Sorry for the long absence, college has been kicking my butt. Anyway, please read and review! You can be harsh in your reviews if you want, it'll help me become a better writer.
The next week was spent with our family settling into our new home. I then started scanning the perimeter of the neighborhood to map out the route for my daily runs. Once we had settled, Joe and I then spent the majority of our time playing soccer with dad and Rose watching. While we took breaks, dad and Rose would then play around with the ball. This continued until it the day of orientation came.
"Okay, so pencil and notebook, check. Rosary, check. Perfect"
As I slung my single-strapped bag over my shoulder, I heard a knock on the door.
"Trường ơi, con sửa soạn xong chưa? Joe tới rồi" (Aaron, are you done preparing yet? Joe's already here.) I heard dad say.
"Dạ rồi. Just let me close my bad first…" (I'm done.) After closing and sealing my bag, changed out of my undershirt and polyester shorts and into a red polo shirt and jeans. I then hurried out to the door, where Rose, dad and Joe were standing. Seeing me, he waved his hand.
"Yo Ronnie! Ready to go?" he asked.
"Yeah, just let me put on my shoes." Hurriedly putting on my shoes, I then said my goodbyes to Rose and dad before heading out.
"You excited, Ronnie?" Joe asked, as we walked.
"I guess? I'm a little more anxious than anything. I know pretty much nobody here besides you." I replied.
"I'm not that much different either. I only know you and a few other people who are going to this school. I mean, it's better than not knowing anybody, right?"
"That's true. Anyway, we should hurry. We wouldn't want to be late to the orientation."
"Don't worry about it, man. We left thirty minutes early! It won't take us fifteen minutes just to walk to school."
"But what if people have already arrived? What if we don't get to choose the early time we want to start school?"
"...Man, you really haven't changed. Even now you still worry over some crazy things." Joe then laughed. "Like I said, chill out man! We're attending the first orientation session! There will be six more after this, each with different groups of students! I'm sure we'll get the early classes we want. It's not like everybody wants to start school at seven o'clock like you anyway."
"Yeah, I guess that's true. So do you know anyone going to this orientation session today besides me?"
"Yeah. Some much all of my friends from middle school are going today, and some will be here during the second session. We didn't want to be the last ones to choose our classes after all. I'll introduce you to them if we ever see them!"
"Alright, cool."
Surprisingly, the walk to the school was quicker than I expected. It was almost as quick as how it was when we jogged to the school. Nevertheless, despite us being early, there were already limousines parked outside of the school. From the limousines, many people who looked to be around our age stepped out wearing expensive clothing and jewelry.
"This is crazy...I feel like an outsider here." I said.
"Yeah...I knew rich people attended this school, but I didn't expect them to look this rich. Oh well, let's go in."
Everything seemed to be a blur as we walked to the front of auditorium, which was where the orientation was said to start. As we walked, both of us bumped into several students hurrying in the same direction.
"Watch it, loser!" I heard some guy say as he bumped into us.
...
"I guess if they're rich you can expect them to be sassy. Well, not like we expected anything more, right?" Joe sighed.
"I guess not. I just hope I don't have to deal with them for my entire high school career. Are your friends at least better than this?"
"Way better. Speaking of which, I wonder where they are now? Meh, doesn't matter. I'm sure we'll find them eventually during orientation. If not during, then after orientation." As we neared the auditorium, we saw several students lining up in front of upperclassmen holding up signs arranging us into alphabetical order by last name.
"Let's see here, A to F. Since my last name is "Emes", looks like that's my line. Sorry Ronnie, looks like we're separated from here on."
"Yeah...Guess I'll see you later then." I said as he walked away. Well, since my last name was "Le", I then lined up in the "G-L" line, which was right next to the "A-F" line. No sooner had I gotten in line did it quickly elongate. Looking back, I couldn't really see the end to any of the lines. If this was what one orientation session looked like, then I was glad to be part of the first. After about five minutes, our lines started to move forward. Since I wasn't too far from the front of the line, I could see those ahead of me get their pictures taken in front.
