Chapter 1103: Chapter 1043: A Classmate’s Parent Arrives
"Uncle Harris, don’t hit your son, he didn’t do anything wrong.
It’s the classmates in the class who are bad, they always bully him," George explained on behalf of the silent Farrell Harris.
Sienna Johnson thought this was a scene where a parent comes to demand an explanation, and was just about to apologize to the other party for her daughter, but instead, the parent came up and beat his own child.
"George, what’s going on here?" Sienna Johnson asked.
The child’s father was honest and dull, unable to give a coherent explanation, only saying that his child was bad and that he would harshly punish him at home.
The one named Farrell Harris remained silent.
Sienna Johnson could only ask George.
George explained clearly, "Farrell Harris lives at a construction site outside the city and has no place to bathe. As it gets colder, he can’t bathe on the terrace, so he always smells bad.
The teacher always blames Farrell Harris for being late. Farrell isn’t late on purpose.
He’s late because he can’t afford the daily 30 cents bus fare, so he walks to school.
The teacher also complains that Farrell Harris is always late with tuition payments.
So our classmates bully him, hitting him and calling him smelly. If it’s not a group beating, someone will hit his head while passing his desk, trip him when he approaches, or push him around.
Curly told the teacher, but the teacher didn’t care.
When the teacher didn’t care, everyone got even bolder in bullying Farrell Harris.
If he did well in exams, the teacher mocked him, insinuating he cheated;
If he did poorly, the teacher would throw the paper at his face.
Farrell Harris didn’t attend school last week; he was collecting trash, made 15 dollars, and bought a lot of candy to share with everyone. After eating, they laughed at him and threw the candy wrappers at him, so Curly beat up those who led the bullying."
"..."
"Mother-in-law, I think Curly did nothing wrong."
The teacher asked Curly to bring in her parents, and Sienna Johnson was very strict. George knew Curly was going to be scolded, so he had the driver bring Farrell Harris and his father over to explain everything to Sienna Johnson.
Curly attends a public kindergarten, and the government, to demonstrate its policies were friendly, also enrolled some students from poor families. Unexpectedly, school violence appeared in the kindergarten, and even the teacher was involved.
Harrison Harris saw Sienna Johnson’s stern face and thought she was angry at his son. He grabbed Farrell Harris and slapped him, "I told you to behave, I told you to behave..."
"Stop!" Sienna Johnson interrupted.
Sally stepped forward and pushed Harrison Harris aside, warning him, "Behave yourself, you can’t act rashly in front of our Madam!"
The man, meek and compliant, lowered his head and didn’t dare to move recklessly.
No matter what, Curly’s classmate was involved, and Sienna Johnson remained polite to them.
"Don’t just stand there, please sit down. Sally, get some snacks from the kitchen for the children to eat."
"Alright."
"We don’t need to eat, we’ll be leaving." Harrison Harris grabbed his son’s hand, trying to leave.
Seeing the child’s mouth bleeding, Sienna Johnson couldn’t help but say, "Since you’re here, why don’t you stay a little longer before leaving?"
Sally said, "Sit down!"
The two obediently sat down, and Sienna Johnson had someone make them tea and asked the servant to serve snacks to Farrell Harris.
Farrell Harris looked at the snacks on the table, clearly wanting them but didn’t touch them. Looking at this thin, dirty little boy, Sienna Johnson’s maternal instincts overflowed. She personally stuffed a piece into his hand and gently wiped the blood stain from the corner of his mouth.
"Eat it, it tastes good, Curly and George both like it."
The child whispered, "Thank you." Then he began taking small bites.
Harrison Harris glanced at his son, sighed, but still said nothing.
"I thought my daughter hit your son, and you came to make a fuss."
Farrell Harris lowered his head and whispered, "Curly is nice, she never bullied me."
"Judging by your accent, you’re not locals, are you?"
Harrison Harris said, "We came from another place. Originally, his mom was in our hometown with him, but last year, his mom passed away, so I brought him over since there was no one else at home to care for him.
I only have this one son; I just want him to succeed. I begged our boss to talk to the kindergarten principal, and bribed them heavily to let him in, but this kid... sigh..."
Sienna Johnson looked at the child before her; this child was indeed a typical target for bullying.
Psychologically, this could be explained using the "broken window theory."
If a house’s window is broken and nobody fixes it, soon other windows will be broken for no reason; in a clean place, people are embarrassed to litter, but once there’s litter, people will throw without hesitation, feeling no shame.
When those kids saw others bullying Farrell Harris and him not reacting, it created a pattern to bully Farrell Harris.
If Farrell Harris had harshly retaliated the first time someone bullied him, he wouldn’t be stuck in such a predicament.
"What does Mr. Harris do for work?"
"I work at a construction site."
"Does your son live at the construction site with you?"
"Yes."
Hearing the commotion, Curly ran in. When she saw Farrell Harris, he immediately stood up, clutching the half-eaten snack in his hand.
"What are you doing at our house?"
George said, "I was afraid your mom would scold you, so I brought them to explain things for you. Are you okay? Your mom didn’t hit you, right?"
George inspected Curly and, seeing she only seemed annoyed but not crying, felt reassured she hadn’t been scolded.
"Mom, it was me who fought, it has nothing to do with Farrell Harris. If you’re angry, just focus it on me." Curly displayed a sense of taking responsibility for her actions.
Sienna Johnson didn’t speak to her daughter but said to Harrison Harris, "The house next door belongs to my husband, and only George and her grandfather live there. I’m actually looking for someone to help take care of the yard. Would you consider taking this job?
You and your son can live there; it’s close to the kindergarten. By next year, they’ll be going to primary school, which is also nearby. Your son can go to school with Curly and them."
Harrison Harris was visibly shocked.
George said to Harrison Harris, "Uncle Harris, you should agree. The salary my mother-in-law will give you will definitely be much more than what you earn at the construction site."
The housing prices in Sileria City aren’t low, and rent in this area is extremely expensive.
Being able to live in a decent place, even if the salary is a bit lower, is alright.
Winter is approaching, and it’s getting colder. While a grown man might not fear the cold at the construction site, a six-year-old son can’t handle it.
Harrison Harris quickly stood up, gratefully saying, "I am willing, willing."
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