"Number 24, please come up and show us how it's done."
The cute teacher called out, knowing full well it was my seat number. I
stood up, acknowledged her request, and walked to the front of the board. I demonstrated the method smoothly, without any hesitation. Then, I returned to my seat and focused on the math problems without even glancing at Teach Renu.
Ba-dum...
My school counselor's heartbeat skipped a little. So, you notice something is off with me, huh?!
"Back to being smart now? Where'd you get your brain back from?"
On-an, sitting next to me, looked surprised to see me as brilliant as ever. I just shrugged a little.
"The problem wasn't hard."
"It was even easier before, and you were dumb as a rock. Thought you left your brain on Mount Everest."
"Yeah, well."
Even though I tried not to make eye contact, I could still catch glimpses of the adorable teacher staring this way. But she didn't ask anything out of
curiosity, which was infuriating. It felt like my anger this time didn't affect my counselor at all.
Welp, if she doesn't care, then I don't either. To emphasize my genuine displeasure, I decided to leave early on Monday evening, even though I knew full well that the student teacher would be waiting to go home with Teach Renu. My heart ached and itched, but I told myself that if she didn't care, I didn't need to waste my time and effort on her.
But what did I gain from this? It felt like I was losing my mind all by myself.
"Meow, meow."
I walked home alone, and when I passed the construction site where I used to stop with my counselor because there was a stray kitten, I couldn't help but call out for the little orange furball. But today, it was gone. I couldn't read anyone's mind, so I had no idea where the scruffy little thing had gone.
Its mother probably took it away.
Hmph, I thought I'd play with the cat to cheer myself up, but even the cat ran away from me!
----
In the end, the school became an unappealing place, as usual. Even the
excitement of going home was dampened. Of course, my mother noticed something was wrong when she saw me so quiet. While watching cartoons, she nudged me with her shoulder.
"What's wrong? Not sticking to your pretty teacher anymore?"
"Nope."
"Why not?"
"We're not that close."
"Why is your relationship so short-lived... Teach Renu, are you tired of Jom already?"
I was so focused on the cartoon that I didn't notice the beautiful teacher's arrival. Even the heartbeat I usually heard was drowned out by the fog in my head. When I turned to my mother's call, I saw Teach Renu looking at me briefly before giving a faint smile.
"No, it's more like Jom is tired of Re."
The sweet-faced teacher referred to herself as 'Re' with my mom without any formality. She glanced at me once more before heading back upstairs.
The statement 'Jom is tired of Re' carried no emotion, as if she was just clarifying and then leaving without any attachment.
I could only watch her until she was out of sight before turning back to the cartoon, making my mom laugh.
"You're sulking at each other? What kind of student- teacher relationship is this?"
