"May I please come in?" A loud and clear voice sounded at the door.
The hand, which was busy writing, stopped momentarily. Its owner raised his head and said, "Come in."
The girl straightened her back and entered the room. She made her way to the front of the big round desk. She remained silent after saluting the person in front of her.
She did not say anything for a long time and it seemed like Jack Miller, who was sitting behind the table, had totally forgotten about her existence in the room.
Jack was writing quite aggressively.
The plain curtains behind him were pulled close to block the sunlight from entering the room. The dark surroundings made him look cold and unapproachable.
The atmosphere in the room was anxiety-inducing.
After an unknown period of time, he finally stopped and put down his pen. Only then did he raise his head to look at her and ask, "What's the matter?"
"Can I please have a day off?" she said clearly, enunciating each word properly.
Jack looked at her calmly and asked, "Why?"
"I... don't feel well," Amelia Jarvis, the girl, replied after a moment of hesitation.
He questioned, "Where do you feel unwell?"
His eyes were exploring.
Amelia bit her lower lip and started to blush, seemingly too shy to say something.
Since she did not want to answer, he did not pressure her. He gently clasped his hands together and leaned back.
It was already September and the weather outside was slightly cooler. However, it was still warm enough for PE class to go on. He knew that Amelia had a PE class that day and that she wanted to skip it.
What he was more interested in was to find out what excuse she was going to use that time.
Amelia struggled to tell Jack the truth, but she felt too embarrassed. In the end, she held her hands by her sides and just said, "My stomach doesn't feel well."
He raised his eyebrows, picked up the calendar in front of him and took a quick glance at it.
That day was the 15th and the 23rd day of the month was circled in red.
He put down the calendar and immediately rejected her request, "No, you cannot take the day off!"
Amelia could not believe it. She took a step forward as she whined, "Uncle Jack...."
As she approached, Jack could not help but feel overwhelmed by her familiar scent.
He pursed his lips tightly. There was a hint of sternness on his face.
Amelia felt uncomfortable being stared at by him.
Jack had a soft spot for her. Whenever she called him "uncle" in an aggrieved tone, he could not help but want to take back his words.
However, he also knew how to deal with her whims.
"Last week, you barely passed your English exam."
Jack paused for a while. Amelia immediately felt his aura turned sharp. Then, Jack continued, "Two weeks ago, you failed your mathematics exam. This week, you have a fitness test for your PE class. If you don't pass, you will not be able to graduate, let alone go to college! By then, what are you going to do?"
As he said so, he slammed both hands on the table. Amelia was caught off guard, but she could also sense his disappointment.
Jack had always been a man of few words, but when it came to Amelia, he always had a lot of things to say.
Amelia pursed her lips, looking a little aggrieved.
The door was slightly ajar. Occasionally, a teacher would walk past and inadvertently glance inside.
Amelia could feel his gaze that was fixed on her. She was frightened down to the soles of her shoes.
Jack's piercingly sharp tone was like a commander giving orders to his soldiers, leaving no room for negotiation.
Amelia wanted to tell him that she was having her period, but she could not bring herself to say it.
After all, she was a girl. She was still a little reserved and shy to tell a guy about those sorts of things.
However, the stubbornness in her bones made her unwilling to lower her head. After staring back at him for three minutes, she bit her lower lip again.
"I understand!" She stood straight and saluted. Without saying anything more, she turned around and trotted out of his office.
As Jack watched her leave, he picked up his pen again, but his mind was no longer calm.
His peace was already disrupted. It was as if someone had thrown a stone into still waters.
He couldn't help but think back to the first time he met her.
It was in the hospital.
He did not like the smell of disinfectant. In fact, he did not like going to the hospital at all.
A serious car accident had taken two lives.
By the time he arrived at the hospital, Bradley Jarvis was already dead and Holly Hudson was still fighting for her life. When Holly saw him, there was a glimmer of hope in her eyes. She somehow found the strength to grab his hand and plead, "Jack, please take care of Amelia for me!"
"Amelia?" He remained calm even as he watched his friend fight death in front of his eyes. However, he did not pull his hand out from Holly's icy cold ones, instead allowing her to hold on.
When Holly heard his question, she seemed to remember something. She turned her head and looked around in a panic. Her eyes fell on the corner of the room, where a girl was curled up in the curtains. She called out, "Amelia, come here!"
However, the girl did not move at all. As he took a closer look, he could see that her shoulders were trembling. She was curled up in the corner, biting her lips. She stared back at him with her big round eyes.
"Amelia..." The urgent call seemed to have exhausted a lot of energy in her body. Her vital organs were rapidly shutting down and her face was as pale as a sheet of paper.
Jack pulled out his hand and walked towards Amelia. He bent down and caught her before she ran away. He grabbed gently her by the collar, as if he was holding a disobedient puppy. He brought her to the front of Holly and said, "Just say whatever you need to say."
There was a mix of emotions in Holly's eyes, including pain, reluctance, and desperation... Her throat moved, but she only managed to say, "Amelia, this Uncle Jack."
The girl turned her face away, her eyes red. She pursed her lips stubbornly, staying silent.
"Ame..." Before she could finish her word, she started coughing. A large mouthful of blood spurted out of her mouth, staining the white hospital sheets.
Amelia turned her head in shock to look at her mother. She started kicking and screaming. Jack immediately let go of her and she ran towards her mother, sprawling her small body on hers. Her whimpering sound was like that of an injured animal.
Such a scene was private, so he had to give them a moment. When the medical staff covered Holly's dead body with a white sheet, he sighed. Then, he reached out to hold Amelia's hand. When he felt her warm tears fall onto his hand, he was shocked.
Thinking back, he could not tell whether he was more shocked at the fact that she was crying, or that she had finally called him "Uncle Jack".
At that time, Jack was only 21 years old while Amelia was 12 years old.
He was still so young, yet he already became the guardian of a little girl. His solitary life came to an end, and this stubborn girl gradually went into his heart...
