La Fille Fraçaise

endless beauty

I vaguely remember that day, when the rain was beating incessantly against the glass of the empty room window, I waited like every day for the sound of that damn irritating bell present in those few square meters that defined my office, where I bordered myself when I needed quiet silence from outside where I could only be annoyed by the incessant noise of laughter and words I heard from students in the corridors. I moved my fingers on the wooden desk almost in time with the raindrops pattering on the window, catching my attention in the sweet and calm melody that it composed. My brain busted into another dimension as time seemed to pass more and more slowly until it stopped and I was shrouded by the beautiful sonance of silence up till it was interrupted by the sound that indicated the beginning of the term. I shook my head as I came out from my imagination in which I had lost and I stood up taking a deep breath preparing myself for what would be another day of work in that hellish place. In the school there were various rumors that my students were scared of my person...I admit I was not the kindest example of teachers but I have always tried to be the personage who would have instructed them knowledge, but I guess I would also be satisfied with that slight terror I saw in their eyes when they landed in mine, it almost amused me. That day appeared to be like the exact same as it was months ago, when I accepted the job in this school, i couldn't imagine how such a boring mundane mind place could be the cause of the transformation of my life, but now I've gone too far, all informations will come in due time... Let's go back to that monotonous September day, my class was still empty and I sighed because I had just started a Monday and could not wait for it to end. I found myself looking out the window once again impatiently waiting for some unfortunate idiot to run into my morning anger of the beginning of the week to walk into my classroom until a faint and almost imperceptible voice leapt to my ear and it was one of the best sounds I ever heard.
"Umh salut" She said and in that moment the sound of the rain became a din that covered that euphony.
I almost felt my breath stop and my eyes freeze so as not to miss any detail. She looked like an angelic figure, something surreal and too perfect to exist.
'Oh hi' I said and quickly checked the student register of my course with the corner of my eye and noticed the presence of a new name in the list.
<Damn I forgot> I thought to myself;
Here she was, Sabrina, a new student whose parents from France had decided to move to Seattle.
'You must be Sabrina' I said, unable to move my gaze from her ethereal face;
At that moment I blamed the curiosity of knowing this character who seemed to have come out of a Walt Disney fairy tale, but the most the seconds passed, the most I realized that it was more than a simple and pure curiosity.
'Oh oui' she said.
She didn't seem to know my language well, but she could understand me and I understood her.
'Prenez place où vous voulez' *(take place wherever u want)* I said using my few but useful French understanding, I knew that sooner or later they would come in handy.
She gave a slight smile and for what was milliseconds I felt a warm sensation explode in my chest, people rarely smiled at me or spoke to me in that place, except if they had probably been threatened to do so.
Probably the real turning point came in that moment, when on what seemed like a common Monday morning of a week in September I had an unexpected meeting with what looked like an angel who had stumbled out of Eden and fallen into the misfortunes of that hell, Seattle. Not that I was necessarily a Biblical person but at that moment I started to believe that.
'Good morning class, today as scheduled you will take an early semester test to evaluate your abilities learned during the past school year, while in the current one we will be lucky enough to host a new student and I hope for your safety that you will care of treat equally well 'I said sternly, for any reason in the world I would have wanted such an apparently delicate creature to be overwhelmed by that circle of hell.
I received no response but a nod of the head together from all the students who over time I learned to understand they were somewhat terrified and subdued by me, but for the moment I felt it could be enough.
I took photocopies of some exercises I had prepared the previous evening in the company of a glass of whiskey, which I craved so terribly at that moment, and started walking around the classroom putting the papers back on the desks under the attentive and trembling gaze of the my students; I could have made a more abrupt move and I would have frightened them instantly, I was almost happy to have such power in my hands but we will spare the description of my sadistic spirit for another moment.
I ended up stopping in front of her, almost unable to think, and yet for what has just been told it must have been impossible that the dreaded teacher was almost in awe of speaking to a student, but then it seemed more reasonable when I found myself looking into her eyes, two almost ebony pools that dragged me inside them and without even fighting I drowned in them completely conscious.
'You, on the other hand, from the moment I think you don't want to introduce yourself at all, could write me something about yourself on this sheet, so I can correct your grammar' I said almost all in one breath, surprising even myself with the futility of my actions, almost like a lion that in front of its prey instead of eating it, protected it from the rest of the herd.
She just nodded and grabbed her pen ad she started writing something on a blank sheet of paper.
I was curious, curious to know who she was, curious to know why she was there at that moment and why even if only for a second I was almost grateful to be in that classroom, even though I doubted that her essay would answer this last question for me.
I tried as much as possible not to look at her while she was carefully writing, but my eyes almost rebelled against my unconscious, lifting up every time they had the opportunity, scrutinizing the details;
A lock of hair fell gently on her face and she brought it behind her ear with the most delicate movement I had ever seen, she seemed to float as if suspended between the void and the clouds and it was in that moment that our gazes crossed once again.
I could not look away as she like Medusa in mythology, slowly petrified me.
I did not realize that the lesson was over until the bell that indicated the end of the lesson rang making us both look away.
I had never hated it as much as in that moment.
'Okay, class, deliver the papers one at a time towards your path to the door' I said while the students put their papers on my desk.
She almost stopped unsure and, slowly, when everyone was out, she approached my desk placing her sheet further from the pile of tests of her classmates.
'I hope it's good enough' She told me with a strong french accent that almost made me smile but I had to force myself to look at the paper so I could see that she had written almost half of the text in English and the rest in French. Well how could I have blamed her.
'For the moment it will be fine but if you need help or you want a consult in English you can always come to me' I finally said looking up at the girl who was looking at me with the same curiosity in the eyes with which I looked at her just some minutes before so I proceeded to write my phone number on a piece of paper regretting it every second my pen rained on the receipt slip as a new number of ink stained the pure white.
'Thank you' she said as she smiled sincerely, it was rare to see it in someone there.
'Have a good day miss' She said unsure meanwhile my head was transported by my thoughts she held her bag on shoulder and walked towards the exit leaving me in some seconds alone with my troubled mind.
<Damn> I thought and for a moment I got worried that my thought might be that loud that they had heard it up and into space.