"Alrighty, young man. Now eyes towards the lens and smile!"
Come my turn, I followed the cameraman's instructions and waited for the flash of light. Suddenly the machine next to the cameraman started to make some noise and out of it came my ID card. On the card were the school's name and emblem along with my recently-taken picture, name, grade, and ID number. Then walking into the auditorium I noticed rows and rows of cushioned seats face a large stage. Some students took the stairs to sit on the second and third floors. I, like some of the others, opted to stay on the first floor and took a seat in the middle of the middle row. Looking around, I couldn't see Joe anywhere, and before I could save him a seat, the seats next to me rapidly started filling up.
Great. Now I'm surrounded by total strangers.
"Hey there!" Although I didn't recognize the voice, I decided to turn in the direction of its source, just in case I was being addressed. Surely enough, I found myself a target of the eyes of another. He had red eyes and blonde hair and sort of had an air of confidence around him.
"This seat taken?" he asked.
"Uh...nope. It's all yours." I replied. Oh well, I guess Joe was already sitting somewhere else.
"Cool, thanks! Didn't know the first orientation session would be this crowded. Glad I was able to find a seat. Hey Beta, I got you a seat right here!" Immediately after, a girl who looked similar to the guy took the seat next to his.
We were then silent for the next few minutes as more students piled into the auditorium.
"You new here?" I heard him ask.
"Well yeah. I mean, aren't we all?"
"Whoops, sorry. I meant if you had recently moved into the area. I've never seen you around before."
"Yup. I actually moved here about a week ago, but how did you know I wasn't from around the area?" I asked. I had to admit, he was interesting to say the least. I had not said one thing about myself, and yet here he was, assuming things about me that were pretty darn true.
"Well, let's just say you have that kind of air around you. Kinda like one of my other friends. Anyway, sorry about that, let me introduce myself! You can call me Alpha!" he said, as he held out his hand.
"Well, it's not like you can call him anything else anyway," I looked behind the guy in front of me and noticed the girl. "Alpha's his real name."
"Beta, come on, are you really going to do this right now?"
Shaking his hand, I too, introduced myself. "Nice to meet you Alpha, I'm Aaron. And you are…?" I asked, holding out my hand to the girl.
She smiled and shook it. "As stated by my brother, Beta Zero. Younger twin sister of Alpha Zero. Excited to attend a new school?"
"Well, in a way. It's my first time being in such a rich school such as this one. I also have a friend who's also attending here, so it's nice to go to a new school with at least one familiar person, right?"
"That's true. Making friends can be a tad difficult without connections. Well, how about we all start now?"
"Hey, good idea, sis! Why don't we exchange numbers? Mind giving us yours, Aaron?" Alpha said, grabbing out his phone.
Wait, what? To be honest, I wasn't expecting any of this to be happening so fast. First time ever actually, I mean, the fact that someone had requested to be friends with me within seconds of us meeting. But regardless, I couldn't really turn down the offer
"By the way man, are you a scholarship student by any chance?" They asked.
"Yeah, I am. You guys too?"
"Heck yeah! We scholarship students have to stick together, right? We're the only ones who understand where each other come from!"
Upon exchanging numbers, we then waited for the session to start. Not too long after, the lights in the auditorium dimmed, and one single light shined on the stage, revealing two women and one man.
The gray-haired woman in the middle then took the microphone and cleared her throat a few times before speaking.
"Hello everyone, and welcome to MapleStory Academy, home to the proud Maplers! I am your principal, Mrs. Rhinne, and behind me are your vice principals, Mr. Nobunaga, and Mr. Schrodinger! We hope you're enjoying your day so far, because from it's only going to get better from here!"
