Having heard that the kids in the class were extremely naughty, and having known that several English teachers came and went off, I was determined to take a challenge.
On the way to the classroom, I felt a little nervous. What would they do with me? Would they play tricks on me? Were they like monsters or devils? I breathed deeply and said to myself, “God save me.”
The moment I appeared in the classroom, all the eyes were fixed on me. A silence fell down and soon they burst into laughter. The whole class was like a boiling pot. Some students murmured, some chatted, some laughed, some even whistled loudly. I was empty-minded and didn’t know what to say and how to deal with them. I could feel my face and ears burning, and I could even hear my heart beating. I tried to regain all my strength to calm down. Looking around the classroom, with a pretended smile on my face, I cleared my voice twice to draw their attention. But nobody seemed to take notice of me. I was so angry that my smile froze and disappeared. I paused and stared at the ceiling, wondering whether I should go or stay. Unexpectedly, the noise in the classroom died down. I lowered my head and looked straight. To my great surprise, nearly all the students sat still on their chairs, looking at me attentively. I was a little puzzled. Why did they behave themselves so soon? Were they frightened? I could not wait to make it clear. Anyway, they were quiet. I would take the chance to make myself known to them.
“Hello, I am your new English teacher. My name is Lawrence. Nice to meet you.” I paused, waiting for their response. No reply. Didn’t they understand me? Were they so poor at English that they did not know what I was saying? The classroom was in such a terrible silence that I could hear them breathing. I felt it was useless talking too much to them. What was the most important for me was to break the silence. Instead of introducing myself afterwards, I asked them, “What do you want to know or say?”
“Sir, you are too short.” said a boy who was actually taller than me, followed by a storm of laughter. I was embarrassed as if he had thrown a handful of salt to my scar.
