His Other Side

They also spent an hour going to the said camp. They found the medical team there busy. Howie, on the other hand, unloaded food supplies and first aid kits needed by the soldiers. "Is that complete, Sir?"

Zannie couldn't help but hear the female nurse's voice that seemed immediately attracted to Howard. She’s a woman too, and for Zannie, she knows if a woman like her wants to convey something, especially when a fellow woman likes her like someone.

‘You are obvious too. How could you be able to flirt here while doing your job?’

She could not understand why she was affected by such a scenario. She remembers being secretly territorial to Jacob. But that was before. She felt that every person who came after Howard should be investigated for no reason.

Zannie examined the location of the young man. Unwillingly, she observed Howard's interaction with the female nurse, which seemed to have an effect on her. To be fair, that nurse was stunning and looked sexy even though she was dressed in a white V-neck Tshirt dyed with khaki pants. The word "Nurse- Medical Team" was printed on the woman's T-shirt, so she knew she was a nurse.

"Are you a soldier?" inquired the nurse.

Howard shook his head quickly as he unloaded the remaining goods on the van one by one. "I'm also a volunteer."

"Ah, that's nice to hear; Sir, you're very attractive."

Zannie averted her gaze. In her mind, she appeared to want to film the two in order to stop their flirtatious interaction.

"And you're beautiful as well," the two laughed.

She couldn't figure out why she was so envious of that scene.

Nurse Andrea and Howard's continuous conversation was overheard  by Zannie. She knew that Howard was out of focus on his duty so Zannie took the opportunity to intervene between the two.

"Excuse me, Howard. Those goods need to be repackaged and delivered to those who need help," Zannie replied with a serious face.

"Sorry if I bothered you. Let's talk later, okay?" Nurse Andrea said with a smile before leaving in front of Howard and Zannie.

Howard frowned when he faced Zannie. "It hasn't been that long since Ms. Andrea and I talked."

"It doesn't matter how long or how short your conversation time is. As your evaluator, I still have to remind you because it's difficult to be reprimanded badly by the superior or head of our organization," Zannie explained.

"I'm sorry. Next time, I'll avoid talking," Howard apologized and then hesitantly smiled.

"I understand," Howard replied curtly.

After three hours of their work, a female teacher caught Howard and Zannie's attention. That's the same teacher who teaches the History subject to the children in the tent.

"Good morning, Zannie and Howard," the teacher said.

"Ma'am, it's you. How are you? Is there a problem?" Zannie asked with a smile.

"Nothing. Actually, I just wanted to ask your permission, Zannie, if I could borrow Howard's time to teach and play with the kids," asked the teacher apologetically.

Zannie and Howard suddenly looked at each other.

"Alright. I'll let him teach the kids," Zannie answered and then turned to Howard. "But, it's up to him if he agrees."

Howard nodded without hesitation. "Yes, I'm fine with teaching kids. And they're kind."

Zannie seemed to change when Howard answered. If he used to seem arrogant, now Zannie can feel the respect in the tone of Howard's speech.

"In that case, join me in the area where we taught, Howard. Okay?" The teacher was happy with Zannie's decision.

For a while, Zannie just let Howard go with the teacher. She breathed a sigh of relief because she would no longer be conscious of her movements due to Howard's presence. She couldn't understand this feeling that was so new and odd to her.

***

Seeing that it was four in the afternoon on her watch, Zannie decided to stop worrying and follow Howard.

"Oh? Where are you going?" Lucille suddenly asked her.

“I just thought of seeing Howard. I don't want him to get in trouble because of his attitude,” Zannie reasoned and took a deep breath.

“Dear, why would you think that Howard will cause trouble? Will you just appreciate his gentleness? And he's courteous to others unlike his first weeks in this camp,” Lucille asked with a remarkable frown on her face.

“You should never be blinded by his looks and demeanor. Those can deceive you in an instant,” Zannie bemoaned and walked away.

“Hey, are you really serious? Even at this hour, you're still determined to follow him? He's not even a kid—”

"Jacob entrusted that man to me while he's away, and I just don't want him causing any trouble, okay?"

Zannie didn't even wait for Lucille to say something. She dashed to the area near the camp where Howard was currently teaching students. She came across a young man who was happily playing with children. She couldn't help but inquire about Howard's teaching experience with Ms. Aida, the in-charge teacher.

"How is he behaving, ma'am?"

"Howard seemed to become an effective teacher in the future. His knowledge is sharp compared to mine. Did he become a guest lecturer even though he's still young? Or does he have a higher IQ?" Ms. Aida smiled before responding.

"I actually have no idea what his profession is," Zannie lied, timidly smiling. "I promise that I will come back and teach you a lot of lectures, and I will also give you plenty of gifts that you can use while studying," Howard said after finishing playing with the kids on the field.

One of those kids approached Howard. "Really? When are you going to give us the gift?"

"Everything will be fine soon," he assured.

"How can we know if the war is over? I don't want any false hopes," the young girl replied, her face sad. Zannie was on the verge of crying at the same time.

"I know this is a difficult battle, but remember what I told you earlier, there's always a light at the end of the tunnel where we can see the light. You have a lot of dreams in the future, right? So just be hopeful in order to achieve those in the right time," Howard said wholeheartedly as he received warm hugs from the children one by one.

"Look at him, I never expected him to be sympathetic to children," Ms. Aida said, averting her gaze from Zannie.

Zannie agreed and smiled slightly. "I didn't expect him to have that side."