Miss Yu called out, "Pens down, and hand your tests and your homework to the end of the row. Class English representative, please collect the tests and homework."
Abigail reached into her school bag, having had no opportunity to take out her homework, she pulled out the folder she had placed all her completed homework in, picking out the English homework, and placing the folder in her desk.
After she passed both her and Rebecca's homework and tests to the next desk, Abigail turned and quietly said "Hello Rebecca."
With a smile, Rebecca quietly responded "Good morning, Abigail, and happy birthday."
"Thank you."
Rebecca, calmly asked "How do you think you went?"
Slightly raising her shoulders and quietly sighing, Abigail said "Not good. Loosing those ten minutes, which was my own fault, meant that I had to make choices on what to answer. I guess that actions have consequences."
Rebecca shook her head and said "You were here before her, and she did not react when Sebastian Wu came in after you. She is so biased."
Abigail turned around, smiled, and said "Well everyone knows that Sara is her pet, and Sara hates me so…"
At the front of the room, Miss Yu looked up, and angrily said "Miss Meng, come down here."
Abigail closed her eyes and stood up. As she started to walk down, a leg came out from Sebastian Wu, which tripped her, causing her to tumble down the stairs, landing on her knees with the momentum causing her to fall on her face drawing laughter from the class.
As she stood up, she heard Sebastian Wu call out "Sara was right this country bumpkin is so uncoordinated, and a total loser." Laughter continued to ring out around the room, and ignoring it Abigail pulled herself to her feet and moved to where Miss Yu was waiting.
"Miss Meng, you were so busy talking there, you must think that you know everything that I teach, so here you go, have your chance and teach your classmates."
Sebastian Wu, not able to help himself called out "Miss Yu, her results are the worst in the year. The last monthly exam she received 0 on all her papers, so we would all go backwards if she tried."
Abigail, feeling hurt, turned and looked at what Miss Yu had written on the board, and calmly said "You wanted someone to translate this into English? Let me try."
Carefully looking at what was written, Abigail picked up a piece of chalk, and started to translate the words in her head. As she translated the first line in her mind, it immediately hit her what she was reading. Despite living in a small village the school teacher was dedicated to expanding everyone's knowledge. With the limited resources he had, his efforts went over and above. For English, one of his favourite techniques was to use famous, poetry, plays and books written in English and have the translate from English on the one hand, and translate someone else's translation back to English.
The poetry chosen, while poorly translated was easy to discern once she figured out the first line. It was one of her favourite Shakespeare Sonnets.
Without writing anything, Abigail calmly said "Miss Yu, do you want me to translate it as it is written or correctly identify and give you the correct wording?"
Angrily Miss Yu said, "It is perfectly translated so Translate it as it is."
Resisting the urge to laugh, Abigail turned from the board, and said "Miss Yu the first line as it is written translates to 'A summers day I compare you to.' But that is not what it is meant to be. What has been written to be translated is William Shakespeare's Sonnet number 18. That sonnet reads 'Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate; Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer's lease hath all to short a date…"
Abigail stopped and asked, "I can continue to recite the sonnet Miss Yu, or the translation that you have written up there."
Abigail saw Miss Yu's eyes open wide, before she said, "How do you know…?"
Abigail moved closer to Miss Yu, and quietly responded "Sonnet Number 18 is one of my favourite English poems, you just chose something I knew."
Before Miss Yu could respond, Abigail moved to the board, and underneath each poorly translated line, quickly in neat handwriting wrote the translation of the line as had been written, and underneath it the actual line of the Sonnet, before moving back, past a stunned class and sitting back in her seat.
Rebecca quietly said "How…?"
Under her breath Abigail responded, "I will tell you when we have time."
Meanwhile Miss Yu, read both the translated line and the sonnet line which had been written…