Mr. Johnson came to check the morning reading. He circled around the class and then stopped in front of Ellie, saying to her, "Ellie, come with me for a moment."
Ellie put down her book and obediently followed him.
"Have a seat."
Ellie sat down opposite Mr. Johnson and asked, "Teacher, what did you call me out for?"
Mr. Johnson looked at the well-behaved girl in front of him, smiled, and said, "How do you feel about sitting with William?"
Ellie replied, "It's quite good." William is usually very quiet, either sleeping or playing games, and he's not as rumored, just a bit fierce.
Mr. Johnson said, "That's good. If you feel unwell at any time, let the teacher know immediately."
"I understand, thank you, teacher."
"Alright, you may go back now."
Ellie pushed the door and left.
A teacher at the next desk asked Mr. Johnson, "Is this the new student in your class? I heard she has good grades."
Mr. Johnson took a sip of water and said, "Yes, she just transferred here and was in the top ten at her previous key high school in City C."
"You put this good student together with William?" The female teacher had taught William before; he skipped classes, fought, and was essentially a delinquent.
Mr. Johnson said, "He's not a bad person."
Mr. Johnson had just graduated and took over Class 17 from the previous head teacher. When he first took over the class, he heard that there were many problematic students in this class, with the worst grades in the school, especially the one who loves to sleep in the last row and causes the most trouble.
The previous head teacher of Class 17 was also a gentle woman who handed over the class because she was pregnant. She told Mr. Johnson that although these children are a bit noisy, sometimes troublesome, and love to cause trouble, they are not bad.
Mr. Johnson also discovered this later.
The first class was Mr. Johnson's. He entered the class with a math book and said to the noisy class, "Alright, quiet down, stop making noise, class is starting."
The class quickly became quiet.
Mr. Johnson said, "The first baseline exam is coming up soon. Students, please review well and prepare for the exam. The exam is scheduled for this Friday."
There was a chorus of groans from the students.
"Mr. Johnson, we've just started school. How can we have an exam so soon?"
Mr. Johnson pushed his glasses up his nose and said, "It's also a baseline exam to see how you did last semester and during this summer vacation."
"Summer vacation? Who studies during the summer vacation?"
Mr. Johnson smiled and said, "I don't have any special requirements. Can we not be the last in this exam? Try harder, score a few more points. I'll be in the office if you have any questions. Feel free to come and ask me at any time."
"I'll try not to score in the single digits and drag the team down."
"I just hope I don't score zero."
Mr. Johnson patted the table and said, "Alright, class is starting."
As soon as class was over, Daniel said, "I got a few points in the physics final last semester, and my dad gave me a belt whipping. My butt still hurts when I think about it."
Hao Ming said, "I only scored three points more than you. My mom said I was so embarrassing that I shouldn't come home."
"Not coming home is nothing. My mom chased me for three blocks."
"Impressive."
Ellie listened to the conversation, looked up at the two, and then lowered her head again.
The second class was English. Daniel looked at the sleeping William, struggling between waking up William and getting scolded by William or not waking him up and getting scolded.
He was hesitating whether to wake him up when a fair hand reached over, and a soft voice said, "Class is about to start, wake up..."
Daniel's look at Ellie changed instantly. He said to Hao Ming, "I declare that from now on, the new student is my god."
"Let me count how many gods you've had this semester."
"Damn you."
William had just woken up, his face a bit cold. He glanced at Daniel and said, "Shut up."
A soft little hand poked his arm, and the voice was also soft and gentle: "Teacher Fang hasn't given me an English book yet. Can I share one with you? If it's troublesome..."
William threw the English book, which was whiter than his face, onto the table and said, "You can read it. I don't need it."
Ellie smiled at him and said, "Thank you." She opened the English book and placed it in the middle, pushing it towards William, and said, "Let's read it together."
William looked at the book she pushed over, wanted to say no, he wasn't going to listen to the class, but when he met her gaze, he pursed his lips and said nothing.
Forget it, if she wants to push it over, let her.
Ellie was very attentive in class, her back straight, a strand of bangs hanging beside her cheek, her uniform a bit loose on her body, her arms slender and fair, and her thin wrists looked as if they would break with a pinch.
The boy in front of her was a bit tall, blocking what Ellie wanted to see. She sat up straight and looked up at the board, revealing a slender and slender neck. She heard the person next to her say, "What can't you see clearly?"
"The last line."
William picked up the pen in his hand, copied the last line on the paper, and put it on Ellie's desk.
"William, stand up and answer this question."
William glanced at the question on the blackboard and said, "I don't know."
"Don't know? If you don't know, why are you throwing notes to your deskmate during class? I have to say, you won't amount to much after graduation, not learning well, only fighting and causing trouble. Where do you plan to go after graduation? Do you feel you are worthy of your parents sending you here? Do you feel you are worthy of your mother giving birth to you and raising you?"
William stood up without a word and walked straight out of the classroom.
Mr. Thompson was still cursing behind him: "What's the matter with saying a few words about you? So disrespectful to teachers."
Daniel felt that William's state just now was not right, so he covered his nose and said to him, "Teacher, my nose is bleeding. I'm going out for a while."
Before Mr. Thompson could speak, Daniel ran out.
He looked at Ellie in the back, and the girl stood up silently and said, "I couldn't see the board and asked him. He didn't throw notes to me."
She said, raising the paper in her hand, which was not a note passed between students but a paper with the boy's somewhat unrestrained handwriting, copying the content of the blackboard.
Mr. Thompson couldn't bring himself to apologize to the two students. He said, "I know, but don't pass notes during class. If you have any questions, you can ask the teacher or classmates after class, okay?"
Ellie said, "Okay, then I'll go out and stand as punishment."
He looked at the girl in front of him and felt a sense of dislike. She had only just arrived and had already mixed with William's kind, so she must not be a good student. He despised students like William who had poor grades and loved to cause trouble from the bottom of his heart.