Getting ready for class

Getting ready for class

　Jane was always getting yelled at for not being ready for class. It happened so often that she could see her teacher’s mouth open to yell at her as soon as she stepped through the door. What had been gentle reminders at first had become irritated¹ comments. She didn’t really blame her teacher that much, though. She knew she hated repeating herself, so why wouldn’t her teacher?

　Just once, she wanted to impress her teacher by being ready. She got her things out the night before, and then organized them carefully. She made sure her agenda was signed by her parents. She sharpened three pencils. She double-checked to make sure there wasn’t a single question left unanswered in her homework. Then she made sure she’d read her pages in the novel she was supposed to keep up in class. Things looked good.

　After a late night preparing, she fell asleep, but woke up late. In the rush for the bus in the morning, she somehow forgot her backpack. Between breakfast, putting shoes on, and taking out the trash, she forgot her entire backpack! Here she was trying to impress her teacher, and she’d just disappoint him further.

　Jane felt sick. She feared the arrival at school. How could she be so irresponsible?

　Right as she was about to go into class, she heard her name being paged² over the school intercom³. She had to go to the office. Had her teacher already told the principal? Had they said that she had left her whole backpack at home? With heavy feet, she went into the office, only to find her mother waiting for her.

　“You forgot your backpack. I know you tried hard to get ready, so I wanted to make sure you had your things.”

　Jane laughed and rushed off to class after hugging her mother. That day, the teacher didn’t yell at her. Instead, when he got ready to yell, he closed his mouth and smiled. He was happy to see she was ready, and Jane was happy to be doing the right thing.

Notes:

1. irritated adj. 恼火的 2. page v. 呼叫 3. intercom n. 内部通话系统