Mrs. Rhinne then went on to explain the school's rules and consequences for not following them along with the school uniforms and how they must be worn at all times during school hours, and the class requirements all students were to take in order to graduate within four years and to be accepted to one of the top universities, which she believed we were all capable of doing. She then handed the microphone to Mr. Schrodinger, who mostly explained the sports teams of the school, how the teams were in the top league and the pride the students were to carry if they were ever to make it on any of the teams. The microphone was then handed to Mr. Nobunaga, who went over other extracurricular activities such as club activities and job opportunities at the school. Since majority of the clubs at school were well funded, one could expect great experiences and travels within each club. Also, since the school contained many restaurants in the cafeteria, you could work in any of the restaurants as early as your freshman year and make money for yourself.
With the explanations done, we were then split into three groups each led by one of the principals. Alpha and Beta took Mr. Nobunaga's group and I decided to be in Mr. Schrodinger's group and soon we were off. Of course, we visited the training facilities first. Inside the school was a large stadium for the school's basketball and volleyball games and there was even a huge workout room full of weights, treadmills, any kind of device you could think of. Mr. Schrodinger enthusiastically showed us all of the banners on the top, which showed the years that the school had won championships. While he talked, I took notes of what he was saying for future reference.
We were then shown the track and field, where the school's football and soccer games took place. Even though I had already seen it once, it still amazed me with its size and capacity. I couldn't even picture myself sitting in of of the seats surrounded by so many other students. Once the sports facilities were done, Mr. Schrodinger guided us through the school while explaining the purposes for each of the tall buildings, albeit with less enthusiasm as he did while explaining the sports aspects of the school.
"Here in each building, you'll typically see each floor having classes corresponding to the year you are in. For example, let's start with the science building here. On the first floor are freshmen-level classes such as integrated science and biology. On the second floor are sophomore-level classes such as chemistry and physics. Then, on the third and fourth floors are where AP classes are taught along with some other non-AP subjects. Juniors and Seniors are typically spread out between these two floors. Of course there can be some sophomores too, but we can get into that later. Now that's not to say all buildings are oriented the same way. Some have the order inverted, having freshmen take classes at the top while seniors take classes at the bottom, and some can also be in no particular order, but again, that's not really important. Now then, let's move on."
Finally, as we headed out toward one of the lawns of the school, already assembled were several stands with signs and students handing out free items. On the stands were signs that read the names of clubs.
"Finally, we have school clubs. Each club has different features and purposes, but all of them are geared towards enhancing your high school experience. Well, I'll give you all a few minutes to explore for yourselves. After that, then we'll have lunch and you'll then begin registering for classes."
Immediately the crowd dispersed. Walking around the lawn, I noticed several club stands fill up with the students within seconds. Key club, Green club, Archery club, Kendo club, VSA, and many others, along with a stand where you could have your fortune read. Seeing as how they were giving out free ice-cream, I walked over to the Key club stand. After receiving a popsicle from one of the upper classmen, I noticed the sign which contained the club's purpose.
"Community service, huh?" I asked.
"Yup, that's right! Our club's main purpose is to help the community in any way can in the best way possible! We have a variety of events that you can sign up for with different kinds of service you can provide for the community!" One of them replied, "It's not just community service though. We also go to many district conventions where we meet with other key clubs from different schools and engage in spirit competitions! I can guarantee that you'll have some of the most memorable moments of your life by joining this club! Are you interested?"
"I guess it can't hurt. First time for everything, right?"
"That's right! And great! Here, if you could just give us your email, we'll notify you of our first meeting! Hope to see you soon!"
After writing down my email, I then left the stand to explore other clubs. By the time it was over, I had signed up for one more club, VSA. I wanted to explore some more, but I guess that could wait. I still had an entire year after all.
