My Basic Life

Friends in class

"Class, stand up! Good morning, teacher!" The class monitor greeted the Science teacher, Miss Aifa. The rest of the class followed. "Good morning, students. Do not sit down yet. Take out your homework and open page 5. I will check you one by one."

Oh my God. I had totally forgotten about my homework. What do I do?

I pretended to search for my workbook in my bag, but unfortunately, it was the only book in there. With trembling hands, I took it out and placed it on my table. By then, a few people were forced to remain standing. Faiz, my best friend, read my face clearly. He nudged me. "Here, copy this." And I wrote at the speed of lightning. I know copying is wrong but... hey, I'm sure you would do the same, right? (Hehe).

Miss Aifa was checking Faridul's work. "Why haven't you finished your work?! Didn't I give you two days to complete just one page?" "I - I didn't understand these questions..." "You have learnt this in your previous year, Farid," and she started reading the questions. "Number one, what are the three states of matter?" Nothing came out from Faridul's mouth. "If you really didn't understand, why didn't you come and see me? Your friend Fitri did. He sacrificed his break time just too see me. All of you should be like him,"

Everyone felt disgusted. Fitri is the teachers' pet. They seem to praise him endlessly, babbling about his rightousness, and that everyone should follow him. Fitri, instead of being modest and humble, had his nose high up in the air. He just smiled a satisfied smile, which made us feel sick, and it clearly meant, 'In your face!' If he were to be a bit modest, everyone might like him.

"Show me your palm," Miss Aifa said, and Farid dare not to disobey her. 

Whack! She hit his hand with a metal ruler. Ouch! I said to myself. It's a good thing he didn't get a demerit. That would mean a much more severe punishment. Last year, this student had been a victim of these horrible demerits, given by none other than Miss Aifa. He was forced to stay back and miss his breaktime just to clean up the toilets for a whole week. I'm starting to wonder who came up with such horrible things. 

"Yusri! Why are you still eating in class?" Miss Aifa asked sternly. "I just felt hungry..." "Keep it away. You can eat AFTER class." Yusri took his last bite of chocolate before keeping it under his desk. When she turned around, Yusri took out a large cookie and munched on it. That's Yusri. In my opinion, he gets fatter every day. He just can't seem to live without eating too much.

Miss Aifa moved towards me and I put on the most 'innocent' face as ever. Sadly, I'm not a good actor, so it turned out to be more of a person showing his wide set of teeth, and looks like a duck.

"Ahil. I do not want to see 'Doctors' handwriting' on your book." She said. "Sit down." I breathed a sigh of relief. "Faiz, show me your book," and he quietly handed over his work to her. Miss Aifa stared at it with a doubtful face. "Erm, both of you will see me during recess. I have something to discuss about with the both of you." She finally said after a long silence. Now this... I think I'm stepping in the 'Danger Zone'. I gulped and nodded. Faiz also seemed uncomfortable. 

She turned to the whole class. "For those of you who were unable to complete their homework today, tomorrow will be your LAST chance. If I catch anyone from tomorrow onward, then, watch out. I'm not going to have any lazy students in my class. If  anyone is uninterested, they may leave the class.  Whoever that is, they can make their way down to the headmaster's study and tell them that you do not want to take this class. I should really hope that wouldn't happen. Understood?"

"Yes, Miss Aifa." The whole class responded.

"Very well, we will resume the class.. Yusri, STOP eating. *sigh*. Everyone open up your textbook to page 17, Chapter 2..."

-----------------------------------------

"Oh, there goes the bell. That will be all for today. Faiz and Ahil, follow me."

I heard my name being called, and my heart was throbbing. Meetings with teachers are always scary to me. Sometimes, they ask us our opinions on a certain thing, or ask about ourselves. It's kind of awkward being alone with them in a room. Luckily, I have Faiz's company, but the problem is, I think both of us are in trouble. Perhaps it's about my work.

We followed her as she lead her way to her study. Her study was always kept neat-and-tidy. She had a picture of her family, and there was someone that looked like her younger sister in the middle of the photo. There were shelves on the wall, and books, fiction and non-fiction arranged neatly, followed by a few trophies. The little cabinet next to her table is where she keeps some papers and memos. Some other female teachers were in the room, quietly marking homeworks and prep tests. Some were on the computer.

"Sit down." She spoke in a soft tone, not like the one she used in class.

We sat on two stools and Miss Aifa faced us. At this point, I was already in a panic state. "I know the both of you are close to each other. You seem to be inseparable, like brothers." She said in a plesant voice. "But, to be the best, both of you have to help each other in a good way, not by cheating. I know one of you copied the other, and I'm guessing it's you, Ahil." That hit me harder than I thought. It felt so embarrassing. I gulped hard and nodded. "I'm sorry," I stammered. I could've hit myself right now for forgetting and slacking off too much, even if it's the ending of the 2nd week of school.

"In life, there are no shortcuts to success. You must work hard to gain what you want. If there's an easy way, use the easy way, as long as you get the same benefit with the 'Harder Way'. I don't expect much hard work in the first few months, but then, in every single day, try to get better... that, I expect. You will have ups and downs, but strive through them, and when you do, you'll get something that is worth struggling for," "What is it?" Both of us asked, determined to change a lot. "Wait and you'll see," she said with a smile. "You may leave, if you need anything, I'll be here.." We said a quick 'Thank You' and left.

"This year and the upcoming ones ain't going to be as easy. She's right, Faiz. There will be challenges. I had faced all sorts of challenges last year, but I ignored them when they would have moulded my character in a good way," I said to him in a regretful tone. Faiz patted my back. "Miss Aifa said to strive and be strong in whatever we're up against, and then we'll find our place. Challenges? I think two best friends can handle them together. Cheer up!"

I smiled thankfully at him.

-------------------------------------------

Thanks, Ai-Chan, for letting me use your name! :3

Next Chapter:

'Sleepover'

Ahil has a sleepover, but did he persuade his mom?