed the first but was informed by the office of the incident. It happened again six months after I got assigned to their class and I was thankful to Max for arriving just in time or else I have hurled the boy from across the room. We tried contacting his father, but whenever I would, Dawn found a way to stop me from talking. Which was really confusing.

But seeing the girl crying her eyes out right now was the last straw. I would get to the bottom of this.

After she calmed down, I held her by the shoulders and looked at her. "Dawn, you know that I need to talk to your father, right?"

"But Miss Vi! I don't want Dad to know!" she whined and again, was on the verge of tears.

Patting her head reassuringly, I said, "I have to inform him of the situation." I stopped when I realized something. There must be a reason why she wanted to avoid her father or something. So, with a soft voice, I asked, "Is there a problem, sweetheart? You know you can tell me everything. Are you afraid of him?"

Dawn frowned and shook her head. "No, Miss Vi. I just don't want him to worry." The girl giggled a bit before adding, "He's really nice. But he gets sad when he hears about this kind of stuff."

Blinking in shock, I laughed at myself. Vi, not everyone was a bad person, FYI. "Oh. Of course."

A knock interrupted my thoughts and I saw a man standing by the doorway. He had sleek pompadour-styled black hair, and even though he was wearing white long sleeves, the tattoos on his arm were still visible. His dark jeans clung on his torso a bit tight. Beads of sweat coated his forehead and he was obviously huffing for a breath. An easy smile dangled on his lips, and no, it was not directed at me.

I looked at Kian as if to ask if he knew the man but the boy just shook his head. I was going to turn to Dawn when she suddenly bolted from her seat and ran towards the unknown, yet hot, guy.

"Dad!" she giggled as she jumped on his arms. The man caught the girl swiftly and spun her around. I could hear Dawn's laughter from where I was kneeling and Kian tapped me.

His mouth was agape and he seemed terribly scared. I would be too if the father of the girl I like was looking like he could tear me to pieces with just his hands. Although I don't mind getting touched by those hands.

I had to shake my head to rid of myself of those thoughts. I needed to focus on the situation at hand, you know, the part where his daughter was being bullied. I walked towards them and the man smiled at me.

"Good afternoon, I'm Vi Ruiz, Dawn's teacher," I greeted him and he took my hand for a shake.

"Nice to meet you, Ma'am. I'm Levi, this pesky girl's father." He put the girl down and ruffled her hair. "I hope she's not giving you any trouble."

I chuckled and shook my head. "No, not really. She is a great kid! She's at the top of the class, gets along well with the other children, and really participative and attentive. She must have gotten it from you or her mother! You're an amazing parent. You really did a good job raising her and-"

"Miss Ruiz, you're blabbering," Kian pointed out and I immediately shut up. My face was growing hot and when I took peek at Levi, he looked like he was about to burst into laughter any seconds from now. Dawn, however, was a different story because the pesky kid was already howling her ass off and I was tempted to pinched her chubby cheeks just to keep her mouth closed.

I was about to say something when I noticed some parents in the corridor. They were blatantly staring and definitely talking about Levi and I hid my annoyance with a smile and clenched fists.

I ushered the man and the children inside the classroom. Closing the door, I waved goodbye to the bystanders and a loud bang shook the door. I knew I was acting unprofessional but I could not help but get mad at people. That was the reason why the children in this institution were bullies-- their fucking parents were bullies, too!

With my back against my three companions, I took calming breaths to steady my heartbeat. When I knew I would not punch someone in a five-meter radius, I turned to them. A smile was again plastered on my face.

"Anyway!" I clapped my hands and approached them. "May I have a word with you, Mr Taylors?"

"You can call me Levi," he answered but followed me to the other side of the room. Kian and Dawn took one last look at us and went to the far back to play in the mat. The children have good intuition since they both put on earbuds and played together.

Levi leaned against the windowsill and focused his gaze on me. I could not stare into his eyes for too long because my face heated up whenever I did. So, I resorted to glaring at the sky for this uncomfortable position that I was currently in. Why must I be awkward?

Clearing my throat, I started relaying to him what happened. "As you must have known, Dawn is getting bullied by some students. I'm not saying that it's because of you since it's not but rather the environment they must have grown up too. However, they've been claiming that you're a criminal and all those things."

He ran his hand through his hair, his eyes glistening at the touch of sunlight from outside and I had to clutch the hem of my dress shirt to avoid holding the side of his face. I was definitely turning into a perv. But in all honesty, I could see the guilt on his face and it was more of looking to a child.

"I," he started. "I don't know what else to do. I think it's time I transfer her to another school."

Leaning my back against the wall, I watched the two kids build a castle with Lego blocks and I was being stabbed already at the thought of them being separated. "No, you don't have to do that. I'll call a meeting with the principal and require the parents of those kids." I glanced at him and he was looking at me already. "That is if you're okay with that."

Another knock interrupted my conversations and I saw Max standing in the doorway. He was blinking repeatedly, looking back and forth from Levi to me. I thought he got the wrong idea.

The two children noticed him and they rushed to him. Max hugged them both and Dawn, with an enthusiastic tone, introduced his father. They shook hands and I heard Max muttered an apology to me. I only smirked in response and he chuckled under his breath.

Levi and Dawn waved goodbye. The girl hopped out of the room and her father took a last look at me. "I'll think about it, Ma'am. And thank you for looking out for her."

He shifted his gaze to Kian by the door and ruffled his black locks. "You too, kid. Take care."

"Goodbye, Mr Taylors," Kian said. The boy also went out after that, saying that his mother was waiting for him by the gates. With a wave of his hand, he left Max and me alone in the room.

Thick tension could be cut by garden shears and we remained silent for a few minutes. We stole glances at each other and I prompted to stare at the dimming sky again because no words could come out of my lips. Max coughed a few times, his hands deep inside his pockets. I rubbed my clothed arms and decided it was getting late.

"So, where are we going?" I asked and he smiled cheekily at me.

He held out his arm for me and I looped myself to him. His eyes gleamed so mischievously that I squirmed a bit, and with a husky tone, he said, "Get ready for the best night of your life."