Miss Park

Favourite

Even though it had only been a week, English was already my favourite class. Everything else was pretty much the same as last year, with the same boring classes and teachers. But Miss Park... I found myself looking forwards to going to school every day because of her.

We had only had seven English classes together so far, but she was always so chirpy and encouraging when she walked into class, a smile forever gracing her lips. It was enough to make me giddy from the inside out.

It wasn't just her beauty that drew me to her; she was truly flawless in every way. Her teaching methods were unlike anything I had ever seen from any of my previous teachers. She rewarded kids for having small victories, rather than getting frustrated when they didn't understand something straight away. She was patient, and that was something that gained respect.

She would sit at the front of the room and read her own novel in silence for the first few minutes of every class, allowing us to unwind from our day thus far and prepare for the lesson ahead. Then, she would read us a chapter of a book that we had all chosen for the last 5-10 minutes of class.

Those two instances during the lesson were probably my favourites. I love it when she reads. Her voice is so soothing, deep, and calming. Her Australian accent, although I had heard many from living here, was somehow different from the rest. Far more attractive and elegant sounding. When she was reading, I could see her getting lost in the book. Her soft features would change and mimic the character's emotions.

Each lesson, as we all walked in and out of the door, she would stand beside the exit and either greet or dismiss us. In my 12 years of schooling, I had never had a teacher who tried as hard as she did to connect with all of us on such a personal level. Every lesson, she asked new questions about our lives at home or any extracurricular activities we were involved in; it was nice to have her listen to what we had to say. In exchange, she should tell us stories about her travels, childhood, and any experiences she has had that she believes are relevant to what we are learning in class.

During most of my lunch breaks, she and her lessons were the topics of discussion. Jennie was the one who talked about her the most, always saying how cool it was that she was Korean because she couldn't relate to many of the other students at the school because it was so heavily populated by Australian-born students.

Although I liked Miss Park, I didn't contribute as much to the discussions about her as the others did. I'm nervous about how much of a liking I've taken to her for some reason. As a result, I've been keeping it a little more private. Other than Jennie and Jisoo, it usually takes me a lot to warm up to people, but she was instantly someone I was comfortable around.

A conversation that I was not open to having about her, however, was the one regarding Issac and hot hot he thought she was. It made my fucking blood boil. He had been prancing around the school for the past week, announcing how much he wanted to fuck her and how good he thought she would be in bed. The fuckwit would waltz through the hallways with his friends and whistle when she left the room. The poor woman seemed oblivious to it all.

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"Do you guys think she'll read the Hunger Games books to us this year? It was the second most voted on novel that she gave us a selection out of." Jennie sat down next to Jisoo, chewing on a few of her fries that she had bought for lunch.

"I don't know." I shrugged. "She seems to like older books though".

"Are you still going to the coffee shop this afternoon, Lisa?" Jisoo, leans across the table to reach her water bottle. Oh, shit. I'd forgotten about the coffee shop and how I'd promised Jisoo that I'd help her with English and Maths.

She still struggled to understand words, whereas I grew up speaking both English and Thai and was therefore fluent in both. So Jennie and I went over things with her on a regular basis to help her memorise things better. "Of course, I'll be there."

"Sorry I can't help Chu... I've got to do some stuff for my Mum later" Jennie usually came with us to help, and I knew she resented it when she had to do something else.

"Don't worry. I'll still call you later tonight." Jennie smiled and offered Jisoo some of her fries. I knew Jennie was disappointed that she wouldn't be able to come with us. She was a tough girl, but she had such a soft spot for the little brunette. Jennie was the type of girl who had a sharp tongue towards the majority of people, but she was so sweet and caring to the small handful that she cared about.

Just as I pulled out my phone to let my mum know that I would be with Jisoo this afternoon, Issac and his little gang of bitches sit at the table next to us. And surprise, surprise, they were being assholes.

"Ian, that girl that I finally went out with last week? I didn't call her back, but she won't leave me alone, right? I mean she wasn't a good fuck so surely she gets the hint!" Issac's voice rings out loud and clear across the lunch area, everyone trying to ignore his distasteful and just plain fucking idiotic comments.

"I get it, dude, this one I screwed up a month ago still hasn't given up. I'd never go back to her; I only did it because of how fucked off our heads we both were," Ian was pretty much the same as Issac...loud, full of himself, and a dick. He was a huge follower and just went along with Isaac; I couldn't stand him either.

"Come on guys, I'm sure she wasn't awful. Plus, just not calling someone back is the lamest way to tell her that you don't want to see her again" Then there was Jess. He was a quieter member of the group. Sure, he was on the football team and he laughed along with the boys. But he was never disrespectful. He and I had chatted a few times and every conversation left me wondering why he was friends with those pricks.

"I'm trying to find some lesbians tonight. Planning on having a three way. You coming tonight Manoban?" Issac suddenly calls my name, knowing that I was listening in on their conversation.

"No thanks Issac, I'm good."

"You've probably never fucked anyone anyways... what about you Kim? I don't think I've ever seen you with a man, are you even straight?" He gets up from his chair and pushes himself up to sit on the table, leaning forwards so we could see his smug face.

"Come on Issac, knock it off." Jess grabs Issac's arm, pulling a little so he got the hint.

Jennie went bright red and that crossed a line for me because I knew that Jennie had a crush on a girl. She was questioning herself and hadn't told anyone about it but me yet. She couldn't exactly tell Jisoo seeing as it was her that Jennie had fallen for. But the shorter girl seemed oblivious to the whole situation. Jennie was tough, but certain subjects sent her off. And this was one of them.

"Shut up Issac, piss off."

"Get lost Manoban, I wasn't even talking to you! So Kim, are you straight or not? Cause I'd fuck you either way, whether you like -".

"We're not making comments about sexuality over here are we Issac?" A soft but stern voice speaks up from beside Jennie.

Our heads whipped around and Issac stopped mid sentence. Miss Park placed a hand on Jennie's shoulder, who looked like she was about to cry.

"I hope not, or you can find yourself in detention for being disrespectful to your peers. Jennie, sweetie, I've been meaning to ask you to do something for me! Did you want to follow me please?" Jennie nodded and stood up slowly. Miss Park gripped her shoulders and steered her away from us and down the hall.

"Serves you right honestly," Jess chuckles at Issac's shocked face.

Jisoo turned towards Issac.

"Don't you ever insult her again, you bitch". She was so tiny but so scary when she was mad.

All I could do at this point was take Jisoo's hand and lead her outside to finish our lunch. I would go lose my shit if I had to look at him for any longer.