It was strange. Just yesterday, I could treat Mei like I did everyone else. But now, from the mere sight of her, I felt relaxed yet tense at the same time.
A warm feeling of satisfaction settled over my chest, and yet I craved more.
Whenever I tried to look away, the memory of the kiss we shared yesterday would pull me back in.
I bit the inside of my mouth, grounding myself before the thoughts swallowed me whole.
Now wasn't the time to bask in this feeling. We were still at school, and the teacher was waiting for me.
…I want to see you.
…I want to talk to you.
With those thoughts still lingering at the back of my head, I craned my neck away from Mei and kept walking toward the hallway.
What should have been a short five-second walk left me worn out by the time I reached the hallway.
I would have loved nothing more than to take a nap, but sadly, now wasn't the time.
Miss Lee leaned against the wall, arms crossed, an impatient look on her face.
"It took you long enough," she said.
Took me long enough?
I pulled out my phone and glanced at the time. It was 7:58 a.m., and homeroom started at 8:00. So technically, I was just on time.
"I think you're being a little overdramatic," I said with a sigh. "We still have a whole two minutes until you actually have to do your job, so I'd say I'm perfectly on time."
Miss Lee clicked her tongue and lightly slapped me on the shoulder. Well, it was her attempt at a slap, but it felt more like a tap.
Still…
What kind of teacher hits a student like this? This has to count as child abuse. But I didn't bother complaining about it.
"So," I said, getting to the point. "Why did you call me out here? I thought you'd given up on trying to make me follow the rules."
She let out a loud sigh, her body sinking into the wall as she replied.
"Yeah, this isn't about your clothes. The moment I found out you were Julie's little cousin, I knew nothing I said was going to change your mind."
Julie and Miss Lee were—and still are—friends. They went to this school together years ago. In fact, I could still picture a young Miss Lee hanging out in Julie's room when I was a kid. I wouldn't even be surprised if she knew more about me, thanks to Julie, than she let on.
Miss Lee paused for a moment as she glanced into the classroom. I followed her gaze—and they landed on Mei.
My chest tightened, but I kept my face flat.
"Does this have something to do with Mei?"
She gave a small nod before turning back to me. "Yes. You know how Mei always runs around the whole class helping people during exam season, right?"
I shrugged. "What about it?"
"Well, I'm just going to be up front with you." Miss Lee gently placed her hand on my shoulder, her eyes dead serious.
"I want you to help her."
I blinked, unable to process what she was saying, then tilted my head.
"Uh, excuse me? And how do you want me to do that?"
Miss Lee raised an eyebrow, surprised.
"That's your first question? Not 'why me'?"
I let out a small, flat chuckle. "I was gonna ask that later. But before that, how am I supposed to help her? If people specifically ask for her help, am I supposed to show up and say, 'I'll help you!'? That just makes me look nosy."
Although I framed it mostly as a joke, I was expecting some sort of answer from her. But Miss Lee just… shrugged.
"I don't know," she said flatly. "That's not my job to figure out. All I know is that you're smart, and therefore, you can help the other kids. "
I stared at her, utterly speechless, before letting out a long sigh that drained the humour from my voice.
"Listen, Miss, I'm flattered you think so highly of me, but–"
"Stop making excuses," she cut in, jabbing her finger into my chest. "I think you owe me at least this much for everything I've done for you!"
I blinked, failing to recall a single thing she'd ever done for me.
"Sorry, but what favours? All those times you yelled at me for sleeping? Sounds like you really helped me out there."
Miss Lee rolled her eyes. "Oh, really? So you're telling me you don't remember the time last year I gave YOU—and ONLY you—money for the lunar new year?"
I looked up at the ceiling, the memory slowly resurfacing. I think I was in Chemistry class at the time, and Miss Lee barged in and told the teacher she needed to have a word with me. I thought I was in trouble, but it turned out she just wanted to do the thing where you give kids money for the new year. She even had it in a fancy red envelope and everything. I was kind of touched to say the least. But…
"Really?" I said, my voice laced with scorn. "You're using a good deed I didn't ask for to blackmail a kid? That's a new low, even for you. What happened to 'don't do good things if you expect them back'?"
Miss Lee let out a loud laugh. "Hah! Don't be stupid. There were other things, too."
She held up all ten fingers and put one down for each thing she listed. "I defend you when teachers talk bad about you, I don't write you up or yell at you for breaking the rules, I let you sleep—even though I do yell at you since I have to—I let you snack, I let you use your phone, I let you–"
"Okay, okay," I cut in. "I get it, I'll help you."
At my surrender, Miss Lee planted her hands triumphantly on her hips.
"Hmph! I thought so. Anyway—find a way to help Mei. I'm not expecting you to solve all her problems, but at least ease the burden, even if it's only a little bit."
Miss Lee pushed herself off the wall, about to head back to class, but before she could, I asked, "So—why me?"
Miss Lee stopped, her back still to me.
It was somewhat of a joke, but something about her request bothered me. Realistically speaking, it made sense that she'd ask me. I was as smart as Mei, and she'd seen me teach Luna and Yu before, so I was qualified to an extent to teach the struggling students. But that was the thing…
She had to know I didn't have the best reputation.
Which meant she should also know that it'd be harder for me to pull it off. Remi was in the same homeroom as us, and while she wasn't as smart, people were much more receptive to her. So Miss Lee could have asked Remi, and yet—she didn't.
A part of me felt a little bad for suspecting my teacher. After all, out of all the teachers I've had, she might be the only one who's accepted me for who I am and talks to me despite all the trouble I am.
Still, this was who I am. So she should have expected this, too.
I remained still as I waited for an answer.
Miss Lee's shoulders dropped before she spun around, hands raised playfully, as if she'd been caught red-handed.
"Well, if you wanna know so bad…" A sly grin spread across her face. "I just wanted to set you up! This is the perfect chance for you to get a girlfriend!"
She dramatically clasped her hands together, practically swooning.
"Ah, young love. Nothing beats it! And nothing would beat seeing someone as cruel as you getting one! What teacher doesn't want to play cupid?! And I'd get to brag to Julie that I hooked her cousin up. It's absolutely perfect!"
"...Huh?"
Without even giving me a second to process her words, she spun back around with one last wink. My finger twitched at the sight of it.
"If you guys get together, you can thank me later, okay~?"
With that, she skipped back into class while humming to herself. I could have just brushed it off. This was just the type of person she was.
But the way her eyes looked... they were almost like Julie's. Like deep inside her exterior, sat some well of care or tenderness—if I had to describe it—that I couldn't quite reach.
I let out a quiet chuckle as I shook my head and headed back in class.
...Just what the hell is up with you two?
It was perfect timing, as the moment I did, the bell rang, signalling that the day had just begun. Everyone in class returned to their seats, and Miss Lee started taking attendance and running through the announcements.
Maybe I was just imagining it, but today, her gaze seemed to land on Mei and me a lot more than anyone else.