So what that we are different? chp 13

"Can i not join the competition?" Tiffany asked

"Why!? is milan!" asked Eliot

"I am not interested in furniture, sofas in precise." she said

"you should try your luck." Said Momoko while looking at a house plan

"oh god leave me alone." she said "even my mother asked me to forget it."

"darling, get some rest, relax and think about it later ok?" said Momoko

"Oh yea.. whatever." she said and closed her eyes

"Damn you! you moron!" A man stood in the front of the entrance of the cafe and cried to someone on the road "The next time i see you, i promise i will tear you into pieces!"

"The world is going upside down! these morons are driving me crazy! They are out of their minds!"

"Here he comes again..." said Steven

"Clair, one coffee to go" Said the man who just cried in the entrance

"Anthony why dont you just..." The owner of the cafe was just wanted to advise

"I said coffee to go." He said

"Anthony, will you just stop being upset with your life?" Asked Clair with a cup of coffee on her hand

"Yes, she is right." Said Eliot

"Everytime you come in, you complain about your life, if you dont, you will be yelling at people in the entrance." Said Tiffany

"Are you kids having a problem with me!?" He asked ans looked at them

"Actually we dont." They said continue their work

"Im going to fail 4 of you if you have a problem with me." he said

"That's why we said, we dont have a problem with you." Said Tiffany

"What are you people doing here anyway?" He asked and walked over to them

"Plans, and plans and plans?" Steven answered by showing all the house plans

"Good for you." He said "Dont forget my chemistry report." and walked back to the bar counter

"You should be kind to your students" Said Clair

"Aha.. as if he will..." mocked Eliot

"We were happy that he gave us a B the last time" Said Momoko "Oh no.. should be delight."

"That was because you arent working hard enough." He answered "How hard is balancing the equations can be? and none of you.. i mean none of the class did the correctly!"

"Well, for people like them." Said Terrius that just walked into the cafe "Everything is very difficult."

"Oh yes i know." Said Anthony "Wait a minute! What the hell are you doing here?"

"Coffee to go, Clair" He said without answering him "I need to rush for a meeting"

"Terrius the moron im talking to you! Why are you having your coffee here!?" Asked Anthony "I thought you stayed like 15km away from here and your office is like... far away from here"

"All I can say is, you are a bad professor." he answered "I have been staying with your student for weeks"

"Who!?" He asked

"Oh come on.." Said Terrius "Is none of your business anyway, see you at work later" and he walked out the cafe with his coffee

"Who is he staying with?" Anthony asked them

"How do you know him?" Asked Tiffany

"We worked together."

"You are a professor in our uni."

"Part Time ONLY." He said and asked again "Who is he staying with?"

"Do we look like we know?" Steven lied

"right, you people know nothing.." he said and walked out the cafe
__________________________________

"Cut it off you people!" Anthony yelled "is it that hard to read a periodic table!?"

"Oh my god, slap me Steven" Said Momoko

"I will if you ask again." answered Steven and Momoko slapped him lightly "Why did you slap me?"

"I dont know. i am bored." She said

"Miss Ashley, you arent paying attention in class! " He cried "You dont even know where Hydrogen located in the table!"

"Oh not again.. he has been teaching her how to read a periodic table for days!" Said Eliot "Damned"

"I feel tired, can i go home?" Asked Tiffany

"No one is leaving until she knows how to read the table!" Said Anthony

"Oh, bloody hell!" Eliot rose from his seat "Ashley look here! this is Hydrogen! H is the short form the symbol for it!" He almost cried

"Sir, if you dont mind, let me try." He said

"Go ahead.." Anthony answered in stunned

"Back off then." He said to Anthony "Look here this.. this.. this! this is Hydrogen. Hydrogen is commonly known as water.."

"Actually is not really water.." Said Anthony and he shut up when Eliot stare at him "Whatever just get it done."

"Do you understand?" He said "Google for a periodic table with he full names of the elements and remember it okay?"

"So Hydrogen is actually water?" Asked Ashley "But why dont they put there like W instead of H? like Water?"

"Professor, let them go, i will do my best to teach her today." Said Eliot

"You sure you can do it?" Asked Anthony

"Im your only B+ student, what do you think?" He said "Honestly when was the last time you gave an A to anyone?"

"I have not been giving students A for 4 years..." he recalled and said slowly

"You stingy pig!" Said Eliot "Go away, i will get her 'done' by today and tomorrow we will have a normal class."

"Is not very nice to refer your professor as a pig." Said Anthony

"Im Eliot." He said

"Whatever, class dismiss, will be replace by tomorrow." He said "Got a date with Clair, i better run." he said and walked quickly out of the lab

"Eliot, you sure you will be fine?" Asked Momoko

"Yes, and go away leave both of us alone before i kill her." Said Eliot

"Fine then.. bye." Said Tiffany and they walked out of the lab
_________________________________

"You have a bad chemistry class today. dont you?" Asked Terrius

"Well, Eliot is currently missing in action." she said and has a sip of her green tea

"I know, Anthony was complaining to me at work just now." He said

"Xinyi, drink some water." Said Tiffany and passed a cup of warm green tea to her

"Is green tea." he said

"Is liquid." She answered

"Can I have more?" Asked Xinyi

"Yea.. sure.." Terrius refill her green tea and his phone rang

"Hello"

"Hi, is this Mr.Terrius?" Asked a man on the other side of the phone

"yes, and you are?"

