Congratulations, master!"
Bong! A big bang followed and all kinds of ribbons and pieces of paper in different colours exploded in the small toilet stall.
Still surprised, I lifted my head and saw a big ball on top of my head. There was a banner of congratulations and a few innocent-looking pigeons standing beside the white wall in front of me.
I confirmed that I did get some kind of prize, but when I thought about it...there was something awkward.
"Congratulations for being the ten-thousandth user of this toilet!"
What? I lowered my head to check where the sound came from. Among the colourful ribbons and pieces of paper was a commonplace...hmm—toilet?
"Um...Did..."
I believe speaking to a toilet should be very stupid.
"...you...just talk?"
"Yes. Master."
The white object at my feet really replied to what I said.
"Um...Wait. What did you call me?"
"Master. I call you master."
The voice of the toilet was a childish sound roughly between male and female.
"In this time when I'm awake, you're my master."
"..." I stood straight on the floor, thinking of what to say. This was the first time that someone called me so politely and formally. For some strange reason, I was completely unhappy that I was called 'master' by a toilet.
"Oh."
So I decided to follow the regular procedures: clean the things I had to, wear the clothes I had to, stand up, flush the toilet, and leave this toilet stall which was filled with pieces of paper and ribbons. When I closed the door, the pigeons on top were frightened by the sound of the closing door and flew out of the washroom.
"Insufficient sleep indeed will adversely affect my body!"
I sighed, walked in front of the sink to wash my hands, and prepared to return to my classroom for the lesson.
"Master! Master! Where are you going?"
"..."
I thought over it for a while and decided to say nothing and pushed the door to leave.
At the instant I pushed the door, everything around me changed utterly! As if fallen into a fairy tale, an Arabian palace with smaller buildings around it was in front of me all of a sudden. I looked around and found myself in a marketplace. Everything was made with tents and wood. People affluently passed by me. There was a man with his head wrapped in white cloth and two whiskers at each side of his face standing at the stall nearest to me. He was talking over the price of a carpet with the stallman.
I began to feel dizzy.
No. I must keep calm! Maybe normal people would be freaked out because of this, but to me, a guy who has watched countless animes and read countless novels, this kind of cliche setting is just so common. Generally, if this wasn't a 'parallel world', it should be 'going to the past' or 'going to the last life'; otherwise, it was a 'virtual world'! Be it any of them, finding similar stories for this should be easy, and I could just follow what the protagonists did in these stories to decide what I should do.
As I was pondering, a sound came out of nowhere.
"At a time long ago..."
I furrowed my eyebrow and looked everywhere for the voice, but I couldn't. However, I knew this was still the voice of the 'toilet'.
"There was a smart young man called Aladdin who lives in idleness. When he was small..."
The things around me changed, and the voice turned to a young man with dusky skin who was walking from the other side of the marketplace.
"Hey! Wait! What is this?"
I lifted my head to the sky and voiced a complaint—though I wasn't sure whether the voice came from the sky.
"There was also an evil sorcerer called Gargamel[1]..."
"Hey! Stop!"
I bellowed as I kicked on the guy beside me who was looking at some carpets. As expected, my leg pierced through that guy's body, touching nothing at all.
—
This meant everything around me was virtual.
"Gargamel had a wonderful...What? I'm telling a story!" The toilet replied to me at last.
"Isn't this the Arabian Nights? Everyone should have seen it when they're small? Why are you telling this to me now? I'm more than clear on every part of the story! Fine...except the part about Gargamel."
"I'm only explaining where the story came from to let you, master, understand."
The toilet said innocently.
I knew talking to a toilet was stupid, but I couldn't stop talking with him. After all, I had no way to find my classroom in an Arabian marketplace.
"What is the relationship between the Arabian nights and my pooping in the toilet for the ten-thousandth time?"
"I said you're the ten-thousandth user of this toilet and not the one who pooped here for the ten-thousandth time. Sorry to say, but 'pooping' is a rather vulgar word, master."
"Whatever..." Criticized by a toilet for 'using vulgar words', this wasn't something proud of.
"I think...master, you've heard of what happened in the story, so let's skip through the part where the old woman got the big peach, Aladdin got the wonderful oil lamp, Aladdin marrying the princess and spending the wedding night together, giving birth to a lot of kids, and jump directly to the part where Aladdin distributed his assets to his family."