Once again grouping up with Mr. Schrodinger, we made our way into the school cafeteria which, like the all of the other buildings in the school, was giant. Aside from all the clean and fancy chairs covered in cloth everywhere in the building, on the first floor were several fast food restaurants where students could quickly get their food food. On the second floor seemed to be a buffet which seemed to be geared more towards students looking to sit down and enjoy their meals with friends. There were also several floors above, but I was honestly too busy marvelling at what was already presented to me. Looking around, I saw nobody as impressed as I was.
Seriously, how the heck did I get into this school again? Oh right, a scholarship…
Seeing as how there were already students crowding around the restaurants, it was obvious we were not the first ones.
"Alright, and finally, here we have the cafeteria. In the cafeteria we have…" Mr. Schrodinger then went on to describe the first two floors, which were exactly what I had expected, "from the third floor and on are restaurants mainly focused on cuisines from specific continents. For example, you'll find Asian cuisine on the third floor, European cuisine on the fourth and so on. Since this is an orientation session, all meals will be free. However, once school starts you'll have to pay, although not as much as when you're off campus. Anyway, the hour's all yours. Enjoy your meals, and after the hour has passed, we'll take your measurements and head to the computer room so you can register for your classes."
With all these options around, it was a little hard for me to narrow down my choices. Eventually, despite knowing that I didn't have to spend money, decided on getting some cheap Asian fast food. I was glad there were some restaurants I recognized. I wasn't really in a mood to try anything new anyway.
After ordering, I looked around for an empty table. Since I knew nobody here, if I could eat in peace, then everything would be fine.
"Yo, Ronnie!"
On second thought, nevermind.
Scanning the cafeteria and spotting Joe sitting alone in one of the tables, I made my way towards him.
"Hey man, how's your orientation so far?"
"It's fine I guess. Got to sign up for some clubs, but that's it. Just waiting to sign up for classes. You?"
"Same for me. Nobody I knew was in the same group so I tried talking to some people, but they just weren't interested."
"Hah. How about that? Knowing you, I thought you would've already made a few new friends. Guess it doesn't work with people here."
"Right?! Seriously, some people really need to lighten up. Anyway, gimme a moment, I'm trying to see if any of my friends are here. Ah….there!" Immediately, Joe rose from his seat and waved both of his arms.
Looking in the direction that he was, I saw two people react amongst the crowd of students. Upon closer look, I noticed that they were the same two people that sat next to me Alpha and Beta. It then took them a few minutes to get their lunch and head to our table.
"Yo, haven't seen you guys at all this morning! Where were you guys?" Joe asked them.
"We were all the way in the S-Z line, so of course you couldn't have seen us. All the other lines blocker our view." Beta said, not too long before noticing me.
"Oh hey, Aaron! You know Joe too?" Both twins asked.
"Yeah. We were friends starting from elementary school to now."
"Oh, so YOU must be the old friend and transfer student Joe was telling us about!" they said.
"Oh really? Joe told you guys about me? Guess there's no need for a re-introduction then, since you probably already know everything there is to know about me." I said. I'll be honest, I was pleasantly surprised that Joe actually took the time to talk about me with his friends. Then again, since we had been friends for so long, he might have told them about my embarrassing moments.
Alpha immediately chuckled. "Yeah, I mean. One thing I remember was the fact that the girl you liked called you fat. That's rough, buddy."
Yeah...of course he'd tell them that. Right after hearing him say that, Joe also laughed.
Beta then slapped his hand. "Come on, Alpha, that's rude."
"Don't worry about it," I sighed, "It was in elementary school anyway."
"Yeah, and to be fair, that girl was a pretty big jerk." Joe added, "It was still pretty funny though."
We then proceeded to eat our meals while we talked. Apparently, Joe had met the twins while in middle school, and as they stated earlier, they too were scholarship students, although they were more like Joe than me. More well-off. Apparently their mother is also the principal for another school, but they opted to go here since they wanted to be more independent.
"Hey, so like, you're into soccer, right Aaron? You thinking about joining the soccer team here?" Alpha asked.
"Joining the team? Ehh, I don't know…maybe I'll just focus on my studies."
