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.

but had watched TV and interacted with people, caught on quickly. She sat down diligently to do

he even prepared a pencil case with

count to 100. Stella rewarded her with a piece of candy, "You're doing great,

moved on to English

the lesson, Stella assigned homework and then sat on the couch, leafing through information

didn't leave after finishing her homework but continued practicing her English songs while

the usual time, Stella made some instant

a dog running around. Opening the door, they saw Cooper sprinting from the hallway to the rooftop stairs, back and forth, as fast

stood at the doorway, giving hand signals to Cooper with a serious expression. Even though Cooper wanted to

afraid of

let Cooper rest. Cooper kept panting

Letting him rest too much would actually be

Stella, 'Here, this is my treat. I

I'll save

Jasper's side, standing at attention, signaling

handover, Jasper asked, "How is Rosie doing in her

all the numbers below 100 and the alphabet. You

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

rise, the shelter became increasingly crowded. People were constantly on guard against theft, and the living conditions were

dealing with a natural disaster, and now they had to put up with new occupants in

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,

willing to accommodate the newcomers, so they kept moving up, soon knocking on the door to the

really off-putting. Well, these people on the

that everyone on the 18th floor was tough, but they had no choice. They knelt on the ground and cried, "Please let us stay by the door to