But Mona was not in the mood for conversation. Her mind was preoccupied by other things, such as how she was going to explain to her yet-to-meet homeroom teacher why she was 30-minute late for the very first day of school. And so she continued to ignore the woman, keeping her eyes on the elevator floor indicator.
Mona bit her lower lip. It was going to take a while before the elevator carriage arrived on the first floor. Conversation was inevitable.
"You're one of the new students."
Here it goes.
Mona acted surprised, pretending to notice the woman for the first time. It struck her as odd that the woman was making a statement rather than asking. But then it was not so odd, after all she's not wearing the uniform. Mona tried to smile back.
"Class 118?" the woman asked, taking a step forward.
Intuitively, Mona took a step back. She was very protective of her personal space.
"Uh...I suppose so."
The floor number turned 5.
The woman was by Mona's side in a second. She wrapped her fleshy arm around Mona's shoulders like they were old acquaintances already. Mona tensed under the intimacy.
"Hi! I'm Teacher Hsieh!" the woman introduced herself enthusiastically. And when the announcement of her name did not seem to have any expected effect, she added, "I'm the homeroom teacher for Class 118."
Mona gulped, almost choking on her own saliva. The elevator was on the second floor.
"Good morning, teacher! I'm really sorry. I didn't know who you are, and---"
Teacher Hsieh interrupted her apology with a wave of her hand. "Don't worry about that, dear," she said motherly, "Your classmates-to-be are in the conference room on the third floor. The principle's got a word with you all. I think you should join them."
With that, she winked and let go of Mona.
The elevator door slided open, coming to the rescue that was much too late. Without hesitation, Mona turned for the stairs - something she sould've done in the first place - and hoped she had not yet been labeled "the girl who was late" by her homeroom teacher.