"Whaaat?! Just your studies?! Come on man, that's boring!" Joe chimed in.
"Well I did say maybe. I might join the team but you know…"
No sooner had I said that did we hear the sound of a bell, which most likely signaled the end of the lunch period since other students were also moving from their tables and quickly throwing their trash away.
"Well, I'll see you guys later." I said, throwing away my empty tray and grouping again with Mr. Schrodinger.
After grouping back up, he led us to the gym where we were to get our measurements. "These measurements are to help us to tailor all your uniforms so they fit you well. During the school year, if your uniform doesn't fit you anymore, you're more than welcome to request for us to take your measurements again." Walking into one of the rooms with a tailor, I was asked to stand up straight and broad in a T-shape as hey took measurements of my body. After they were done I was told that my uniform was to arrive by mail sometime before school started.
A few minutes after our measurements were done, we then entered the computer lab, which contained long desks lined with computers.
"Alright everyone. First, let's turn on all the monitors and sign into the guest account." Mr. Schrodinger instructed.
We all did as we were told and when everyone was ready, he then instructed us to go to the school website and select the "Create new account" option. Using our school ID number provided to us earlier and creating a password, we created a school account for ourselves, allowing us to be notified of upcoming homework assignments and school news. We were then instructed to click on the "Course Registration" tab, which allowed us to register for courses. On the page were a variety of classes in certain categories. Since we were freshmen, we were to register for freshmen level classes. However, because I was a student who had taken honors classes in middle school, I was to take some advanced classes. P.E 1, World History, Biology, Vietnamese were the regular freshmen classes in my schedule while the advanced classes I were to take were Algebra II, and English 1A, since normal freshmen would normally take geometry and English 1.
After selecting my classes, I was able to choose my starting time. If I were to start at 8:00, then I would usually get out at around 3:00, but if I were to start at 7:00, then I would get out an hour earlier. What's more, the school had a weird schedule where you would only take certain classes on certain days of the week. On Mondays and Wednesdays, it was stated that you'd take periods 1, 3, 5, 7 and on Tuesdays and Thursdays you'd take periods 2, 4, 6, each class being an hour and thirty-five minutes long. Only on Fridays would you take all six of your classes, each of them being only forty minutes long since that was the day the school allowed students out early.
Well regardless, I decided to start at 7:00 since I was often an early riser and preferred to leave school early. With my starting time selected, I went to Mr. Schrodinger to confirm my selection. He then gave me the O.K and allowed me to leave after confirming my registration, thus ending my orientation.
I then proceeded to exit the computer room and saw several students who were also leaving as I walked out. Seeing as how I didn't see anybody I recognized, I called Joe to see if he was done yet.
"Hey man, I just got out. You done registering yet? I'm waiting for you."
"Hold on a moment, still confirming..."
...
"Aaaannnnddddd...done. Alright I'll be right out." he replied.
"Alright. Meet me by the school entrance."
I then sat down on one of the benches and waited. How long I sat there, I didn't know, but next thing I knew, Alpha and Beta walked out in front of me.
"Well, hello there! Waiting for someone?" They asked.
"Yeah. Joe in fact. Are you guys doing anything?"
"Yeah! In fact, we're waiting for him as well."
"Oh really? Well, guess we can all wait together."
No sooner had I said that did Joe come running towards us.
"Hey guys, sorry for the wait! I was trying to decide on my start time for school." he said.
"Oh yeah, so what time did you decide to start?" we all asked.
"Eight o'clock. I could never wake up early enough to start at seven, so I decided to start and end school later. Anyway, now that our orientation's done, why don't we stop by Kerning Square? Get some drinks and whatnot? You guys down?"
"Totally!" The twins replied.
"Yeah, I'm totally down." I said.
