Nari's Changed Life in Korea: Day 1
Do Not Go Gentle"Daebak!" I hear someone say. I turn and see BamBam in the back of the room. He waves at me. I give myself a face palm and then look at the rest of the class.
Alright. Here we go. Nari's Changed Life in Korea: Day 1.
"Annyeonghaseyo. I'm Song Nari Yeong." I look around. There's an empty desk in the corner of the room next to the window. I like windows... I think I'll sit there.
"Ne... Okay Song Nari Yeong, have a seat." Teacher Kim says.
I walk towards the empty desk at the back and set my stuff down. The teacher starts talking while I observe the classroom. Everyone seems fairly obedient. The girl in front of me turns around and smiles. I smile back. She points her finger in and makes a gagging face. I start chuckling to myself. There's no one behind me so I turn and look to my right. The guy sitting there looks like he's drawing something. He has his hair kind of like Justin Bieber... Ugh... Why? His ears are pierced as well. He doesn't look bad but he's not the best I've seen.
School goes on and I'm feeling like I could get the hang of this. The academics part, anyway. I walk to my last class of the day, English.
This should be an easy A.
As long as I stay quiet and do my work, my future looks pretty good.
"Repeat after me," The English teacher, Miss Go, says. "Hello. How are you?"
Everyone mumbles the words and looks as if they are about to pass out. Miss Go makes some remarks and then starts writing something on the board. It looks more complicated than what she was asking us to repeat. Then I realize that I have transferred in the middle of the school year, not the beginning of it. Miss Go turns and looks around the room.
"Would anyone like to read what this says?" She asks.
No one moves. People in the back of the room have their heads down, and the people in the front are aggressively writing in their notebooks. Miss Go scours the room with her eyes until her gaze rests on me. "You. Song Nari Yeong." She beckons me to the front of the room. I slowly stand up and make my way to the front. I make sure that my hair is in my face.
"Now, Song Nari Yeong," Miss Go purses her lips. "Since you're a new transfer student, I wouldn't expect you to be this advanced yet, so it's okay if you don't get it right. Do you want to give it a try?"
I sigh and look at the board. I don't want to draw attention to myself, but then again, I have already been called up to the front so why not?
A smile sneaks onto my face as I look at the board. "It says," I say in English, "'Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow, that I shall say good night till it be morrow.'"
Miss Go stares at me in confusion and awe for a few seconds before switching back to her pursed lips and squinted eyes. I hear whispers from behind me but can't make them out. Miss Go smiles a little and asks me a question in English.
"Good job, Song Nari Yeong. But... do you know who originally wrote this quote?"
That's easy... "William Shakespeare, of course."
That seems to silence her. I can tell that she's about to lose it.
"You are quite good for someone at your age..." Miss Go snaps.
"Yeah, well I did live in America since I was born, so it makes sense to me." I try to act cool and matter-of-fact so she can shut the hell up. Miss Go's eyes widen and that's when she starts to lose it.
"Do not act so rude in front of me! Arasseo?!" She yells.
I shrug my shoulders and point out that I was just stating a fact and that I thought she already knew.
"SIT. DOWN!" Miss Go screams.
I turn around on my heels and start heading towards my desk. "I was headed there anyway."
Her face turns beet red which makes her rush into the bathroom to calm her nerves.
Good riddance.
As soon as she slams the door, all of the students turn and face me. Some of them look like they don't understand what had happened at all, while others sit in disbelief of what had happened. I glance next to me at the guy who has stopped drawing. His eyes are on me now, full of curiosity.
Yeah, well you'll be curious for a while there, buddy.
Finally, school ends and I am free. I walk out of the school and head home. On the way, I stop by a place called Klondike Cafe and order some Bubble Tea. As I observe the cafe I notice a sign saying they need new workers.
This wouldn't be a bad place to work. I can make my own money and feel better about myself this way.
I grab a flyer and shove it into my backpack. Then I pay for my Bubble Tea and walk out the door. Just as I start relaxing, I hear a loud voice from behind.
"Song Nari Yeong! Song Nari Yeong!" BamBam yells. He runs up to me panting. "I heard about what happened today! They said you were being rude to the teacher. I told them 'Yah. Song Nari Yeong isn't someone who would do that' but they kept saying it wa..."
"It's true," I say bluntly, interrupting him.
"Jjincha?! S...Song Nari Yeong..." He lays his hand on my shoulder. "That... is.... DAEEEBAK!" He screams.
I raise my eyebrows in surprise and look at him. "Mwoh?" I ask.
"Yahhhh... you're really something, Song Nari Yeong. I like you. Let's be friends!" BamBam says.
I'm getting tired of this so I just agree and keep on walking. He follows me, talking about the most random things, until the turn to his road approaches.
"Well... see ya later, Song Nari Yeong!" He calls after me. I give him a backwards hand wave and keep walking.
Once I get home, I scramble up to my room and fall onto my bed.
What a day.
I lay in bed for a while and think about how the hell I will deal with that teacher tomorrow. It isn't my fault that she picked me. It isn't my fault that she had a sassy attitude. If anything, she should be punished for being rude to me. I sigh and get out of bed. I still need to do homework and sort out my life. I grab my earbuds from my backpack and shove them into my ears.
"Neomu meoreojijin ma tomorrow..." The song keeps on going as I finish homework.
Once I'm done I glance down at my watch. It's 10:30. I rush into the bathroom and throw a big t-shirt and cotton shorts on and brush my teeth. Then I turn off the light, sling myself onto the bed and pull the covers up. This has been a very stressful and tiring day. I hope tomorrow is better.
"Goodnight... Eomma." I say.
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