"Wait, what happened with the big peach? Also...You can leave the part of the wedding night."
I said it a bit embarrassedly. Leaving me alone, the toilet directly changed everything around me again and led me to another scene...
It was a big room with white walls. An old man with tousled white hair lay on the bed, surrounded by about twenty people, children and adults included. One could tell from the decorations in the room that this family was wealthy. In a big picture hung on a wall was a beautiful lady in royal clothes who sat formally on a glamorous chair with gold linings.
"Dad!" "Gramps!" "Don't touch things kid!" "Dad!" "Waa..." "Haha, you're beaten by mum." The people in the room communicated in a language I had never heard of, but the toilet attentively translated every word they said in synch, trying to say words according to the movements of their mouths and speaking in a voice louder than them. Though it was a bit weird at times, it was still understandable.
"My ten children...From the moment your mother left the world, I had actually been dead already." The old man on the bed seemed very weak. Having said that, he looked up to the painting of the lady hung on the wall.
"I've experienced thrilling and exhilarating adventures in my life, and I've also got the wealth everyone envied...I haven't lived in vain."
Walking up to the bed, I recognized him. He was the 'Aladdin' in the marketplace I first saw, but he was forty to fifty years older. I assumed this should have been the moment where Aladdin left the world, however, I had never read this part in the story. "My children, you know I have two valuables—the oil lamp and the ring." Everyone held his or her breath after he said this. The once buzzy room became silent instantaneously—including the kid who was just chopped on the head by his mum.
"I've already commanded my most royal Amoeba to govern my other assets and will distribute them evenly to each and every one of you, my children." The old man turned to look at another old gentleman in tidy clothes with a white moustache who was standing near the bed. He then smiled to him.
I couldn't help but to mumble,
"Amoeba? What name is this? A protist?"
"Please don't interrupt the story..."
The toilet added while translating. He tried to speak in a voice of the wan old man, but it made this touching scene, however, totally humorous.
"...Only the oil lamp and ring could I not evenly distribute to you. I know they are very powerful, especially the lamp. Anyone who has it is able to construct or destroy a whole country. So I must consider prudently who is the most suitable to inherit them."
The old man sighed and looked at his children around him.
"What should I do?"
The air in the room seemed to freeze. It was so quiet that even a falling pin could be heard.
"Dong—Dong—Dong—"
A familiar bell sound came from top of my head in such a nervous atmosphere. I could tell this was the sound of the beginning or the end of the lesson. This meant that my lunch recess had ended. Honestly, if it wasn't this bell I might even have forgotten that I was still in school.
"May 'Mr.A' be a bit faster? My lunch recess has ended! I have to get back to my lesson in a moment."
I couldn't help but to complain to the sick old man on the bed. Of course, he couldn't, however, hear me."
"Besides, what does this has to do with my getting a toilet prize!"
"Dad! I'm the law officer in the city. I'm the most just!" A young man finally burst out—of course his words was still translated by the toilet.
"I'm the most suitable to inherit the oil lamp and the ring!"
"Dad! Didn't you know that when brother was a law officer he once received a present from others under the table? He shouldn't be the one to inherit the oil lamp."
Another young man burst out.
"I haven't received any presents while I was a harbour tax collector. I followed the rules every time. Even when someone wanted to get some information from me, I would just say 'thanks for your opinion'."
"Both of you have your point. However, I think such a valuable belonging should be kept by me, the eldest one, who has the most experience in this society."
"I'm very sorry to say, but I think such a powerful thing should not be kept by businessman or officers but those who have no interest in money or power—me. I live in the sea and will meet different kinds of dangers there. I especially have to rely on the power of the oil lamp to protect my crew." A brawny young man with dusky skin said and stared at the other brothers after that.
I knew this kind of story. Usually when the father decides who the successor is the brothers will fight against each other and the last one who gets it would be a little kid who doesn't joins the fight. The unpalatable truth was, everyone who looked possible to be the successor joined the debate.
The old man looked silently at the children, sighed, and commenced...
"Attention please. Yijun Chen, Yijun Chen from class 2C...please come to the school office now."
"...This broadcast came so coincident." I could now understand why it was so painful to be interrupted while watching a movie.
"I knew from the very start you would start such debates."
