Eleven felt a little bewildered. After listening for a while, she realized that what Stella was showing everyone was probably the piece Kiki had written earlier, "Fear."
People kept making exaggerated expressions and looking at Kiki with approving gazes.
Eleven almost immediately frowned. That uncomfortable feeling from before returned, as if a caterpillar had crawled into her sleeve and made her feel awkward all over.
Everyone here was putting on a performance... Their praise grew louder and their words more and more extravagant, yet not a single one of them was truly smiling.
But Kiki seemed not to think there was anything wrong at all.
People threw many questions at Kiki. Some she understood and answered immediately; for the ones she did not understand, Stella patiently explained from the side, and Kiki quickly grasped them too.
The atmosphere of the conversation became particularly animated when they asked Kiki about her dream job. Everyone showed eager interest and praise for a little girl who dreamed of becoming a "great lawyer."
Throughout this, Stella spoke fluently about the practice of educational equity in District 12 and District 3, while Xiaying occasionally nodded and added a few words from the side.
Eleven watched for a while, then turned her gaze elsewhere and began looking for Hesta. But Hesta was currently speaking quietly with someone else—apparently Teacher Xiaying, who had only arrived a few days ago. Eleven ran circles around the two of them, but Hesta did not seem to notice her. Feeling a little dejected, she ran back to the center of the crowd and squeezed in beside Kiki.
At that moment, someone in the crowd noticed Eleven too. Though the child looked somewhat unruly, someone still stepped forward, bent down, and greeted her. "Do you go to school here too?"
Eleven looked