– My favourite child! I'm sorry. Mummy was a little overexcited… Where's the bobo? Mummy will blow and everything will heal!’ she babbled fearfully looking at her daughter and worrying that nothing would happen to her little creature.

– It's all right, Mummy. – Theodore slowly approached Patricia and took a tissue from his pocket, handing it to the girl. Theodore slowly approached Patricia and took a napkin out of his pocket and handed it to the girl. Patricia smiled in response to the gesture and taking the napkin from the boy's hands, continued to use it to wipe away the tears running down her face. The headmistress rose from her seat and leaning on the table with both hands calmly said: ‘There he is! The act of a true gentleman of our time. Well done Theodore. That's the way to behave with young ladies. Mrs Donova, please take Theodore back to the corridor so that his father won't lose him. Otherwise, he might leave without him, like he did six months ago…’

The teacher nodded and together with Ted they left the office, closing the door behind them.

– What do you mean? Left without him? – Patricia's mother looked at the headmistress with a puzzled look in her eyes.

– You see, not everyone in this world, unfortunately, is as lucky to have parents as your children are lucky to have you. This boy, from birth, has been deprived of a full life with his family. His mother is dead, his father is taking her death hard, Ted has no grandparents. No one cares about him except you and me. And if we turn our backs on him and take our anger and our rage out on the boy, what will his life become? What will he become? Today's situation… it's such a small thing. And you've made such a big deal out of it. It's not worth it. Believe me. The joy Mrs Donova gave him today was like a glimmer of light in his grey family life. Considering that it was the first birthday in five years of his life that Theodore had ever been congratulated by anyone. – said the headmistress, encouraging parents and their children to sympathise and understand.

– It can't be! How? The first birthday in five years? That's just awful! – began the discussion between the children's father and mother.

– You should not judge the situation without fully understanding it… You heard something from your children, but as it turned out, the information was somewhat embellished. And now, let's finish discussing this topic and not come back to it again. – The headmistress summarised the conversation as she escorted the visitors and students to the exit.

It was the last year of the CEC. The spring of the year 747 had arrived. The carers and parents already knew the potential of the children and had to think about finding a place for their future enrolment. The next stage of education was compulsory along with the education centre. There were only two schools in Gaya. One was a sports school that trained future boxers, mixed martial arts fighters and footballers. The other trained farmers and technicians to help fix agricultural equipment that often broke down due to years of use. For other specialities, one had to travel to another town or village to learn them.

It has to be said that in the CEC where Ted was trained there was no directive from above to increase the number of farmers. Firstly, there were plenty of them, and secondly, educators conscientiously identified the strengths of their students and honestly recommended the direction for a particular child in which he could succeed in the future. Although moving to a larger settlement was an unaffordable luxury for the majority of the population, parents were able to provide support to help their child choose a speciality exactly as recommended by the CEC staff, or at least close to it.