“Zero my boy, this isn’t the time to be pooping! We have to attend a meeting,” Taeyeon squatted and spoke to her little furry friend of grey. His eyes, round and doggy, did not indicate any concern about her urgency as they maintained solid eye contact with her. “Okay, fine. Just hurry, okay? Record breaking poop, please.”

Zero was in prime pooping position. Out came one. Taeyeon pictured herself clearing the poop up at lightning speed and making it to the department meeting with their new manager just in time. It was going to be alright. Everything was going to be--

Thump.

A sudden thud startled her. She turned to look but all she saw was a flash of black flannel going over the wall.

What was that about? Shrugging that mystery away, Taeyeon turned back to Zero, ready to pick up his poop but to her horror, he was not in prime pooping position. Instead, he was back to square one of his pooping routine, sniffing and turning circles.

“No, no, no . . .” Taeyeon groaned. That sudden sound must have startled Zero and disrupted his pooping progress. Unkind thoughts about that flannel perpetrator filled her mind as she whipped out her phone and checked the time of the meeting again. It was starting in five minutes and the meeting room was five minutes away.

All hope was lost.

⟶

“Was that Teacher Taeyeon with her pup back there?”

Winter turned to her partner in crime as they jogged down the road. “Teacher Taeyeon? Did she see us?”

“I don’t think so?”

“Oh crap. What if she saw us?”

“She would’ve yelled if she did.”

“Giselle, are you sure?”

“Sure, I’m sure.”

Winter looked behind them. There were no teachers in sight. “Should we go back?”

“We made a commitment to skip study time. We gotta stay committed to the commitment.”

“Okay, let’s run faster. We’re almost at the subway.”

⟶

“Is everyone here?”

Sooyoung stole a glance at the time on her phone. . Where’s Taeyeon? And Hyo? With her phone in undertable stealth mode, she screamed for her friends in their group chat.

Where r u 2?!?!?!

“Teacher Taeyeon and Teacher Hyo are not here yet, Miss Young,” another department member informed.

“We’ll have to start without them then. Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining this meeting. I’m Tiffany Young, your new campus manager. Starting from today, we will be implementing new policies and strategies to improve our high school’s image and recruitment.”

Sooyoung suppressed a yawn as she leaned back in her chair. Meetings were nothing but wasted time that was better spent on eating or sleeping. With folded arms, she viewed the slides shown on the screen.

Kwangya High Recruitment Plan

Student Enrollment Per department

Student Engagement Per department

Strategies To Improve Marketability

“Kwangya High has not been the high school of choice for a number of years. After an expert review of KYH’s recruitment plan, we have found it to be lacking. The plan has not been keeping up with the times. This is the age of social media. Hence, we will kickstart a series of social media campaigns to improve the image of KYH.”

Sooyoung nodded at intervals to appear at attention as she idly observed the new campus manager’s style. Long black hair. Straight and flowing. It had a sheen and glow that was only possible with lots of care and treatments.

Mine is pretty smooth and shiny too.

Tiffany Young’s dressing style was neat and impressive too. One could say the white short-sleeved blouse, off-white fitting vest and flowy pants outfit made a great first impression. But most importantly, Tiffany had a great smile and she was using it right now, smiling as she presented the boring numbers and reports. It made the meeting a little more tolerable at least.

Despite the charming appearance of campus manager Young, Sooyoung was beginning to fall victim to the sleepy bug. Until she heard the words “Grandprix Swim 20”.

“You want us to join GS20?” Sooyoung joined the rest of the department in expressing shock and terror.

“But we haven’t participated in the last ten years.”

“We don’t even have a swim team.”

“Do you know how embarrassing it was to be ranked bottom for ten years in a row?”

Tiffany held her hand up, silencing the protests. “Members of the department, do you remember your childhood dream? Do you remember the fire that burned in your heart when you first became a teacher?”

After a moment, a few members nodded, but Sooyoung could only stare at Tiffany.

“As a proud member of the department and a driving force of KYH, I seek a strong warrior who will rise above the dark shadows of defeat and despair. I seek a courageous fighter who wants to feel the fire burning in their heart again.”

Tiffany spread her arms open and looked at them with teary eyes. “This is the challenge for you. This is your shining moment of breakthrough!”

Sooyoung jerked her eyes away at once. Eye contact was a strict no-no whenever a volunteer was needed. No eye contact and plenty of silent chanting “not me” in her head.

Not me, not me, not me, not me, n--

The door swung open, breaking the eerie silence in the room.

“Please accept my apology for being late,” said the tiny figure at the door. “I was already on the way but Zero had to poop and when a dog has to poop, a dog has to poop. I tried my best to get here as soon as--”

With a sinking feeling, Sooyoung watched as Tiffany turned to Taeyeon with a huge smile and open arms.