Kerning Square was a huge shopping mall not too far from Kerning City. First we had to take a subway down to the city before taking another subway down to the mall. It took less than ten minutes to arrive upon taking the subway to both destinations. Compared to the dirty and run-down city itself, the shopping mall was surprisingly clean, bright, colorful, and had a very different environment. It was a huge layered rectangular structure multiple stories tall with escalators across from each other. Many stores and restaurants covered the place.
"Come on guys, let's head to the bubble tea place!" Alpha said.
The bubble tea place was only a few minutes away by foot if you walked casually, and when we arrived, we could already see people hanging out outside the shop.
"Whoa, talk about a line… and here I thought we actually came during a slower day..." Beta muttered.
"Hold on guys, let me check on the line…" Joe then left his backpack with Alpha and jogged inside the shop, only to come out less than five seconds later. "It's not too long. The main reason why it's so crowded is because some are just waiting for their drinks while others are just here to hang out. So what do you guys want? I'll go in and order for you."
Alpha ordered a mango bubble tea while Beta ordered a cherry bubble tea. As they ordered, Joe took out a slip of paper to write down their orders. Seeing that kind of made me imagine him as a waiter of some sort.
"Alright, alright. So what about 'chu, Aaron?"
"My turn already? Hmm…" Upon looking at the menu inside the shop, I could see that it sold more than just bubble tea. There were smoothies, tapioca, soft drinks, and even food. However, since bubble tea was the cheapest, I went ahead and ordered a honeydew melon bubble tea.
We then all gave Joe the amount of mesos that our orders cost and immediately he rushed inside to get our orders.
Thankfully, as time passed, the crowd dissipated as the people decided to walk around the mall, giving us room to take some seats inside the shop and hang out. Surprisingly, it took Joe less than five minutes to come with our orders.
Upon seeing what Joe bought for himself, we all stared at him incredulously. "Really, man? A strawberry smoothie? You know, if you brought so much money with you, you could've treated us!"
"Oh lay off guys, I only had enough for myself."
Nevertheless, we all poked our straws in and drank what we ordered. The taste of the melon tea was…pretty interesting to say the least. It combined the sweetness of the melon with the bitter taste of tea. Combine that with pearls, and I guess I could finally understand why people enjoyed bubble tea so much.
Looking around the shop, I noticed several monitors showing cartoons and idol performances and other people chatting. The atmosphere was pretty vibrant. Moving here was definitely a good idea.
*SLUUURRRRPPPP*
I looked up and saw that Alpha and Beta had already finished their drinks.
Alpha was about to stand up until Beta grabbed his cup from him. "Anyone else done? I'll throw away your guys' cups."
"Oh yeah, could you please?" I then hurried and finished mine and handed the empty cup to her. Checking my phone, I saw that the clock was approaching four, and I didn't want to take chances and stay out late. Luckily, everyone else was thinking the same.
"Well, we better go," Beta said as we all got up from out seats, "I have to start practicing early for volleyball if I want to make it into the varsity team."
"You want to make it into the varsity team as a freshman?" I asked.
"Yup! Aim high, right?"
Dang. If I ever tried out for any team I'd be happy on the junior varsity squad. Beta was doing a good job at making me feel bad.
"Oh yeah, sorry guys, gimme a moment to order an extra drink." Joe said, rushing back to the counter.
Alpha smirked as he did so. "Yeah, of course he'd do that. He'd never forget about her. And yet he said he only had enough money for himself."
Ooohhh what was this? Joe knows another girl?
"Her?" I asked.
"A 'friend'", Alpha said, putting quotations when he said "friend", "that we met during middle school. Joe barely does anything fun without her, and even if he does, he always texts her about it or tells her in person. Heck they even sometimes live together!"
"Oh so she's his girlfriend?"
"Well you'd think so, but for some reason he keeps denying it."
"Were you guys saying something?" Before we knew it, Joe had already finished ordering and was ready to leave.
"Ah, nothing. Anyway, it's time for us to go now." Alpha said, leaving with his sister.
