Right and Wrongs

JUNE 2016

 JUNE 2016

I had never imagined that the day I met him would become a history. The kind that you want to forget but has a standing monument in your head, you can't just get rid of it.

There is no warning. First impression lasts they say but first impressions do not determine your future with the person. First impressions can be right but they are not the most accurate clues. You can be shaking the person's hand, or give a shy wave... and the next thing you know, you already love them. Just like that. Without any warning.

"Hi." He said after he was introduced by a colleague. He explained he could not find my room right away. It was not that difficult to find. He must have had a hard time because I was late. Teachers should wait for their students in front of their cubicle aka classroom but I overslept at lunchtime.

I replied with a cheerful hello despite my guilt. If the principal finds out about it—that I was late and made my student roam around the school looking for his 1:00PM classroom, he would make me write an A4 long incident report.

He didn't smile at all. He had a blank expression. There were only two seats in the narrow room that could practically accommodate only two people but he looked confused. His expression looked like he's searching for another space to park himself.

"I'm Ryusuke Kobayashi. I'm 20 years old. I'm from Hokkaido."

His eyeball would move every time he tried to remember the words to complete his self- introduction.

I mentally studied him while he was talking.

His cheeks were pinkish like the ones of infants. His white shirt complimented his white skin, white redish skin. His hair was far similar from the trendy hairstyle of Japanese men—he had clean cut. And his eyes were brown and big— his eyes were wide- open doors to his unpredictability.

"My name's Liza. I'm 18 years old. I'm from Korea."

"Really?"

"I'm kidding."

He didn't smile.

Later that day after my two- hour class with him, I wrote in my diary that I wanted to request a 'change student'. Only students are allowed to change their teachers buuuuuut it's crystal clear that our class would become really problematic. You should have a talkative or at least a student who knows how to smile at a 1PM class in order to survive it— in order to survive drowsiness after lunch.

The next day he was wearing a black shirt and olive-green pants. It reminded me that he just got out from his military job in Japan. He didn't want to study at a university, he said and chose to enter military since it would make it easier for him to save money.

He said his friend stayed in the Philippines for one whole year. It looked like his friend esteemed the country that he was eventually convince to come here and study English— despite the opposition of his father who thinks that the Philippines was the home of sex industry and street- crimes.

I could not get him to talk after this conversation.

He would only stare at me and answered no--- and yes. Which was not going to help. I was his 'speaking' teacher. Our book was designed to get a student talk eighty percent of the class in order to practice English. I should only be correcting him.

But he only says 'yes' and 'no'. With a blank expression.