“Of course, your apology is accepted. We are all very understanding. And your dog is so cute. Is Zero his name? Hi, Zero, you cutie boy.” Tiffany ushered Taeyeon into the room with the widest smile Sooyoung had seen so far. “Everyone, I believe we have found our strongest warrior.”

Taeyeon’s jaw fell open. “Huh? What? Warrior?”

“The fire in your eyes says yes.”

“Yes?”

“Yes! You are our strongest warrior. You will lead us into victory at GS20 this year.”

“GS20?” Taeyeon’s mouth gaped wider than before.

“What’s your name again?”

“Taeyeon. Kim.”

“And you’re a teacher?”

“Yes, but what--”

Tiffany began to clap. “Do you hear that steely conviction? Join me in applauding Teacher Taeyeon Kim for stepping forward during our hour of greatest need. Truly our hero, Teacher Taeyeon Kim!”

Sooyoung could only shake her head and clap along.

At least it isn’t me.

⟶

“Scissors, rock, paper!”

Winter scrunched her nose at the rock Giselle threw out.

“Rock beats scissors, I win,” Giselle declared with glee.

“Alright, I’ll go. Fried chicken and almond milk?”

“You’re the best, girl.”

Winter grinned and winked. “I know, I know.”

The line was long so it took a while to get the food and drinks but Winter was in high spirits and didn’t mind the wait. After getting the food and drinks, Winter began walking back to their seats, boxes of chicken and packets of milk in hand.

She was humming a happy song when a head of blonde hair and familiar face flashed before her eyes. She gasped and turned away, but it was too late.

“Winter Kim! Is that you?”

Back hunched, Winter tried to tip-toe away. “No, it’s not.”

“I know it’s you. I can recognise your face, kiddo. Hey, stop moving. Come back here.”

With a groan, Winter turned back to face the music. “Yes, Teacher Hyo.”

“What are you doing here?”

“Watching baseball?” Winter replied with a tentative grin.

“During study time?”

“Well . . . I’m a sports student too . . . and I’m here to learn about sports?”

“Nonsense. Are you here on your own?”

Winter nodded with all the conviction she could muster. But she must have overdone it because Teacher Hyo narrowed her eyes and leaned closer. “Are you sure?”

“I’m here alone. Right here. Right now. Very alone.”

“You’d better not be lying or--”

“Winter! There you are. What took you so long?”

Winter would have palmed her face if she wasn’t holding on to chicken and milk. She bit her lip as Teacher Hyo turned around.

“A-ha, Giselle, are you here to learn about sports too?”

“Er . . . I guess so?”

“The two of you are going back to school with me.”

Winter stepped forward. “But don’t you want to watch the game? We’ll feel really bad if you miss the game because of us.”

“That’s a good point, Winter. You’re a smart kid. Go back to school on your own. I’ll ask Teacher Taeyeon to wait for you there.”

“Teacher Hyo . . .”

“Go. Now.”

With no other way out, Winter and Giselle headed back to school, heads down. A subway ride and short walk later, they found themselves at the school gates again. Upon entering the main hall, they found Teacher Taeyeon and a stranger waiting for them.

“Welcome back to Kwangya High, girls,” said the stranger with an unusually bright smile. “I’m the campus manager. You can call me Manager Tiffany.”

“Good afternoon, Teacher Taeyeon and Manager Tiffany,” Winter and Giselle greeted with a bow. “We are sorry for skipping study time to watch baseball.”

“Skipping study time is a serious offence. But you have a chance to redeem yourselves.”

“We have a chance?” Winter and Giselle’s eyes opened wide.

Manager Tiffany nodded, still smiling like the sun. “Of course, we believe in giving our students chances. You will be joining the swim team and competing in GS20 for redemption.”

“GS20?” Winter and Giselle exchanged incredulous looks. “But our school doesn’t participate in it. We don’t even have a swim team.”

“That will change this year. And the change will begin with you.”

“But-but I’m not good at swimming.” Winter turned to Giselle. “Are you good at swimming?”

Giselle shook her head. “I’m not.”

“You don’t have to worry about that.” Manager Tiffany smiled with confidence. “Go to the sports building tomorrow morning. Your training starts right away. We’ll bring in the best trainers to whip you into shape.”

Winter and Giselle could only gape.

⟶

Back at the meeting room, Tiffany clapped her hands merrily. “See? I told you things will work out. We have two students in the swim team already.”

Taeyeon stared at Tiffany, wondering if the campus manager had truly lost her marbles. “But they said they’re not good at swimming.”

Tiffany waved her hand in Taeyeon’s general direction, dismissing the worry. “Nobody starts off a champion. They’ll learn.”

“But we still need two more to form the team for the GS20 medley relay race.”

“It’s just two more. No problem.” Tiffany grinned and patted Taeyeon’s shoulder. “I trust you’ll find them real soon.”

Taeyeon trembled with unease at the thought of her impossible task and hugged Zero closer for comfort. “Zero, save me from Manager Tiffany . . .”

⟶