Time and Again

[59] Top of the Class

Isabel didn’t sleep well that night. Even if she closed her eyes, her mind was wandering. She was torn between waiting for Ken to come back into her arms or follow him in Thailand and confess her undying love for him. She loved Ken more than anything else in the world.

While Isabel was taking a bath, she was also thinking of the possibility of following Ken in Thailand in case she would get tired of waiting.

Isabel’s sour mood became worse when she saw the sarcastic smile of Samantha.

“Hi, Isabel. How are you?”

“Never been this good.”

“Really? By the way I’ve heard that Ken is coming back to Thailand next week.”

'Fuck.' Isabel cussed Samantha at the back of her mind.

She wondered why this stupid insecure bitch always glorify in her downfall. She wanted to slap her face and tell her to mind her own business. She sighed and counted to three before she opened her mouth for a good rebuttal.

“Don’t you think that long distance relationship is a good test whether you are really meant for each other or not?”

Isabel paused to see Samantha’s reaction. Samantha’s sarcastic smile slowly faded and raised her eyebrow as if challenging her to elaborate further what she was trying to say. Isabel waited for a few seconds for her rebuttal. When she didn’t hear any response from her, she continued.

“My dear, why would I worry if Ken will come back to Thailand? If Ken is really meant for me, then fate will lead him back into my arms. If he will not come back to me, maybe God is intending someone better for me.”

“Very well said cradle snatcher.” 

Samantha turned her back. The tip of her hair almost slapped Isabel’s cheek. She wanted to grab her fake blonde hair and pull it out from her head but she chose to be calm and be professional instead. 

Isabel couldn’t comprehend what Samantha meant when she called her cradle snatcher. She was insulted to the very core of her bones. She wanted her to elaborate further as to why she called her such. 

Isabel felt like Samantha knew her secret all along. She started to get nervous. As far as she knew, it’s only Pretty and Matilda who only knew her secret.

It’s very unlikely for Pretty to tell her secret to Samantha. Pretty hadn’t met Samantha yet nor knew her personally. Pretty only knew Samantha from the negative stories she heard from Isabel. It was also very unlikely for Matilda to disclose her secret to Samantha. She couldn’t bear the thought of Matilda playing a crazy game with her and Samantha. She’s truly a madwoman if she did so.

All students and teachers were gathered in the function hall at 3:00 PM. Isabel hated goodbyes. She didn’t want to attend the farewell party. She wanted to go home early and forget that she was given a chance to meet Ken once in her life. She tried to convince herself that this was the only way for her to prepare herself for their parting with Ken. 

Isabel heaved a heavy sigh before she opened the door in the function hall. She braced herself for the inevitable. 

“Good afternoon everyone. Teacher Samantha here. I would like to stretch a warm welcome to our guest, our dear headmistress Ms. Sophia, our teachers, our non-teaching staff, and most importantly to our students.” Samantha made an opening speech.

Isabel was disgusted to see Samantha hosting the program. Of all the people who can host better, why Samantha? 

“When one journey ends, another journey begins. Today we bid farewell to our Batch 38 students. As their journey at this institution ends, we wish them the best for their next big adventures. Today let us take this day to celebrate all the memories we have made together down the lanes in these classrooms and corridors. As we say goodbye, we remind ourselves that farewell is something in which you have to end someone’s journey on a happy note. They are simply words to say that we will miss you dearly and that we will remember you fondly. Although we may be separated by time and distance, nothing will diminish the important role that you have and will always play in our lives. We wish you happy and fantastic new adventures, amazing experiences, and the journey of a lifetime. I consider myself fortunate to have met all you lovely people that it makes saying goodbye difficult. I call upon our Top 1 Student for Batch 38 Ken Lin to speak a few encouraging words and give a farewell message to you all. A round of applause please.”

Isabel was about to turn her back and head out of the door when she heard Samantha called out Ken’s name to give his farewell speech. She stopped near the door to listen to his farewell speech.

“Good afternoon everyone. I am very thankful for having this opportunity to deliver my speech. At first, I don’t like to study English. My parents forced me to come here in the Philippines to learn English. Every day is a challenge for me whenever I step inside the cubicle of my English teachers. But there is one teacher who changed my perception about studying English. That is no other than Teacher Isabel.”

Everyone clapped their hands and turned their heads to Isabel. Isabel smiled with teary eyes. 

“Thank you Teacher Isabel for inspiring me to study English. You are not only an inspiration to me but also to other students. I am where I am right now because of you. Thank you so much. I would like also to thank my batch mates for being always there for me through ups and downs.”

Ken’s batch mates cheered and whistled.

“You’re the man, Ken.” Morris cheered.

“Thank you, Morris.” Ken replied.

“To all the people who built Leon’s Planet ESL Institute, thank you for opening your doors to students like us who aspire to learn English. More power to all of you. Good day!”

Everyone clapped their hands. Ken proceed to his seat.

“Congratulations Ken for being the top one student in your batch. Good job to you. To all the students who didn’t make it on top, don’t worry there’s always a better opportunity for you as long as you will apply the things that you’ve learned in English communication in a productive way.” Samantha encouraged.

Isabel was very proud of Ken. Instead of going outside the function hall and go home, she decided to stay until the end of the program. She looked for a vacant seat. She found an empty seat at the back. She listened attentively to the program.

“I know that we are all inspired with Ken’s story on how he transformed from being a resentful student into a top 1 student of his batch. And that’s courtesy of our very inspiring Teacher Isabel.”

Isabel could feel Samantha’s sarcastic remark piercing into the very core of her bones. Some of her co-teachers turned their heads to her to see her reaction. She smiled for the sake of showing them that she was pleased with the compliment.

“Guess what? Not only one student made it to the top on Teacher Isabel’s class but two.” Samantha cheered.

“Wow.” Several of Isabel’s co-teachers remarked.