Esme the Quiet One

CH.2

Unusual silence blanketed Toshiko High.

The lady repeated her question. "Well, is anyone going to tell me whose hair the boy is shouting about?"

Silence.

The lady sighed, closed her eyes, and massaged her right temple, with her left arm akimbo. Her posture was of frustration. "Gosh. What am I doing?" The lady muttered under her breath.  Those who were seated at the front had a shock of their life because they could hear everything the lady was muttering. Some of the words were banned on school grounds

"I'm sorry kids. Let me start over again. Good morning everyone. I-"

"Class, attention!" the class rep suddenly announced upon hearing good morning, unintentionally cutting off the lady mid-sentence.

The students, as if controlled by a push of a button, scrambled off to their respective seats, making a muck off the customary "good morning, teacher" salutation made the lady winced a bit.

"Yes. Good morning everyone-" 

"Thank you, teacher!"

Twice the lady was cut off by the students. It was beginning to feel like a long day for the lady.

"Yes. A very good morning indeed." The lady paused for a moment, blinked twice, scanned left to right, making sure there were no more customary greetings cutting off mid-sentence. "I am sure everyone is wondering who the hell- I mean who in the world I am." The lady took another breath, trying to pull herself together. "My name is Jade Williams. The newest addition to Toshiko High" Jade introduced herself. "By profession, I am a teacher but I am not your teacher."

The dumbfounded students were now even more confused.

Jade let out a small sigh. "I know I don't make any sense but I just wanted to make it clear that I did not become your teacher willingly so there is no need to call me teacher. Address me as Ms. Jade or Ms. J. Though I prefer Ms. J. Any questions?"

The situation is becoming more and more bizarre. The students were still trying to figure out Jade Williams. From head to toe, she is nothing like the other teachers in Toshiko high. Especially her hair. It was not exactly pink all through but a quarter of her crown there was a bright streak of neon pink, from the forehead combed back and tied together with the rest of her hair in a messy bun secured with a pen. Her face was flawlessly covered with make-up, the unwelcome flaws almost invisible under the layers of cream and concealer. Eyes of average size artfully colored with shades of eye shadows making it attractive and commanding. A deep shade of red called attention to her lips. She was not wearing the customary white top and black bottom. She was wearing a bumblebee yellow baby doll dress. The kind which is fitting from top to the waist and bloomed into a bell from the waist down and ended just on the borderline of her knees. And bless the eyes of the shoe lovers-  pumps in a lighter shade of her dress graced her dainty feet. Dainty, because she is short. Even with her pumps, she stands just a few inches taller than the shortest girl in class. No wonder the students were dumbfounded.

One student raised a hand. It was Vallerie Cho. Ms. J nodded her permission. 

"How old are you?" Vallerie asked. Esme almost groaned out loud with Vallerie's question.  She tried to make her self smaller in her seat just in case the teacher could sense her burning embarrassment. 

"It is rude to ask a lady her age..." Ms. J replied

"... and.." Ms. J trailed off. Esme shut her eyes tightly and mentally preparing herself for any lashing they will receive.

"... especially without the use of the auxiliary function of expressing purpose or expectation. Also, there is another element you should always remember when asking questions" Ms. J finished off her sentence. But she was not done yet. Ms. J took out three whiteboard marker from the pretty pouch she laid on the teacher's desk.

Esme opened her eyes and perked up, surprised with Ms.J's response.

Ms. J wrote 'how old are you' in black and underlined it with a red marker. "Now class, tell me what is wrong with the sentence. Why did I underline it with red?" Ms. J faced the class with the look every teacher use when expecting answers from the students.

For the first time in her life, Esme wished that she was not at the top rank of her class. Every eye was on her, expecting her to answer.

Ms. J followed the direction of stares and pointed out at Esme. "Okay, Margaret. Tell me why."

"I -uh, I, I, -uh.."  Esme stuttered. Ms. J was focused on Esme. "Take a deep breath, focus, and tell me why." 

Esme took in a deep breath and exhaled. "My name is not Margaret." Esme blurted. 

"Figures. But you look like a Margaret." Ms. J replied, smiling. "So, not Margaret, do you have an answer for me? or a name at least?"

"M-my name is Esme Tan. I-uh, there is no wrong with the sentence, Ms. J., Though it does seem a little off  I do not know what exactly."Bracing herself, Esme lowered her eyes, clenched her teeth, and folded her hands in a tight ball.

"Excellent answer, Esme. I expect as much from a student. If you were able to give me the exact answer I wanted then, I am useless." Ms. J replied with a soft smile which intensifies the confusion of the already confused students.

"Bear with me kids, we are in for a long ride. Pay close attention and please raise up your hand if you have any questions. Ready?"

Taking the students' silent stares as a yes, Ms. J proceed with her explanation.

"As you can see here boys and girls, there is no problem with the sentence. In writing, you will get a full mark for this sentence. However, in the art of conversation, you are missing an important element in your question." Ms. J wrote a word in blue, circled it, and made a connecting line to the 'how old are you?' sentence. 

"Politeness" Ms. J emphasized as she double-underlined the word. "In any situation, remember to always be polite. And this," Ms. J slapped on the board "lacks politeness"

"So, the next question. What are the words that we use to express politeness?" Sensing a rise of panic from the students, Ms. J did not wait for an answer but instead wrote "can" and "may". Ms. J turned back to her students. " Now, one of these two words is appropriately used to ask for permission. Th-"

Ms. J stopped mid-sentence because she was distracted by a male student trying to sneak into the classroom using the back door.

"Well, someone is awfully late. You. Boy. The one crouching. Yes, you. Come up and use the front door instead. It is rude to sneak into class like that."

Everyone turned to see who dares to upset Ms. J on her first day of class.

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A/N: I know, it's confusing. But that is Ms. Jade Williams; confusing and never making any sense.