When Roxanne was having lunch the next day, she saw Pippa’s text in the group chat. It was about the kids’ activity grouping: Upon clicking the link, she caught her name at the top of the list right away. It was followed by Lucian’s name.
Roxanne was flabbergasted. She checked it once more and even queried the teacher: Ms. Ward, am I supposed to read the name list horizontally or vertically?Oh no, it’s Murphy’s law! If it was arranged horizontally, I’ll be in the same group as Lucian. Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.
Pippa replied in a jiffy: Hi, Ms. Jarvis, please read it horizontally.
Roxanne’s expression froze at the sight of the message. Refusing to give up, she asked once more to try her luck: May I switch to another team?
Meanwhile, Pippa was helping other parents to regroup the other kids. When she read Roxanne’s text, she felt bad for not doing her a favor. She responded: I’m sorry, Ms. Jarvis. The groups have been fixed, and we can’t change them anymore. In addition, it has been submitted to Mr. Bauer. If there’s any reason to amend the list, we’ll need to seek Mr. Bauer’s advice.
Pippa figured that since Jeffrey had given her a specific instruction, it was better for her to bring up Jeffrey’s name when the scenario did not quite go as planned.
A trace of strong resistance appeared in Roxanne’s eyes. She frowned at Pippa’s reply.
Shortly after, Pippa sent her another text. It read: We’ve considered various aspects before grouping the kids together. Among all the classmates, Essie is the closest to Archie and Benny. If we let Essie work with other families, I’m afraid she won’t participate in the stage play. Thank you for your understanding.
At the mention of Estella, Roxanne’s heart softened.
As much as she rejected the idea of being grouped with Lucian and Estella, she agreed with Pippa’s rationale. She could not imagine how the little girl could feel comfortable around other families.
After much hesitating, she thanked Pippa and ended the conversation despite feeling very troubled by it.
She had prepared herself to bump into Lucian and Estella at the anniversary celebration
However, she did not expect to be in the same team as them,
Suddenly, she lost all of her appetite.
She took a few mouthfuls, switched off her phone, and left.
There was still a strand of hope in her, thinking that there would not be much intimate interaction with the father-daughter duo since it was a kindergarten play. It’s probably jusi a fairy tale or a fable.
By the time she returned home in the evening, the boys were already back.
At the sight of Archie and Benny, Roxanne’s smile became stiff. She could not help but be reminded of the upcoming collaboration with Lucian on the school play.
On the contrary, the boys who were aware of the groupings were over the moon and anxious at the same time.
On the one hand, they were looking forward to performing with Estella. On the other hand, they were reluctant to face Lucian, knowing that Roxanne had no intention of crossing paths with him.
Yet, there was only one way they could perform with Estella, which was to be on the same team as Lucian!
They were scared that Roxanne would change her mind and not show up at the anniversary celebration the moment she found out about the arrangement.
At that thought, the boys fell very silent and did not mention a word about the event.
Roxanne found their reactions strange and took a wild guess. “Have you guys heard about the grouping?”
Her question made their hearts skip a beat. The kids stared at each other nervously. No one uttered anything in response.
Moments later, Benny posed a question cautiously, “Did you find out about it, Mommy?”
Roxanne nodded firmly. “Ms. Ward sent the list this afternoon.”
