On the next day, Lee returns to school. “Another boring Monday,” Lee thinks, getting into his classroom.

  Then, at his desk, Lee becomes absent-minded. “Lee…” calls a girl from the desk beside his, but Lee is so distracted that he doesn’t respond. “Lee,” the girl calls out again, this time tapping him on the shoulder.

  Lee turns around and, looking at the girl, he smiles. “Hello, Suhan.”

  “Are you okay?” the girl asks with concern in her voice, and Lee nods in response, confusion etched on his face. “I was calling you but you didn’t respond; is everything really okay? How was your weekend?”

  Lee shrugs. “Yes, I’m alright; I was just thinking, and my weekend was fine. On Saturday, I went hunting.”

  “Ha ha, little Lee was hunting on Saturday,” calls out the class bully. “What did you hunt? Worms?”

  “Ruffos, go away, don’t be mean,” says the girl named Suhan, standing by Lee, and the rest of the class stays quiet, waiting to see what will happen.

  Lee breathes in then exhales with a sigh. “No, Ruffos, I did not hunt worms this weekend, sorry, so today you will have to eat proper food,” says Lee with a fake, genuine, apologetic expression. “But don’t worry; if I get some worms, I will bring them for you to eat.”

  The boy, Ruffos, not expecting such witty comeback, from someone who used to lower his head, and sometimes cry, becomes speechless and retreats back to his desk, still processing what Lee just said.

  The whole class looks from Lee to Ruffos, then they start with an agitated talk.

  Suhan looks at Lee, her mouth agape; Lee stands up and takes a step closer to the girl, then lowering his head next to her ear, he whispers, “You better close your mouth before a fly goes inside.” He then lifts his hand and tilts her chin to make the girl close her mouth.

  “Look, Lee and Suhan look like boyfriend and girlfriend,” shouts another girl, pointing at the two of them.

  Suhan is about to speak but Lee speaks first. “Why are you talking so loud? Are you jealous?” Lee says looking around the classroom. “Don’t worry, she is not my girlfriend.” He then walks out of the classroom.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  “Lee, where are you going? Are you okay?” Lee hears someone call out; as he turns around, he finds his class teacher at the door.

  “Good morning, Miss Yan, I am fine; I only need some water.” Lee points at the water fountain at the end of the hall. “I won’t take long.”

  “Good morning, go on then,” says the teacher with a nod. “And if you need to use the restroom, do it now; I have a test for you guys so I can identify where each one is.”

  “Thank you,” says Lee, taking a small bow and heading to drink water.

  “Better?” simply inquires the teacher as Lee gets back into the class, and the latter nods and heads to his desk.

  Taking a seat, Lee clears his desktop, leaving only a pen, pencil, and rubber.

  Suhan, noticing this odd action from Lee, looks at the teacher at the podium, then back at Lee. “Lee, why did you put your books away?”

  Lee looks at Suhan, then from the corner of his eyes he looks at the teacher, who just smiles. “You will see soon; now the class is about to start,” says Lee.

  The teacher, looking around, waits for the students to quiet down, then she points up at the clock behind her as the last seconds count down for the bell. When the bell rings, signalling the start of the class, the teacher says, “Good morning, students,” and gets a chorus response of ‘Good morning, Miss Yan.’ With a smile and nod, she continues. “Now Lee, as you already got your desk clear, give me a hand passing the tests; everyone else, clear the desks for the tests.”

  Lee stands up and walks to the podium to collect the tests; as he goes by the desks passing the tests, Ruffos tries to get back at Lee and extends his legs to trip the latter, but Lee notices and steps on his foot. Ruffos lets out a yelp and stands up.

  “What’s going on?” asks the teacher, looking at Lee’s innocent, confused expression and the angry face of Ruffos.

  Lee shrugs, Ruffos gets red-faced with anger, and exclaims, “Don’t pretend you don’t know. You stepped on my foot.”

  “How did I step on your foot?” asks Lee. “I was only walking straight, passing the tests like the teacher asked.”

  The teacher looks at Lee then at Ruffos; understanding what might have happened, she says, “Ruffos, think carefully if you would like to continue saying that Lee stepped on your foot.” The kid lowers his head and sits back down at his desk, so with a nod, the teacher says, “Lee, please continue.”

  As Lee continues distributing the tests, Miss Yan looks at the trajectory he is taking; at first, it seems odd, then she realises that Lee is taking the fastest route by going up and down the aisles giving the tests to two desks at once. Once he gets to the last row, he gives the four desks the test and walks back up doing the same.

  Lee finishes on the top row and goes to the teacher to give the remaining spare tests.

  “These are spare tests, Miss,” Lee says as he places the papers on the table.

  The teacher nods, then in a low voice says, “Next time, just avoid the foot.”

  Lee looks at the teacher and the corner of his lips rises. “But I saw it; if it was a colleague of mine, they could have tripped. This way, he will think before trying it again.”

  The teacher smiles and waves Lee off back to his seat; as Lee is walking away, the teacher says, “This test is only so I can know what you know and to decide if you remain in this class or be moved.” By the time she finishes, Lee is already at his desk. “You all may begin.”