"Well, guess we'll see you guys at school." I said.
...
"So...got that for a girl didn't you?"
Right when I said that Joe coughed and took a sip from the drink intended for the "girl".
"Alpha told you didn't he?"
I didn't really know if Alpha wanted to get caught, so I decided against revealing him. But that I meant I needed another reason.
What could I use, what could I use? How did I know about this girl...how did I know about this girl…
Ah!
"Well no, I just remembered something about you telling me about the girl you met in middle school. You know, the one that was hard to make friends with? Is she the one?"
"Yeah. Won't say anything more than that though."
Oh really? Well, depending on his reaction, if I pulled out this question…
"Oh. So you guys are together now?"
"She is NOT my girlfriend!" Seeing him vehemently deny that kind of only made me more suspicious.
"But she could be, right?"
"W-Well yeah, but...oh look here's your house!"
I thought he was trying to avoid me, but looking to my left, he was right. Although I could walk all the way to Joe's home, seeing as how I told Ba that I'd be home by noon and noon had already passed, I decided to stop.
"Ah well, guess I'll see you later then." Waving bye to Joe, I rang the doorbell to my house, and a few seconds later, Rose opened the door to greet me.
"Hi anh hai!" she said, embracing me right after. Seeing me walk into the house, Joe also took his leave.
Walking further in, I noticed dad writing on some documents, looking and smiling at me for only a second before returning to his work. "Hi con. Orientation có vui không?" (Was orientation fun?)
"Yeah." I simply replied, laying on the couch after realizing how tired I was.
"You excited for school?"
"Definitely."
Whew! Glad I got this done. Since I'm on break now, I hope to be pumping some more chapters out!
Name: Adam Le (Aaron's father, birth name: Tuấn Lê)
Gender: Male
Age: 38
Birthdate: April 4
Height: 6 feet 2 inches.
Occupation: Pediatrician, single father.
Appearance: Usually wears a tucked in dress shirt and khaki pants along with dress shoes. Also wears glasses and has an "Alex" style hairdo.
Personality: Usually kind and gentle, but can be sarcastic and witty.
Likes: His children and his late wife, playing soccer, watching T.V, sparring sessions with Aaron.
Dislikes: His children being disobedient.
Hobbies: Working out, reading and sometimes writing novels. Definitely not fan fictions.
Interesting info: When he was young, his family consisted of only him, his mother and his father. Born and raised in a very poor neighborhood in the motherland, his mother and father had to toil in the farms to make a living. He lived a religious life until he joined a gang when he was twelve, which was where he learned to steal and fight to support his family. He continued stealing and fighting despite his parents' protests because he didn't want to live a life of poverty. Because of their thefts and involvement in some illegal business, many gang members and anyone affiliated with them eventually were gunned down by police, his parents included. As a result he lost all of his money, friends, and even his family. Many children were then orphaned and with nobody to take care of them, every day at least one would die on the streets of either starvation or disease. It was this sight that awakened his desire to resume his religious life and to become someone who could aid children. With nothing left, Tuấn worked several odd jobs trying to make enough money to escape the motherland and managed to enroll himself into a school. During his school days, he spent all of his time learning everything he could about anything he could. As a result, he earned top marks in school and numerous scholarships. He then attended the Mu Lung University with aspirations of being a pediatrician. It was in Mu Lung University that he met his future wife, Elise. Together, they had two children. Aaron, while they were both still in college, and Rose after they had graduated. After Elise's death, Adam raised both children on his own and plans to never remarry.
Life fresh after graduating college was tough because it was difficult to find work. As a result, the family relocated several times and Adam worked many part time jobs to raise his family. He started off working in clinics of poor neighborhoods, and after making enough money, relocated to richer, safer neighborhoods to help his children live more comfortable lives. Eventually, he was finally able to find a clinic where his children could live a life of comfort in Victoria, which is where the family is now.
Also has a lot of admirers.