9 Chapter 9 - Charades (1/2)
Translated by: ShawnSuh
Edited by: SootyOwl
”Somebody use your slipper to kill it! This is the chance to be hero!”
”Ahh! I'm scared!”
”Somebody kill it!”
Sensing hostility from the humans, the centipede moved about all the more busily. Only, it was headed in a bad direction. The students ran away screaming while its countless legs moved restlessly. The standoff continued at a distance. The hallway was growing increasingly chaotic.
”Move.”
At that moment, one of the students took off his slipper and started walking toward the centipede. Others who appeared to be his friends gave him an exaggerated cheer. There was playfulness in the boy holding the slipper in his hand. Without hesitating, he approached the centipede and raised his hand up. Underneath him was the centipede.
Juho reached out to stop him.
”Wait!”
The voice didn't belong to Juho's. At that slightly awkward, yet resounding voice, the boy stopped what he was doing. The others stopped talking.
It was the foreign teacher. He was known as James. His Korean was still awkward. Many students trembled with anxiety that he might try to strike a conversation with them. To those students, English was a much greater fear than a mere centipede.
Seeing the crowd of students on the first years' floor on his way to prepare for class, James approached them. Flustered, the boy holding the slipper was struggling for words. Others who had been cheering and those who had been screaming were all staring at that, tall foreigner of a teacher. They hoped somebody would give him an explanation.
Unaware of the students' heart, James spoke without hesitation. Of course, in English.
”Oh, my! There's a centipede here. I have an idea of what the situation is. This is a rather threatening presence for the adorable first years. But we must not forget the fact that we're all part of nature. A slipper is not a tool for murder. It's an object that protects your feet. Now, let your slipper serve its purpose.”
Surprisingly, the student understood and placed his slipper back onto his foot. Of course, it wasn't because he was fluent in English. As he backed out, he spoke to one of the students who had been cheering for him.
”That was lit! I just understood everything he was saying!”
Body language was rather universal. James' body language communicated his thoughts with an admirable result. With such an amazing communication method, his lack of fluency in Korean didn't seem to be an issue.
”Somebody bring me a dustpan and a broom. I'll take the centipede out.”
At James acted out using a broom, the students looked at each other. ”Who wants to go get it?” As big of a crowd as it was, nobody wanted go.
As he watched, Juho went into the class and grabbed a broom and a dustpan out of the cleaning supply closet.
”Thank you.”
With care, James placed the dustpan in the centipede's path. It took interest in the orange plastic, and crawled right into it. James waited until its long body had thoroughly made its way into the pan, then said proudly to the students around, ”Please go back to your classes. You should rest during recess.”
Even with a dustpan with the centipede in it, James' gestures made sense to the students. The crowd disbanded, and they all went their separate ways.
”Aren't you going?”
”I'm getting the broom and the dustpan back. You go back and enjoy the rest of the music.”
”OK. Have fun!”
After sending Seo Kwang back, Juho walked alongside James. With a puzzled expression on his face, James asked him, ”Is there a problem?”
”The broom and the dustpan in your hands belong to our class, so I wanted to take it back. I wanted to see the centipede returning to nature too.”
James seemed surprised for moment, but hearing his native language for the first time in a while, he replied with gladness.
”Your English is really good. I'm surprised. Do you have any friends who are foreigners?”
Juho thought of Baron for a brief moment, but he was more fluent in Korean than English. Besides, they hardly talked to each other.
”No.”
”Or maybe you're from another country yourself. Are you an exchange student?”
”No way.”
”Are you mixed?”
”No. I've never been to another country.”
James groaned at Juho's answers to his questions, even predicting his next question. He thought briefly and continued, ”Then there must have been an opportunity in your life I'm not aware of,” he said confidently.
Juho's language acquisition route had been slightly different from the norm. After some consideration, Juho replied, ”I somehow found myself like this.”
At his vague answer, James laughed heartily. He seemed to be thinking that Juho had a secret that he was too shy to talk about. If that was the case, then that was a big plus for Juho, and he quietly swallowed his explanations. As James laughed, his hands moved left and right, which meant the centipede in the dustpan was being tossed around. It didn't seem like it was a comfortable ride for the centipede.
At the school's backyard, James swung his arms like a discus thrower. The centipede flew through the air and landed on a leaf. After observing its surroundings, it went on its way. 'I hope it doesn't get lost this time.'
After looking at the centipede for a while, James suddenly started talking, ”You can learn a language rather quickly given the opportunity. The reason why our students struggle so much with English is because they're not given the opportunity. Without it, there's no drive, and the process only becomes painful.”
Writing out dictation out of concern for a grade or the future was just exhausting. Learning was not the result.
”A classroom is not where you start. You have to go out and find that opportunity. Only then, you can learn a language. That's the start. It honestly doesn't feel real to me that I'm teaching English to these students. It kind of feels like you're watering a dying plant with wine instead of water.”
That was a rather uncommon analogy. His body language seemed to be easier to understand, so Juho asked light-heartedly, ”So, is your Korean awkward because you weren't given the opportunity?”
”Haha, that is correct. I'm still looking for an opportunity to learn. I'm also single.” Then, James added playfully, ”Do you know any women? Introduce me to them.”