In a late summer morning, It was the first day of school. I was still in bed while My mother was awake preparing breakfast for the family. I looked at the wall-clock with a half-opened eye and found that it was 7:15 AM and My first class took place at 8:00 which decided that I was not going to have breakfast that morning. I hastily changed, freshened up, kissed my mom a goodbye on her head, and left for school. I stopped at my friend Khalid's house and called him. peeking out of his brown wooden window from the first flour "I am coming," he said. Khalid was a sleepy pal, so sleepy that he would miss a job interview that his career depended on, or a flight that he paid tons of dirhams for. Ten minutes later, he came out of the house wearing black jeans, a fashionable gray t-shirt with a wolf on it, and a black hat. He was prepared to look his best for the first day of school. I was wearing a light blue unbuttoned shirt, blue jeans, and a pair of sports shoes. He apologized for being late as he did not have adequate sleep last night.
"It is almost 7:40 AM," I said, "I do not think we will be able to make it by walking. The only option that we have is to take a taxi."
We ran through the long street that had a taxi station at the end. We were so appalled by the long line of people waiting for their turns and With the limited number of taxis that the station had, we would still not make it on time. What an irresponsible situation we were in on the first day of school. I thought that we should run. Without hesitation, I started running with a jolt. "What are you doing?" Khalid yelled
"If you want to miss the first class, stay there," I yelled back. He followed me with a laughable run and reached me in a few seconds. While we were running, my neighbor Hassan saw us and thought that we needed a lift. He pulled over his green car beside the sidewalk and asked us to get in."It is 7:50 AM, I would feel bad for you if you missed school"
"We cannot thank you enough sir" I said
"It is alright, sons" he replied.
We thanked him again as soon as we arrived and got out of the car.
There was a huge crowd of students in front of the high school door who seemed excited to see their friends and classmates again after a long summer holiday.
As the bell rang, all the students rushed to burst into the school. Khaled and I waited for them to get through because we did not like to be in crowds. After everyone had emptied the space for us, We finally entered the school, which was big and had an amazing courtyard containing different trees and grass. Our classes were on the second floor, so we went upstairs and stood at the door to our classroom. My classmates were talking to each other meanwhile waiting for the teacher.
A pretty girl was standing alone by the door of the classroom, in rose loose pants and a black blouse. approaching her "excuse me!" I said, " do you have any idea about Mr. Malki?" I asked
"No," she nodded looking disturbed, "Have you studied in his class before?" I asked
"No! in fact, it will be the first time I attend his class" she answered
" I am wondering if he gives good grades. I reckon that sometimes good grades depend on the teachers themselves rather than the efforts you put to get them" I suggested.
With a slight grin on her face ", I agree to disagree! It is all about one's efforts. That is just a cliché that losers say to limit their potential " she said
"You have got a point there" I admittedly replied " But just so you know, I am not one of those. I am just gathering info about teachers to set my plan of work"
"That is great!" She said
"How about we study together? Would you like to be my study partner?" I suggested
She thought about it for a moment, "Sure, we can be friends and study partners but just for your information I don't date."
"I am fine with that," I chuckled.
I offered her my hand to shake it " I am Adam by the way" I said
"I am Sarah. Nice to be your classmate"
" Nice to be your classmate Sarah!"
The students were still arriving at the classroom. After a while, Mr. Malki showed up with his classic blue shirt tucked into his dark blue jeans. He reached for the classroom door,then started looking for the keys in his pockets. Sarah sat next to me while I was taking my stuff out of my black bag.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
When the rest my classmates settled in, he pulled the chair behind his wooden desk and walked into the center of the classroom where everyone could see him like a banner.
"My name is Abdulhak Malki. I am going to be your geography and history instructor this semester. As senior students, I expect you to work hard and take this course seriously. you cannot repeat another year here, so you need to pull yourself together to make it this year and do what you are interested in after graduation. Now, before we start our first lesson, I am going to state some rules of the class that you must abide by."
Mr. Malki got up and paced around the classroom "First if you come late, do not have the temerity to knock on the door because I have no problem embarrassing you. Second, no phones are allowed during my lectures. Third, if you are absent in the previous class, please bring the absence card from your school counselor."
Khalid was sitting next to the door in the first row. He was listening carefully to what Mr. Malki was saying. Meanwhile, I looked at Sarah and I thought she was bored. I decided to write a note for her on a paperI wrote "have you made an impression of him yet?" and slipped it onto her desk. She carelessly ignored it while I busied myself with the course taking notes of what he was saying and what he wrote on the blackboard. After 20 minutes, Mr. Malki stated the most loved statement by students; "Class dismissed."
