Chapter 509
Chapter 509
Even though Perrin was old and had mobility issues—he seemed slow with his walking cane—he was, at the moment, walking swiftly behind Sophia's high school homeroom teacher.
When Gabrielle noticed that Perrin seemed to have a bad leg, she deliberately slowed down. To her surprise, Perrin was walking even faster than her.
The group of people soon came to the building. As they ascended the stairs, Perrin finally slowed down.
Sophia caught up with him and supported him. “Granddad, slow down.”
It was not as if that thing would grow legs and run away.
Kylie, who finally caught up as well, chuckled. “Dad, it's been more than a decade since you walked that fast, right?”
Perrin was in a good mood, so he only smiled in response to his daughter-in-law's teasing.
In no time, they were on the fifth floor.
Sophia's classroom was right at the end of the corridor.
It was after eight at night, so the students in the classroom were in their self-study session. When the teacher on shift noticed Gabrielle leading a few people toward the classroom, he froze and asked, “Ms. Yates, this is...”
Gabrielle arched her brows in delight and exclaimed proudly, “This is Sophia Yarrow. The same Sophia Yarrow the principal keeps telling you about!”
The teacher on shift had only come to the school three years ago. While he had heard of Sophia, he had never seen her in person. Though, he did see her in a photo before. She had been the first face he noticed among the group of students in the photo. NôvelDrama.Org owns this.
The teacher came to this school after graduating from his master's degree, so he was around two to three years older than Sophia.
It was dark outside, and the lights were dim, but despite that, the teacher still could not help but be attracted by Sophia's pretty eyes.
People tended to fall for pretty people and pretty things. The teacher, who was in his early thirties, was single. The second he saw Sophia, he found himself infatuated with her.
His face flushed red, and he stiffly turned to Gabrielle. “Oh, so she's Sophia Yarrow.”
Since the surroundings were dim and Gabrielle was focusing all her attention on Sophia, she did not notice the blush on the young male teacher's face. She even chuckled and remarked teasingly, “She's beautiful, isn't she? Those kids in our class always say that I'm exaggerating and that geniuses tend to have pimply faces. I'm afraid that's not the case for Sophia. Just look at her. In fact, she doesn't seem like she ever had pimples! Am I right, Mr. Jarlett?”
The teacher nodded fervently and squeezed out awkwardly, “You're right.”
Sophia gave them a small smile in response but remained silent.
Once Gabrielle was done exchanging pleasantries with the young male teacher, they continued their way.
Soon, they arrived by the window of the classroom Sophia used to be in.
In the prime of their youth, seventeen-to-eighteen-year-old high school seniors were experiencing the beauty of adolescence.
Time had flown by, yet the classroom remained a nostalgic reminder of the past. Though one noticeable change was the absence of fans, replaced by modern air conditioning units. The desks, however, remained the same, a symbol of continuity.
“Look, Mr. Dawson. Those are the blessings Sophia wrote back then!”
Even though Sophia seemed elegant and quiet, her calligraphy was bold. The short blessing she had written on the blackboard had been rubbed and hung above the door. It was a rather charming decoration.
Perrin saw it too. He was not a man who had much education, so he was not as well-versed in such matters as Penelope.
However, Penelope came from a family of scholars and was influenced by her grandfather. Every once in a while, Perrin would practice calligraphy with Penelope. Though he was not as skilled in it as Penelope, he could tell that Sophia's words were written magnificently, just like her personality.
Judging from the short phrase she had written, Perrin could already tell that his granddaughter was a woman with a profound mind of her own.
Perrin nodded in satisfaction before turning to Sophia. “It's been a long time since you're back, right? Since you're here, do you want to say hello to your juniors?”
Perrin's suggestion was exactly in line with Gabrielle's intentions. At the end of the day, Sophia was her student, and she knew the young woman's personality well.
Sophia had indeed shown great courtesy toward her. The fact that the principal and other school leaders held Sophia in such high regard could be attributed not only to her outstanding academic prowess but also to the thoughtful gifts she would send during holidays and festivals.
The gifts were not expensive, but they were gifts chosen through careful consideration, for they were food and essential items—things that others would not complain about upon reception.
Furthermore, Sophia would donate a sum to the school every year to be used for educational expenses.
There were many things Sophia did for the school, so the school expressed their desire to commend Sophia and help her apply for a title as one of the top youths in the city several times, but Sophia always rejected them.
Later on, the principal told them that Sophia was indifferent to such superficial accolades and advised against further disturbing her. After that, the others stopped talking about the matter, but Sophia remained a cherished presence in everyone's minds.
Now that she was back, Gabrielle, without a doubt, wanted her to boost the morale of the current students. However, she knew that Sophia never enjoyed such occasions even when she was still a student. The third-best student in Sophia's grade would always be the one to give the student representative speech during school opening ceremonies, for the second-best student, Joshua Lewis, was just as low-profile as Sophia.
Strangely, the school had managed to groom two excellent students—Joshua and Sophia—in the same year and in the same class. Even though it had been years since Sophia and Joshua's graduation, that still felt so surreal to Gabrielle.
Moreover, Sophia, Joshua, and Katherine had been inseparable since their high school days. As their teacher, Gabrielle could not help but feel a swell of pride seeing how Sophia, Joshua, and Katherine were flourishing in their chosen fields.
Sophia cast a quick glance at her enthusiastic teacher, finding it hard to decline. Sporting a smile, she replied, “All right, I'll head in and say hello to the underclassmen.”
Gabrielle beamed when she heard that. “That's wonderful! Let me break the good news to them.”
With that said, Gabrielle went into the classroom.
Sophia stayed by the windowsill, awkwardly shifting on her spot a little. A handful of students had already noticed her.
Nevertheless, by then, Gabrielle was already in the classroom. As she walked to the front of the room, she said, “Apologies for occupying ten minutes of your valuable time. Today, we have a special guest, Sophia Yarrow, a senior whom you've only heard about but never had the chance to meet until now. As
your teacher, I shamelessly requested her to engage with all of you. Make sure you don't let this opportunity slip by you! Feel free to ask any questions you may have. And for those who may doubt the rumors, do take a good look and see if Sophia truly possesses the rumored beauty and intellect!”
Despite being in her forties, Gabrielle possessed an open-minded nature and was far from strict when it came to her students. As soon as Sophia entered, Gabrielle graciously moved aside, creating space and allowing Sophia to take the spotlight.
Sophia made a grand entrance, adorned in a stunning floor-length dress. Due to the chilly atmosphere during her meal, she opted to add a beige cardigan as an extra layer to her ensemble. Her makeup was minimal, but she had bold and striking features. When she stood by the podium and was under the glowing radiance of the lights, the teenagers in the classroom could not help but feel a sense of awe.
“Sorry for intruding on your self-study time. I was informed by Ms. Yates that many of you have been curious about me, so I thought it would be good to come in and satisfy your curiosity. Truth be told, I'm just a regular person.”
Sophia smiled slightly when she spoke. By then, a small commotion had erupted among the students.