On our second day of school, we spend most of our time running over the course objectives. I suppose technically it is the first day of actual class.
The morning drags on slowly. Many of the students seem quite surprised, maybe even a little disappointed, by how genuinely warm and friendly the teachers at this school look.
Sudou already makes a spectacle of himself by spending most of the period asleep. He lies flat on his desk, his face turned toward the window, quietly snoring. I think the teachers will notice, but they show no signs of caring at all.
It is up to every individual student whether or not they want to listen in class. I wonder if this is how teachers typically interact with students once they leave compulsory education.
Chabashira-sensei stands at the front of the room. She holds a piece of white chalk, dragging it across the dark green blackboard. The chalk clacks loudly against the slate. She writes down the basic timeline for our Japanese History curriculum.
I rest my chin on my hand and look around the room. The atmosphere feels incredibly relaxed. Some kids whisper to each other in the back rows.
My eyes drift toward the corner of the classroom. Tal Mikhail sits a few rows away. He is the rumored guy who supposedly blew his entire hundred thousand point allowance on a video game console yesterday. I heard some boys talking about it loudly in the hallway this morning. They called him a madman.
I just ignore him at first, looking back up at the blackboard. But when I glance his way again a moment later, I notice his right hand rests flat on his desk. His fingers are moving.
Index. Thumb. Thumb. Thumb.
It is not a random twitch. The movement has a fixed, deliberate rhythm. He taps his index finger against the wood, leaving a long pause, then taps his thumb in rapid succession. A long tap followed by short taps.
I watch his hand. He repeats the pattern, building a sequence.
Index.
Thumb, thumb, thumb, thumb.
Thumb, thumb.
Thumb, thumb, thumb.
That is Morse code. A dash, followed by four dots, two dots, and three dots. T-H-I-S.
He pauses for a fraction of a second, separating the word, and starts tapping again.
Index.
Thumb.
Index, thumb.
Dash, dot, dash, dot, dash, dot. He spells out the letters quickly. T-E-A-C-H-E-R-S.
I keep my face completely blank, watching his fingers hit the desk while Chabashira-sensei continues writing on the board. Tal does not even look at his hand. He just stares blankly at the front of the room, tapping away.
Dash, dot, dot, dot. Dot, dot, dash. Dash. Dash. B-U-T-T.
Dot, dot. Thumb, thumb, thumb. I-S.
Dot, dot, dot, dot. Dot, dot, dash. Dash, dash, dot. Dot. H-U-G-E.
I blink slowly. I read the full sentence as he finishes the tapping sequence.
*This teacher's butt is huge, don't you agree Ike? Yamauchi?*
I shift my gaze over to the middle row. Ike and Yamauchi are staring at Tal's hand. They look completely and utterly confused. They just scratch their heads, probably thinking Tal has some kind of weird nervous tic. They obviously do not know Morse code.
This is ridiculous. He is using an outdated military communication method to broadcast a dirty joke to two guys who cannot even read the alphabet. I let out a very quiet sigh and look back out the window.
The bell rings a few minutes later, its sharp chime cutting through the sleepy air of the classroom.
Less than a minute after the sound fades, about half of the students disappear into the hallway.