I packed my stuff while my new friend walked out of the class with me. "How did you find him?" I asked.
"I think he clearly explained the first lesson on the history of Morocco" she answered.
"I do not understand how beneficial it is studying about the past. I would rather focus on the present." I answered
"well the past is the best teacher" she argued.
Khalid got out of class, "What took you so long?" I asked him.
"I just asked him about the exam formula. he said it is going to be like a bunch of multiple-choice questions, we will also be asked to write a small paragraph about one of the topics we are studying "
I shrugged "Whatever dude! That is not going to be so hard if we put some efforts"
"Hold on," Khalid said, "you have not introduced your new friend to me. "
"Sure," I said "Sarah this is Khalid, Khalid this is Sarah," I said, and then they both shook hands saying "Nice to meet you" at the same time
We had an English class afterward. I liked to study English, it was my favorite language as it introduced me to the entire world. Thanks to it, I could chat on Facebook with people from different countries.
While waiting in the hallway, and after a long awkward silence, "how is your level in English guys?" I asked
"I guess it is pretty advanced. Not to brag about it but my dad used to buy books for me and encourage me to read them for whatever I ask".
"That is great," Khalid said, "We have an American lady over here," I said
"How about you Khalid?" I asked
"I struggle with grammar" he admitted
"You will master grammar buddy! Just make use of the educational channels on youtube and your grammar will be just fine" I commented
We were studying in class B12, the English teacher finally showed up. I felt happy when I found out that she was from America. She was a blonde lady named Katrina. I heard someone saying she was from California. She dressed like Americans that I saw on T.V... She got the keys out of her small purse, opened the door, and shortly The three of us walked into the classroom after her. As we all sat down, she grabbed a marker and wrote the present perfect on the whiteboard.
"Before we start our first grammar lesson, I would like to introduce myself. My name is Katrina. I am from the United States. I came here through an internship program and I like your country. I shall be your English teacher this term and I am sure you are going to learn a lot in my class."
Her speech enthused me. Sarah sat beside her friend Meryem while I was sitting next to Khalid. I turned my head towards him, "It seems like it is an enjoyable class " I said
Miss Katrina began the course writing some sentences on the whiteboard. She kept explaining the different uses of the present perfect and its affirmative, negative, and interrogative forms. I did not feel time passing by until The bell rang and we departed our way back home. I had plans to go on a tour with Khalid and thought that I should invite Sarah.
"What are you up to?" I asked her as soon as the class was dismissed.
"I am going to finish a book I have recently started this afternoon," Sarah declared.
"Khalid and I are going on a tour in the historical jail this afternoon, how about you join us?"
"I am afraid I can't join you, but give me your number. If I can come, I will call you. Thanks for inviting me"
I dialed my number in her phone, she dialed hers in mine and continued our way home. We were hoping that with the tour, we would get to know Sarah more.
After 20 minutes of walking, we reached Sarah's neighborhood. I was amazed at the fancy mansions which were surrounded by flowers and willow trees. "This is my humble shelter!" She pointed " I guess I will see you later," she said holding her black flowery bag. we pursued our way home
"When shall I come over to hang out a little bit?" Khalid asked
"What...? Excuse me? I just daydreamed." I said
"When shall we hang out?" Khalid asked again
"Pass by my house at three o'clock so that we can roam around a little bit and return home early to do our homework," I said
"be ready at three Sharpe, man"
It was just a few minutes until we reached our parting spot in the neighborhood. We did our special handshake saying "see you around" contemporaneously.
I reached home and knocked a few times on the door "I am coming," my mom said right off.
My mother knew me very well, she even knew my rash impatient knock. I kissed her hand as usual and came in. I sighed as I sat on the black couch facing our obsolete TV.
My mother carried a tray with a berrad of tea, some loaves of bread along with a bottle of olive oil "Help yourself, son, you must be tired from the long way" she said
"Yes mom, I am starving to death, you know studying causes hunger and this is a popular fact among students, especially the seniors" I mumbled
"I am aware of that, just as I am aware that oil is healthy and helpful for your health which equates to how well you do on your studies," she answered.
I started drinking the hot tea and contemporaneously dipping the bread on the oil and eating it, which had always been my way of eating since my childhood.