The old man closed his eyes and said in a light and weak voice,
"My children! You are right, but I can't make decisions when it comes down to things that involve both personal favours and working out the appropriate choice. I wish every one of you could benefit from the power and escape hazards; on the other hand I'm worried this power would become too powerful and cause any one of you and your children to have evil thoughts like hurting others..."
Every one else in the room kept silent and lowered their heads, as if introspecting what bad manners they had just shown.
"So, I 've come up with a solution."
The old man took the oil lamp from his arms, and rubbed it while he also rubbed the ring on his finger.
Two billows of smoke rose unanimously from the oil lamp and the ring. As if given the breath of life, they were first clouded together, but then separated into two billows and gradually become two genies, one big on small. The bigger, brawny one had a dusky skin, a goatee, and large round eyes. His face looked a bit like the stone lions you see in front of temples. He must be the oil lamp genie. The smaller one was a beautiful girl with shiny black hair. She must be the ring genie.
"Master, what do you command?"
Both of the genies bowed towards the old man together.
The old man narrowed his eyes and said to them with a smile,
"I miss the two of you very much...I've never called forth you ever since I found out that your powers are unable to reincarnate my wife who has passed away."
The two genies lifted their heads and nodded politely towards the old man.
Everyone in the room was now glaring at the old man and the two genies with all their concentration. No one was brave enough to make a sound in this atmosphere.
That is, except for the broadcast—
"Attention please! Yijun Chen from class 2C! I only asked Yijun Chen from class 2C to come to the office. Other Yijun Chens[2] please go back to your classroom. I only need Yijun Chen from class 2C to come here!"
Though the stiff and nervous atmosphere of the scene was devastated, the story had to continue. After all those talk, the old man finally said the most pivotal wish to the two genies—the last wish he made in his life.
"Oil lamp genie! Please separate your power into ten equal parts and let each of my children get their share of the power of the oil lamp! Let them have the power that would not be in excess yet get a share of my love."
Bong! A white light followed the loud voice. The oil lamp suddenly vanished and became the mini versions of oil lamps on the hands of the children in the room.
"Ah...Um..."
Like the children of Aladdin, I was shocked by the old man's wish. I had never read in my childhood anything about this in any storybook.
"As such, the oil lamp was inherited by the children of Aladdin and their children over hundreds of thousands of years, becoming smaller and smaller versions of 'mini oil lamp' or 'other commodities'. Some of them that had been left were damaged because of insufficient power gained from higher levels. Some of them are forgotten..."
As the toilet continued, the virtual display around me disappeared, and I had come back to the toilet stall in the school.
"Wait, what are 'other commodities'?"
I spotted the key word the toilet used.
"In these hundreds of thousands of years, a lot of successors changed their oil lamps to other kinds of things to suit themselves for convenience." The toilet's tone became a bit strange as he continued,
"One of the oil lamps became a candle because the owner suddenly wanted to have a candlelight dinner with his girlfriend. Another oil lamp became a pair of courtesy glasses because the owner wanted to see the crossword puzzle on a newspaper. Some others became spoons, bowls, or even chopsticks because the owner wanted to use them so badly."
"..."
The toilet stagnated for a long while before replying to what I said.
"Cough! In short..."
The toilet cleared his 'throat'—this made a flushing sound in the toilet—(let's continue)
"In these hundreds of thousands of years, our powers have become very weak and needed much more time to rest to store energy. And because our appearances have changed so much our way of storing energy became a lot different. For example the one who became a bowl had to store energy by letting ten thousand users to use it to eat. The one who became the candle had to be ignited ten thousand times by different users. As for me, who became the toilet..."
"have to wait until one poops here for ten thousand times." I deliberately used a 'vulgar word' to continue what the toilet said.
"Yes. And every time that happens I store one unit of energy. Ten thousand times means I have stored ten thousand units of energy. On the other hand, the use of the energy depends on what one wants to do. For example, flying for ten minutes costs twenty units. Inactivating the protective shield for a minute costs one unit. Food made costs ten units for each dish..."
"I would never want to wish to a toilet to 'make food'."
Honestly, thinking of that scene was enough to disgust me.
"A virtual projection costs five thousand units each time."
"W-Wait...so I have used half of the energy stored already?" I began to feel dizzy.
"Just because I watched that dumb story?"
The toilet's tone was very steady.
"Yes, master. There was once an owner who wanted to repeat that and used all of the energy. After that, I became another regular 'commodity', waiting for another user to come."
