Second Story: In The Nick of Time

Chapter 2

15 September 2021

It was not a mistake; it was indeed Mai's boyfriend. She could not contain her emotions which began to well inside her when she saw her beloved again and rushed to hug him tightly. Hoàng was thrown off by her sudden public display of affection, especially because they were standing in front of the school gate. A few students were looking at the couple with curiosity, some with disapproval. In fact, a female student clicked her tongue and grimaced at the two for making such a scene in the morning.

"It's you, it really is you!" said Mai earnestly, as her eyes started tearing up.

"Yeah... it's me," replied Hoàng while being confused. "What's wrong? You seem out of it. Is it the weather?"

"No," she shook her head, "let's go to class."

The classroom was the same as usual: some of her classmates were chatting among themselves while some other students were sleeping face down on their desks, still exhausted from schoolwork and clubs of the previous day. When Châu Anh saw Mai, the former waved at the latter and cheerfully greeted the couple. Thảo did not look at them as she was busy reading her favourite detective novel, occasionally sipping her homemade orange juice from her thermos.

"The couple's all lovey-dovey in the morning, huh?" asked Châu Anh. "You look more cheerful than usual. Must be the start-of-the-school-year honeymoon period, then."

"Don't be ridiculous!" retorted Mai, before returning to her seat.

As she sat down and took out her books, she still had the thought that this must have been a dream. It was simply not possible for the dead to come back. It was absurd to think that she had travelled back to the past. Believing that she would soon wake up from this dream, she just played along with it and tried to make it through that day.

It was then the homeroom period. The homeroom teacher, who was the vice-principal, came inside the class. Throughout the period, she could not pay any attention to her surroundings as she was lost in her thoughts. The bell rang abruptly, heralding the end of the first period. While the students were rushing to prepare for the next lesson, the vice-principal called out to Mai and asked her, "Do you have some time after school today? I'd like to talk to you about something."

"Yes, sir," replied Mai, as she left for the biology laboratory.

The vice-principal, Mr Sơn (2), was a middle-aged man in his late forties. He was a new, promising teacher who took up the job a few years ago. Described by colleagues as an intelligent yet aloof man, he was the principal's right-hand man who raised the academic standards of the school to a notably higher level. The students joked that he was the newest superweapon 'A' High had acquired against their archenemy. Not surprisingly, he was strict to the students, but according to 11A12, he was extremely kind to his own students.

As school ended, Mai went to the vice-principal's office and knocked lightly on the door.

"Enter," said the vice-principal, "come and take a seat."

"What is the matter, teach?" asked Mai nervously.

She had been to neither the vice-principal's nor the principal's office. The former's office had a certain imposing feel to the visitor. The antique décor and the expensive-looking wooden furniture gave the office a classy and sophisticated feel. Writing with a fountain pen in his left hand, the vice-principal reached for his cup of black coffee with the other hand. As he sipped the exquisite coffee from the Central Highlands (3), he took a piece of paper out of the drawer and placed it on his writing desk.

"According to the class report I have here, your grades have dropped recently. Is something the matter?" asked Mr Sơn.

"No, I feel fine," replied Mai nervously, her eyes widened with surprise.