Never Judge

"Do they know we are coming over?" Adrianna asked her husband as she looked outside the window of Cedric's simple sedan.

"Yes, of course." Cedric said with a laugh as he drove the car to a hidden gate into the school.

When he was younger, for his protection, his driver and maids would alternate between picking him up there and at the front entrance of the school. The switch was done randomly so as to confuse would be kidnappers.

"So this was your plan? Confuse people as to where Emilio will be studying?" Adrianna asked as she placed her hand on Cedric's.

"Yes." Cedric said with a nod. "Later, after lunch we will go out and visit other schools, but this time we will do it publicly."

"And what if I don't want to send Yoyo to the same school where you boys studied?" Adrianna asked with a playful smirk on her lips.

"Are you saying I'm not educated enough?" Cedric asked with a raised eyebrow as he parked his car.

"I'm just teasing you." Adrianna said with a laugh. "I'm sure Yoyo would love it here." Adrianna said as she gently planted a kiss on Cedric's cheek before stepping out of the car.

They were promptly greeted by a man in his 40s, he smiled and was respectful to both Cedric and Adrianna. 

"I'm happy to see you managing the school now." Cedric said with a nod to the man. "Oh, and I'm sorry for the others and I being such a pain in the ass when we were students here." Cedric said, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment.

The man laughed at Cedric. Adrianna couldn't help but give her husband a curious look.

"Oh, Mr. Cruz was my teacher in my elementary days, with you know, the others." Cedric said with a naughty grin.

"Please, just call me Job." Cedric's former teacher said, shaking his head.

"Was my husband that much of a pain in the ass in his youth?" Adrianan asked Job.

"He wasn't the worst." Job said with a shrug. "You'll be shocked to hear who was the worst." The former teacher said with an amused laugh.

"Ram?" Adrianna asked, curious to hear who was the naughtiest among Cedric's group.

"You won't be able to guess who it was, Adri." Cedric said with a laugh as he watched in amusement as his wife struggled to figure out who was the worst.

"Alexi?" Adrianna asked again, trying to go with whoever grew up to be a troublemaker.

"Alexi was actually the most behaved." Job laughed, shocking Adrianna.

She gave Cedric a look and he simply laughed and nodded, confirming what his old teacher had just said,

"Honestly, this will come as a shock to you, but the five princes were very well behaved." Job said as he led them through a hallway. "It was Ian Lim that caused me the most headaches."

"Ian? Your Ian?" Adrianna asked as she pointed at Cedric.

"Ah Mr. Cruz!" Ian said as he arrived as if on cue. "I missed you!" 

"I didn't." The old teacher groaned loud enough for Ian and Cedric to hear.

"What? But Mr. Cruz, I made your first few years of teaching the most exciting years you've ever had in this career." Ian teased with a knowing grin.

"On my first day at school, Mr. Lim and his best friend Mr. Park thought that it would be funny to fill the drawer of my desk with honey." Job Cruz groaned as Ian and Cedric burst out laughing.

"That was you and Damien?" Cedric asked in surprise.

"You didn't know?" Ian asked, shaking his head. 

"Your father asked for discretion." Job Cruz informed Ian, shaking his head.

"Wait, Damien, as in Capt. Damien Park?" Adrianna asked with a confused look on her face. "Isn't he that stiff policeman that's Ian's best friend."

"Childhood best friend." Cedric corrected.

"Yes, the one and only Damien Park."

"I promise you Job, I will never ask the same thing for my son." Cedric said as he placed a hand on his former teacher's shoulder.

"Who knew that Ian and Damien would turn out to be the most behaved in their adulthood." Job Cruz said with a laugh.

"Life, and it's circumstances can change a person Mr. Cruz." Ian said with a sad smile.

"Please Ian, just call me Job." The teacher said as they arrived at the front of the campus.

"Wow, it hasn't changed much." Cedric said as he looked up at the imposing building where he had studied. 