"Umm..." When I was about to become angry, a few students entered the toilet and glanced at me while passing by. To be honest, if I were to see someone standing in front of a toilet speaking to himself or herself continuously, I would have thought that his or her brain had gone wrong. At last, I hurried to the sink to wash my hands and abstained from discussing through all the problems with the toilet.
On the other side of the mirror was an insignificant eighteen-year-old. Yeah. That's me. I used my wet hands to brush my bangs to a side and walked out of the washroom, and headed to the classroom.
"Master! Master!" I left the sounds of the toilet behind my back, but before I left, I intentionally looked at how the other students in the toilet looked. They seemed to unresponsive to what just happened. I guessed this meant that only the oil lamp...the owner of the toilet could hear the voice of the toilet.
The first lesson in the afternoon was the English quiz. Completely messed up with things that abruptly happened, I couldn't put my mind into doing this quiz—of course, even if those things didn't really happen, I still might not have had the mind to do the quiz.
Looking at each one of the English letters that I knew, but totally unrecognisable when sequenced in different combinations, something suddenly sprang to mind: If the story of the oil lamp was real, then I might have some power now. Perhaps I could ask the oil lamp genie...hmm...the toilet genie (honestly I don't really want to use this phrase) to help me complete my English quiz?"
So I fixed my eyes towards the answer sheet and closed them. I then clasped my hands and prayed discreetly,
"Oil lamp...toilet genie! Please grant my wish and help me to fill in the correct answers in my English quiz."
Opening my eyes, I still saw a complete blank answer sheet.
"Did I use the wrong method to wish?"
I scratched my head and began to recall the Arabian Nights story. Aladdin had to rub his oil lamp before wishing every time to call forth the oil lamp genie. Perhaps I might need to do this too.
As such, I closed my eyes, fixed my attention into rubbing the answer sheet with both of my hands, murmuring,
"Abracadabra! Abracadabra! Oil lamp genie, please come out and complete the English quiz for me!"
Of course, the answer sheet was still blank as ever.
"Is my recitation of the spell wrong?"
I continued to close my eyes, and tried to come up with any spell that streamed into my mind.
"God of answers, give me thy strength and thy power..."
I then opened up my eyes again and saw the English teacher standing right in front of me.
"Umm!" She cleared her throat.
"Have you watched too much 'God of Gamblers'[3]? Do you really believe that by rubbing your answer sheet you can rub the answers of your classmates to your own answer sheet?"
Surprised, I began my foolish talk.
"Umm...I only need a sprinkle of inspiration. You know, if Honore de Balzac[4] doesn't drink coffee, he can't write those mind-blowing novels."
"As you wish. After all, I'll collect the answer sheets once the time's up."
The English teacher decided to leave me alone and walk back to the teacher's table.
"..."
It was obvious I did a totally bad job in my English quiz, so I decided to rush into the male washroom right after the end of the lesson to find my lovely servant.
"Umm!" I shut the door of the toilet stall, rubbed my hands, and looked at the toilet in front of me.
It was the most common toilet you could find. Its white surface had bits of yellow traces. The upper rubber seat had black shoe-prints. The water cupboard at the back was even doodled with foul language. Speculating from its appearance, no one would think this was the toilet that had inherited the power of Aladdin's lamp. And to be frank, this was the first time I had looked at a toilet with such detail.
"Master." The toilet's voice sounded out anew.
"Umm...What should I do if I want to make a wish?"
Actually I had guessed that already, but I still had some hope for a change.
"The same as calling forth the oil lamp genie."
The toilet said the thing that I didn't want to do the most.
"After you rub my surface, I, the genie, will come out from a white smoke."
"Um...So I have to rub the toilet every time I want to make a wish?" I was still a bit reluctant.
"Yes. Only through that can you call forth me."
The toilet complemented his explanation,
"However, every time you call forth me, I will stay at your side and listen to your orders until I have used up all of my stamina. After that you will have to come here to call forth me once again."
"Stamina? Does that mean you can't do too much exercise?"
I asked curiously.
"I do not mean that. The stamina I used here represents the lasting power for a genie itself. It's like the power of existence of a sorcerer. Even if a sorcerer still has some power, he would collapse if he casts magic too frequently without a rest."
"All right. Though I don't understand, but I will after I've tried it."
I knelt down, took out a toilet paper, and started rubbing...the toilet.
