18 Floors Above the Apocalypse

Chapter 42

The snub from the dog didn't discourage Jasper He leaned over to Cooper, "You're smart, and you've got a good fight in you. But the world out there is pretty rough right now. You're going to have to get stronger to protect yourself, and the people you care about."

"Yeah, yeah," Stella said, scratching Cooper's head to lighten the mood. "You're going to protect me, right, Cooper?"

The dog glanced back and forth between them, visibly torn. He liked his current owner, and he liked the people on this floor. He had just enjoyed a bowl of their pork stew. If he didn't become stronger, would he be kicked out? After giving it some thought, he finally gave in.

Cooper nuzzled into Stella's embrace, as if to swear allegiance to her. She couldn't abandon him now!

"Don't worry," she reassured him. "We're just separated by a wall. We can see each other anytime."

Back in the apartment, she found half a bag of dog treats and handed it to Jasper. "Cooper's smart and holds grudges. He's also stubborn. If he misbehaves, don't hit him or scold him. Just tell me, okay?" Jasper chuckled, "What do you take me for?"

He handed over Rosie, while Stella handed over the dog. Rosie was thrilled, while Cooper seemed a bit downcast.

Once they were back inside, Stella opened Rosie's backpack. It was filled with a variety of children's books and art supplies, which looked hastily gathered.

"Rosie, have you ever been to preschool?" Stella asked.

Rosie shook her head, fiddling with her fingers. "No."

A nearly five-year-old child who had never been to preschool. The mention of preschool seemed to deflate Rosie. "Am I dumb, Stella?" Rosie hung her head low. "All the other kids go to preschool, but not me." "You're not dumb, Rosie. You're the smartest," Stella reassured her.

Stella wasn't a teacher, but she had been tutoring since middle school. Those high school subjects, she knew them like the back of her hand.

She had never taught elementary school students, but it didn't seem difficult. After flipping through the books, she started planning lessons, starting with counting in English, 1234567. From 1 to 10, then 11 to 20, she taught not only how to write the numbers but also the patterns in numbers.

who had never been to school, but had watched TV and interacted with

everything; he even prepared

Rosie had learned to count to 100. Stella rewarded her with

they moved on to

then sat on the couch, leafing through information

continued practicing her English songs while

didn't show up at the usual time, Stella made some instant noodles with ham for

saw Cooper sprinting from the hallway to the rooftop stairs, back and

serious expression. Even though Cooper wanted to snuggle up to his owner, as long

frowned, afraid of tiring

finally let Cooper rest. Cooper kept panting and

miles a day without a problem. Letting him rest too much would actually be bad

Cooper brought it to Stella, 'Here, this is my treat. I want to share it

I'll save

to Jasper's side, standing at attention,

asked, "How is

the numbers below 100

looked down from the stairwell. It seemed like some people had returned from the shelter and wanted to set up

theft, and the living conditions were terrible. Being able to stay in

they had to put

like a pack of wolves was living right outside their door, ready to burst in at any moment. Who wouldn't be scared? After all, this kind of thing had happened more than once before the storm stopped, and everyone had learned the hard way not to

so they kept moving up, soon knocking on

family from 403 looked haggard, dirty all over, and it was really off-putting. Well, these people on the 17th floor were smart. They decided to send the

403 knew that everyone on the 18th floor was tough, but they had no choice. They knelt on the ground