"The facade may still look the same, but inside, we have modernized."  Job Cruz said as he pointed at the building. "Aside from improving the facilities we've also moved to hire the best teachers."

"Can my son study here without others realizing who he is?" Cedric asked, it was his major concern. He wanted his son to have an ordinary childhood, and with the advent of the internet, it was becoming harder and harder.

"That will all depend on you." The teacher said. "The school can call him by a different name, we could ask the teachers to treat him as fairly as possible, we could even craft a fake background for him. But if photos of him will be across all newspapers, magazines, and on the internet, there isn't much that we can do."

"I assure you, my wife and I will do our best to keep him out of the public eye." Cedric said with a nod. "We will also try to see what we can do about activities that involve parents."

"You can send Mae and Dave to pretend to be his parents." Ian said with a shrug. "Or Leon to pose as a single father, if you send Leon you would be sure that he would be kept safe."

Cedric nodded as he considered Ian's suggestion, having Leon as a single father could give ample protection for his son. On top of that he couldn't have Mae or Dave leaving everyday to pick his son up, there was just too much work.

"Mae and Dave will eventually move on with their lives." Cedric said with a frown. "They are both incredibly talented and they have a whole future ahead of them, they will shape and make the future in the industries they choose to pursue. I can't have Emilio changing parents every few years."

Ian nodded, understanding what Cedric meant.

"Leon, can you train Merrick well enough that he can take over when I need you to attend to my son?" Cedric asked his bodyguard, who had been following them the whole time like a shadow. 

"Of course." Leon said with a nod. "To be honest, Merrick is an incredible fighter, he just lacks a little experience, but as your personal bodyguard for a few hours, there is no one else that I would trust."

"It's settled then." Cedric said with a smile as he nodded at Ian.

"Aren't you going to ask for my opinion?" Adrianna asked, placing her hands on her hips.

"Honey, is there anything you would like to add, or see, or ask?" Cedric said with a sigh as he tried his best to satisfy his wife.

"I'd like to see how the boys are, like how they normally are." Adrianna said.

"Can we Job?" Cedric asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Of course." Job said with a laugh. "I'm just afraid that I will end up embarrassing Cedric and Ian when you see how young men act. They haven't changed much over the years."

"Oh god." Ian groaned.

"Were you really that bad?" Adrianna asked Ian with a raised eyebrow. 

"Yes." Ian said with a nod. "I changed a lot after the crash."

"That's good then." Adrianna said with a nod.

"They should be having a free period soon." Job said as he led the group back inside.

"Won't they be coming out of their rooms? They will see us and behave." Adrianna complained.

"No." Cedric said with a laugh. "We used to have free periods where we stayed in the classroom. It was supposed to be for us to bond with our classmates and maybe get some advanced work done, but that never happened."

"That's just what we told you." Job said with a laugh. "It was and still is just time for the teachers to take a breather."

Cedric and Ian both laughed at the teacher's explanation.

"I always snuck out of the classroom at that time." Ian said with a laugh as he recounted his shenanigans from long ago. "I'm so glad I changed."

"It's a good thing you changed." Cedric said with a nod. "Imagine if you had remained the same, I dread what could have happened to you."

"I probably would have died in a gutter somewhere, never having met the love of my life and having such an amazing son with her." Ian said with a sad smile.

"The past is the past." Job said as they arrived at one of the hallways where the classrooms were lined up.

"Won't the boys see us?" Adrianna asked.

"No, these windows are one way. We can see them, but they can't see us." Job said with a shrug.

"Wow, that's a new addition." Ian said in surprise.

"Yeah, we had to add it in after a couple of boys set up fireworks inside the classroom." Job said with a shrug.

Ian and Cedric suddenly burst out laughing.

"You know thinking back, that was incredibly stupid and dangerous." Cedric said. "Who even brought those fireworks?"

"Damien did." Ian said, laughing harder. "If people knew that the best cop in the country was such a troublemaker they would be in shock." 

The pair continued to laugh as they walked down the hall.