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"Who can give me the dates of the Battle of the Marne?" Mrs. Giraud asked the class right after entering the classroom. "Mr. Felbec."
"September 5th to the 12th, 1914." The boy responded quickly while standing up.
"Who were the opposing armies?" The teacher continued, making Felbec speechless since he didn't seem to remember the answer, while, on the contrary, Annick had her hand up, trying to be noticed by the rude woman.
"Miss Sabiani, are you going to jump on the desk for me to see you?" The woman asked rudely, making Vittoria touch Annick's arm in comfort. "Don't you think you draw enough attention as it is?" The teacher continued looking at the girl, and right after at the girl next to her, who started to feel small under the woman's gaze. "The opposing armies." She asked again.
"The French and the Germans." Annick responded after standing up from her seat.
"And the British Expeditionary Force." Vittoria murmured under her breath, the exact moment Mrs. Giraud said it.
"Don't raise your hand if you only know half the answer." The grown woman added, making the blonde sit right away, a little more conscious about all her classmates' stares. "And please tie your hair back; this isn't a party." She continued before turning towards Vittoria. "You too, Miss Anouilh; I don't care that you're new to the town; you have to follow the rules like everybody else." The woman added, looking at Vittoria with what seemed disgust, making the girl shrink in her seat.
All the class's eyes now were on the two girls, some admiring them and some a little sad that they were treated this way.
"Okay, we'll talk more about the Battle of the Marne tomorrow." The teacher continued. "Let's move on to naming our class leader." The woman said, making Felbec raise his hands right away.
"Mr. Felbec?" She asked confused.
"My teachers have always picked me as class leader. I'm studious and get good grades." He tried to explain to the old woman with an uncertain smile.
"Well, I'm not like your former teachers, Felbec." Mrs. Giraud responded, raising some laughter in the class and making Felbec sit down a little defeated, while his friend next to him tried to comfort him. "You'll have to earn it." She added.
