Eight years ago, Shawn, who was now 12 years old, woke up in his bed. He immediately sat up with his hands outstretched. His eyes were wide, and his mouth was agape. His very thin body was covered in sweat, dripping onto his bed.
"Mama... Shawn misses you, Mama," Shawn muttered to himself, tears dripping down the sides of his eyes.
His hand reached for the table next to his bed. He picked up his thick glasses and turned to look at the clock. It was already 4 AM. Shawn lowered his feet from the bed and sat on the edge with his head bowed.
He stood up and walked out of his room. His house was dark and partially ruined. He still lived in his mother's place all by himself. He picked up a bamboo basket and a pair of tongs for picking up trash, then he left his house.
Shawn started patrolling the streets, looking into residents' trash cans and collecting items he thought he could sell to scrap dealers or recyclers. Every time he found a trash can, he would open it and look inside using his tongs. He usually collected plastic bottles, plastic cups, and instant coffee or tea sachets. He walked from one trash can to the next calmly and cheerfully. About an hour and a half later, he walked to the scrap dealer's house, not far from his own, to exchange the items for money.
But this morning, he found something different. In a trash can near the scrap dealer's house, he saw a box placed next to the bin. He squatted next to the box and opened it. The box was empty except for a worn brown leather-bound book.
His small hand rubbed the cover of the book. Then he opened it. There was a message written inside the cover:
"Now it's your turn."
"What does that mean?" Shawn wondered.
He turned the page. The book was blank and lined like a notebook. He flipped through the pages one by one. The book really was an empty notebook. But Shawn smiled and put the book into the bag he was carrying.
"Good enough for a school notebook," Shawn thought to himself.
He stood up and jogged to the scrap dealer's house because he had to go home soon to get ready for school. After returning home, Shawn immediately took a shower and put on his red and white uniform. He grabbed his bag and headed off to school.
On the street, all the other students avoided him. The reason was that his uniform was very worn out, and his shoes were gaping open. Shawn looked down and kept walking without paying attention to anyone he passed. But suddenly, "Thwack," Shawn fell face-first. The contents of his bag scattered everywhere, and his glasses fell off.
"Haha, serves you right, pauper," a plump student said, laughing.
Not a single person helped Shawn. Many even laughed at him because Shawn looked confused, searching for his lost glasses. "Crunch," another student who liked to bully him stepped on his glasses, smashing them.
"Oops, sorry about that. Just buy new ones... oh, you can't, can you? You're a pauper, haha," he mocked.
Then that student was embraced by the plump student who had pushed Shawn, and they went into the school building, leaving Shawn holding his broken glasses. He just stared at his glasses because they were the only thing left by his father.
He took a breath and still put on the glasses, which were now broken on one side. Then he started gathering the books scattered on the road and putting them back in his bag, including the book he had just found this morning. Just as he was about to step into the gate, a security guard stopped him.
"Shawn, come with me to the principal's office first, okay?" the security guard said.
"Yes, sir," Shawn replied, feeling indifferent at the moment.
Shawn followed the security guard, walking into the school building toward the principal's office.
"Knock... knock... knock,"
The security guard knocked on the door. "Come in," a man's voice answered the guard's knock from inside the room. Then the guard opened the door slightly and peeked in.
"I brought Shawn, sir," the security guard said.
"Oh yes, yes, tell him to come in," the middle-aged man replied.
The security guard opened the door for Shawn. A middle-aged man in a shirt stood up and welcomed Shawn. Then he led Shawn to sit on the sofa. After he sat across from Shawn,
"It's like this, Shawn. You've graduated, and now you're just waiting for your diploma. I proposed to the foundation that you pay half of your overdue tuition for the last eight months. They intend not to graduate you, you see. Do you have a guardian who can help you?" the principal asked.
"Um... no, sir," Shawn replied.
"Oh dear, what should we do? I already told them you could definitely pay half, because otherwise, you won't graduate. That would be a shame, especially since you have the highest grades in this school. How about this? I'll try to find a foster parent for you. At the very least, they can pay half of your overdue tuition so you can graduate. Until I find a foster parent, we'll hold onto your diploma for a while. That's the only way I can help you. Is that okay?" the principal said.
"B-but if so, I can't enter junior high, right, sir?" Shawn asked.
"You can, but maybe next year. As long as you keep your spirits up, it's not a problem. I'm here to help you, son. I'm asking you for time to find a foster parent. Please be patient, okay?" the principal answered.
Shawn, who didn't really understand what the principal was talking about, could only nod, although his heart ached because he couldn't continue his education to the next level. When they finished, the principal asked Shawn to go to class. With weak steps and his head bowed, Shawn walked down the corridor toward his classroom.
As soon as he reached the front of the class, "Thud," a thick book suddenly flew and hit Shawn's face, making Shawn fall. All his classmates immediately burst into loud laughter, making fun of him. The one who threw it was the plump student who had pushed him earlier.
"Hahaha, serves you right, pauper," the student said.
Shawn stood up, holding his bleeding nose. He walked into the classroom, but suddenly, "Splash," a female student poured her drink over him.
"Take a shower, you stink, haha," the student said, laughing.
Shawn remained silent, and another student took his bag, then tossed it around to the others. The contents of Shawn's bag scattered, and Shawn tried to snatch back the worn-out bag his mother had given him.
"Don't, please. That's the only bag I have," Shawn pleaded.
"Don't care, pauper," a skinny, pimple-faced student said, throwing his bag.
Suddenly, the book he had found that morning fell out of the bag and landed right on a girl's head.
"Ow... that hurts," the beautiful student said.
Immediately, the plump student and the other boys went up to Shawn. The plump student immediately shoved Shawn.
"Don't mess with Diana," the student said.
"You were the one who threw my bag, Freddy," Shawn yelled.
"Hit him! Finish him off," Freddy shouted.
"Wham," Freddy was the first to land a punch on Shawn's stomach. "Ugh," Shawn's eyes widened as if they were about to pop out, and liquid came out of his mouth. Shawn bent down, holding his stomach, but "Thump," someone kicked his back from behind. Shawn stumbled forward, and Freddy immediately struck Shawn's stomach one more time.
"Thud," Shawn fell. The boys behind him immediately started kicking and stomping on him until he curled up helplessly.
"Hey, stop it," a female student shouted.
Everyone immediately turned. They saw a female student standing in the doorway. Shawn glanced at the student. He knew her because she was the only student who ever spoke to him and greeted him. Her name was Aulia. Freddy turned to approach Aulia and immediately pulled her hair.
"Let go, or don't," Aulia screamed, hitting Freddy.
"Haha, that doesn't work. You're the same too," Freddy shouted.
"Let her go,"
Shawn gathered his strength and immediately tackled Freddy from behind until Freddy felt pain, and his hand grabbed a chair. "Wham," the chair flew and hit Shawn's head, making Shawn stop moving and lie face-down on the floor. Aulia immediately knelt and helped Shawn. Then she turned to look at Freddy.
"Are you crazy? He's seriously hurt because of you," Aulia shouted.
"Don't you dare! It's not my fault. Whatever, it's not fun anymore," Freddy said, turning around and just walking away as if nothing had happened.
Aulia stared at her classmates. Not a single person helped Shawn. Everyone pretended not to know and not to see what happened, except Diana, who pretended to look for the book that hit her head.
"Hey, where's the book?" Diana asked, confused.