"Im Richard the police officer who is in charge on the little chinese girl's case."

"Oh.. yea.."

"We found her parents." He said

"Oh great then, i will bring her over right after we are done with our dinner."

"Mr. Terrius, you gonna be prepare for this.." He paused "her parents were found dead in a lorry. their body were covered by straws in the country side. A farmer found them while he was feeding his horses."

"What!?" He cried "You must be kidding me."

"No, im not. the body will be buried by saturday, is 3 days from on." he said "I hope you can find a way to informed the little girl and bring her here before staurday. I am very sorry Mr.Terrius."

"...."

"And i wonder are you interested in adopting her, or else..."

"I will adopt her." He said "Give me sometime, i will need to find a chance to tell her."

"Sure, im sorry for the inconvenient caused."

"I dont know what to say....... anyway, thanks for informing." He said and hung up the phone

Tiffany was staring at him, she can guess what is going on but she didnt not ask. He was silent for the rest of the dinner until they reached Tiffany's apartment and put Xinyi to bed

"Okay, now.." She passed a glass of hot milk to him "Tell me, what was the phone call about."

"......."

"Come on, Terrius."

"Her parents were found dead in the country side." He said

"How are you going to tell her?" she asked while sketching on her butterpaper

"I dont know" He change his sit form the sofa to the carpet on the floor. "The farmer found them while he was feeding his horses." He shut his eyes and placed his head on the sofa "She has been so looking forward to see them again. She told me she is going to tell them about the movie we watched last week and the colored fairy floss. she said she is going to buy her mother a pink fairy floss because she mother loved pink. she told me so many about them. and now..."

She was silent, she didnt know what to say. Suddenly they heard someone broke something. Terrius quickly opened his eyes and rushed to the kitchen and saw Xinyi broke a glass and the floor is full of water and cracked glass.

Papa and mama wont be back anymore? how could this happened? that day, papa told her they are going to watch Ice Aged 3. Mama told her they will be having Italian dinner after the movie and suddenly a man with knife came into their car, mama pushed her out. how could they leave her alone here. without them, what is going to happened to her? she sat on the floor with cuts on her both hands and cried.

Tiffany hugged her and carried her to the sofa. Terrius clean her hands and applied medicine on those cuts. He hugged her and told her "it's ok xinyi, Tiffany and I will always be here for you."

"Xinyi.. is okay.." She knows is not okay. is not okay for a kid as young as her to lost her parents. is not okay, is unfair. she is just a child. Is so unfair. She was a happy child although she wasnt from a rich family, but she was satisfied with what she has. she didnt ask for more. all she wants is to be together with her parents and live happily with them like what she used to do.

"Pa...pa...." She said with tears and hugged Terrius even harder. she punched Terrius chest and said "I want papa and mama back... i want my papa.. and mama back...please..."

"They...wont be back.." he said and a tear drop rolled out from his left eye "But they will be in here forever" he touched her tiny chest

"Pa..pa.. said gonna... gonna.. bring me to the Chinese restaurant he worked at, on m..y..my.. birthday.." she said "and m...a..ma..mama.. said she.. she...will.. buy a chocolate.. for..for..my birthday..." she said and tears were all over her tiny face.
_____________________________________

The door bell rang and Tiffany went to the door.

"Yo! Xinyi." Said Steven "Are you ready?"

"Yea..." She said happily with a little purple bag on her back

"Lets go to the Zoo then." momoko added

"Dont lost her." said Terrius while reading the newspaper

"We wont. please dont worry" Answered Steven and shut the door

"She seems to accept the fact that they left." Said Tiffany and place a cup of rose tea on the coffee table

"It has been weeks after that." He answered "I believe she has accepted the fact that they left."

"Yea.. is good for her." She answered and read her magazine

"I am bringing her to Taiwan next week." He said

"Why?"

"I think, im gonna ask my mother to take care of her."

"Your mother? Taiwan?"

"She is living there. she likes the environment there."

"Ohh.. do she know you are going to bring Xinyi to her?"

"yea.. i told her the other day." he said "she was very sorry for her and she said she will take care of her."

"Great then." She answered

"My mother always wanted a daughter but she only has my elder brother and me. so.. is a chance..."

"Is really nice to hear that."

"After going to Taiwan, i will need to return to Japan for awhile."

"Ohh... ok.." She said and she felt sad

"Wont be returning so soon."

"Is ok." She said and felt really sad about it "is really ok"

he wanted to tell her about them but he know it wasnt right to do that. she is just way too young. mayb he should just forget it and relax for the rest of the week and goes on with his life. now he totally understands that why is Anthony always tells him that life is pathetic. he thought and laughed at himself.