0 to School in 4 Minutes

I woke up, the sun was shining through my window and I quickly grabbed my phone/alarm. 7:59… I tore off my pajama pants, put on my uniform pants, threw on my uniform jacket over my pajama shirt and dashed out of my room, not even wondering why my alarm hadn’t gone off. Ba was crouching in the middle of the living room watching TV, still in his pajamas. I dashed by him to the bathroom, and he said, “You’re in a hurry. Why?” I only managed one word before I had Listerine in my mouth, “School.” Ba looked at his watch and said, “You better run fast.” And I was out the door, running down the 5 flights of stairs, sliding around each corner like a cartoon character. Ba was getting a stern talking to later. I burst out the front door and spit my Listerine all over the pavement and ran the quarter mile to school into a headwind. The Chinese people scoffed and laughed at the white guy wearing a Chinese high school uniform with his bed-head and the awkward gait of someone trying to run with a backpack on, but I didn’t care. School was resuming after the break and I didn’t want to leave a bad impression on the teachers. I dashed into the campus and up the 6 flights of floors to SYA’s floor, apologizing to Bi Laoshi before walking into the classroom and the early start of a Monday. In China, every minute of class time is utilized; teachers don’t even give out homework until the 5 minute break between classes because it’s considered a waste of time otherwise. All the chairs close to the door were taken, so I walked across the room and through the stares of every single one of my classmates. I sat down and looked at the clock. 8:03… I panted and joined the conversation about the trip to Fujian and Jiangsu. My stomach grumbled and I knew it was going to be a long day. What had I missed in that hour that I normally have before school? I missed talking with my parents and friends back home. I missed the chance to study up on some Chinese words before a tingxie. I missed the chance to try and convince a friend from leaving for good in 5 weeks. My parents miss me, my tingxie suffered and now my friend’s practically gone. An hour makes all the difference. Ba, you’re going to get an extra stern talking to.