âYeah, sheâs our comic clubâs proud student under the guidance of our teacher! Sheâs also our role model,â the person said.
âHave you ever met her?â Valda asked.
âNo, but I have seen her graduation photo,â the person replied.
Hmm⦠Does she look very different from when she graduated from high school? Valda thought to herself. âIs your teacher Mr.
Yeats?â Valda asked.
âWow, you know Mr. Yeats too?â the person exclaimed.
âOf course, he was my art teacher in high school!â Valda didnât buy her own comics, but instead chose some works from the members of the comic club and bought a fanzine they had customized themselves.
âBy the way, is Mr. Yeats here today?â she asked.
âHe just came to the comic club a moment ago, but he might have gone back to his office now,â the person said.
âIs his office still on the fourth floor of Building 3?â Valda asked.
âYes.â
Valda walked towards Building 3. She had brought a comic book that she had drawn herself to give to her teacher. However, she was surprised to find that there were already many copies of her comic book at the comic societyâs booth.
On the fourth floor, she quickly found Mr. Yeatsâ office. As she approached the door, she heard a voice from inside the office saying, âIâm telling you, itâs just about letting that student win an award. Itâs not a big deal. But now the parents have complained to the education bureau. I heard that someone in the bureau is on their side. If things donât go well, you wonât even be able to keep your job as a teacher.â
âEven if it means taking the matter to the education bureau, I cannot in good conscience let her child receive an award. There are only three spots available for awards, and if her child receives one, then the other children will miss out.â
âBut you canât go around provoking trouble, itâs said that they have some connection with the Reed family, maybe some sort of relatives. If they really decide to take action against you, you wonât be able to stay in Emerald City anymore.â
âAnyway, since I am a teacher, I cannot do anything that violates the code of ethics.â Zoran Yeats insisted.
Valda knocked on the slightly open door and walked in.
âWho are you? This is the classroom office,â said a middle-aged female teacher.
âI am looking for Mr. Yeats,â said Valda, as she looked towards Zoran Yeats.
After a brief hesitation, Zoran Yeats recognized Valda and said, âValda?â
âItâs me, Mr. Yeats, hello!â Valda smiled and said.
âOkay, okay.â Zoran Yeats smiled when he saw his former student. âYouâve been doing well all these years. Iâve bought and read your comics. Youâre now a somewhat famous comic artist.â
âAlso, I want to thank you, Mr. Yeats, for encouraging me and helping me stick to the path of creating comics,â said Valda. âBy the way, I overheard something outside earlier. Are you having any trouble, Mr. Yeats?â
âItâs not a big deal, and besides, right and wrong will be judged fairly,â said Zoran Yeats. âYou havenât been to school for a long time, have you? Let me take you around and show you the comic club. When you graduated, there was no comic club yet.â
âOkay,â Valda replied. âWhen I came in earlier, I saw the booth set up by the comic club. The younger students drew pretty well. If they need it in the future, they can also come to my studio to take a look and learn.â
Zoran Yeats smiled and nodded, and the two of them walked towards the room of the manga club.