Bonnnnggggg! In the white smoke came...something that looked like a toilet. "How is this different from that before I called forth?" I rolled my eyes.
Nevertheless, the toilet in the white smoke suddenly began to morph and change, like the cars in the movie 'Transformer'. The toilet that looked so common began to morph, rolling all kinds of body parts, and out came a head, arms, legs, and at last became...a toilet robot.
I said coldly after examining the whole transformation process,
"How cool! Mr.Toilet Genie. I thought you would become that kind of blue skin moustache oil lamp genie who would tell jokes in cartoons. "
"Actually you can spend four thousand units to make this wish, like my last owner who liked watching 'Transformers'." The toilet robot sighed.
"However, if you stop calling me 'toilet' and call me directly by my name, I would be very glad."
"And you name is?"
"Ammonia. My name is Ammonia. This was the name an owner gave me one hundred years ago."
"I don't think this is a good name..."
"Master, I think I'm pretty luck already."
Ammonia continued,
"That guy who became the candle was called forth a few times in the olden days until he was gone when the light bulb was invented. Another guy met something even more terrible. His owner and his owner's girlfriend were spending the night together when they couldn't find the condom. The owner then used him to..."
"Mmm."
I could imagine that this guy most likely couldn't find the next ten thousandth user!
"Another one became underpants. He wandered in the old clothes recycle bin for a long time until he met the first ten thousandth person who wore him. However, his user thought the way he calls forth him was too indecent, so he rarely came out."
"Okay! I don't care about these things."
I rubbed my hands, preparing to make a wish.
"So, I can make any wish, can't I?
"Not Really. The wish must be one of the selectable options."
Ammonia reached his hand into 'the hole in his stomach' and took out a soggy thick book to give me.
"This is the 'Magic Index and Catalogue'. It contains detail information of the amount of energy used for each spell, the effect, and potential problems. You can take it as reference, master."
I looked at that thick book that was still dripping water. It was so thick I would need all my textbooks with plus a dictionary to attain its thickness. However, even if there were only ten pages, I still would not reach my hand to take it.
Toilet v1 p27.jpg
"Umm...You can hold it for me."
I backed a few steps, afraid that the water dripping off the book would fall to my shoes or pants.
"How strange. A master long ago wished for me to make it. But everyone, including him and other masters don't seem to want to take it to read."
Ammonia scratched his head while slowly stuffing the 'Magic Index and Catalogue' back into 'the hole in his stomach'.
"I want you to tell me with your mouth whether these wishes can be granted or not, and whether there are any aftermath."
I then breathed deeply, "Mmm...Let me first be a millionaire! How much units will be used for this spell?"
"There are two kinds. The former is to let you have the feeling of becoming a millionaire. It is the same as what I have done before. A virtual projections costs five thousand units each time."
Having heard what Ammonia said, I can't help but to protest,
"Who wants to be a fake millionaire? What I want is money!"
"You want real money? This is much easier, but it needs some time."
Seeing that Ammonia had a 'oh I see' on his face, it evoked me to beat up someone.
"Nnnngggggggg"
He suddenly knelt down and used all of his strength into doing it. It wasn't an easy spell after all. But I still stood at a side in anticipation as this could give me a lot of money.
Ding Dong!"
After three minutes, a wet ten-dollar fell out from 'the hole of his stomach' and landed on my hands.
Ammonia said while gasping,
"Complete."
"Wait. This is only a ten-dollar!"
I was now holding a ten-dollar on my hand. I didn't know whether I should still leave it lying there or throw it away. After all, however unhygienic this may look, it still was money.
"One unit can exchange one dollar in the current currency value."
Ammonia wiped some sweat that came from nowhere.
"Master you have already used ten units. Do you wish to continue?"
"..."
I looked at him and looked at the wet ten-dollar. Although my math wasn't great, I could still calculate that according to the current power Ammonia have I could at most have four thousand dollars. This was some money to a high school student, but there was still some farfetched distance from becoming a millionaire.
Nevertheless, the biggest problem now was to rewash this money. I took a toilet paper beside me and started to wipe my hands. I mumbled while I was at it,
"What use does this dilettantist magic have? If this magic is really useful, let me just wish that all the beauty queens of nearby schools become my girlfriends!"
"The magic of oil lamp genies cannot change the free will of humans."
Ammonia said helplessly,
"At most we could only just make some kind of scene to affect the feelings of others."
"Hmph! I knew it early. If not then so many people who got oil lamp genies back then must have caused chaos in the world by now."
I said while wrapping the coin with a toilet paper meticulously.
"If wishes like murdering, kidnapping, making volcanoes erupt, catch aliens, or conquering the world can be granted, then the world must have denatured by now.
"The wish of conquering the world can actually be granted."
Ammonia said sheepishly.
"But it needs ten thousand units."
"So...It's great that you forced the users to watch that boring 'virtual projection'; otherwise, the world must have already been conquered by bad guys."
Feeling helpless, I said to Ammonia,
"Okay! Forget about what I just said. I only have one question now: If I only talk with you and ask you questions, will any 'poo unit' be used?"
Ammonia was displeased with my use of words.
"So, my next language test is all on you."
I gave him a smile and walked out of the toilet. Ammonia certainly followed at my back. I said while walking,
"Can others see you?"
Ammonia replied,
"Every genie will protect their master at their backs according to their own characteristics and specialties."
"It sounds like the 'avatars' in one manga[5]."
I lowered my head, thinking over what cooler name than 'Ammonia' to give to this genie. Perhaps 'The Golden Star', or the 'Crazy Gallstone', or the 'Snake Pyramid'. No matter what, though only small wishes could be granted, but having a wonderful treasure beside me was enough to make my life plentiful and joyful.
Just when I laughed at my own thought, a person suddenly came out from the corner of the corridor—I recognised him instantly—Mr. Yeung who taught geography.
If with regards to appearance, Mr. Yeung was surely an insignificant teacher. He had a garlic nose, a baldhead, a beer gut, and an old-fashioned black frame glasses. Despite the regular concentration he put in his lessons, there was no reason for him to become especially loved or liked by students.
I had been an insignificant student in the class all along—normal height, normal face, almost everything could be said with the word 'normal'. So I wanted to keep playing the role of a low profile, having normal grades, and being nothing great but nothing bad student in the class.
The only thing different this time was that Mr. Yeun was walking directly to me and stopped in front of me.
"XiaoGuo Zhang."
He handed me a promotional leaflet.
"Please take your lamp genie with you to the library today after school. There will be three people at that time including you and me."
"Ah..." He had already left and walked to the other end of the corridor before I could react. Then he disappeared in the corner of the classroom door.
If I hadn't remembered wrong, Mr. Yang just mentioned the 'lamp genie'. This meant that not only did he know about my having a lamp genie...hmm...Aladdin 'toilet', but he may also be a 'lamp genie successor' and trying to grab in more of the same people.
I remembered the promotional leaflet he just gave me and lowered my head to have a look. There were words printed on it:
Welcome to the Geography Club.
You can enhance your geography knowledge and improve your geography grades with your friends here that also love to learn geography as much as you do.
This club is directed by WenMing Yang. Time: from Monday to Friday every lunch recess and Saturday PM 12:00.
"I totally don't want to go there." I heaved a sigh,
"I have no interest in enhancing my knowledge in geography. And this is the subject that I got the worst grade! Why wasn't this club an 'ACG club' or a 'Movie Appreciation Club' such interesting or fun clubs?"
Ammonia shook his head and seemed to totally fail to understand what I had just said.
Hmph! I don't care if he was also a 'successor of the lamp genie'. I didn't plan to join the 'Geography Club' in the first place! And thus I crumpled the promotional leaflet into a ball and stuffed it inside my pocket, deciding to throw it into the recycle bin once I return to the classroom in a while.
Okay! Honestly, if the 'successor of the lamp genie' was a beautiful female classmate, or the beautiful English Teacher Ms Xiao who had just come here as an intern, I might as well join such an idiotic and boring club. But if it was that bald male geography teacher who has a beer gut, I would never go there.
Speaking of which, the most important thing now was definitely not joining something like a Geographical Club, but the language test in the next lesson!
Nevertheless, I soon found out that though Ammonia had a bit of knowledge in Mathematics (though completely different), he knew nothing about Chinese or English, so the easiest thing like 'peeping the answers of the classmate beside me' was hard for him. This saddened me a bit and also made me to make up my mind to lecture him once I get back home.
Very quickly, the bell for the dismissal of the Friday lessons rang. And I had completely forgotten everything about the Geography Club.