valley ball

1:30 PM - Indochina Time

It was a normal day for me, while our teacher was discussing I am watching students from the classroom window doing their PE on a hot afternoon.

The teacher called me.

"Ms. Adulyadej Ayatdeli, please! Let me ask you a question. You've been looking outside for a while now! Who became the king of Sukhothai in 1279 AD?"

My classmates laughed as I got caught by the teacher, but I stood up, fixed my uniform and answered him stutteringly as I'm laughing silently along with them.

" r-r-ram kamhaeng?" I said.

Because I am so used to multi-tasking, I can watch the 7th graders do their PE while listening to class lectures.

Ann whispered, "But, this is his Eng–"

She was shocked when the teacher interrupted her and said,

"Good! But this is not history class but my english class. It's good that you know the correct answer based on your stock knowledge BUT – we cannot pretend that you're listening when you're not. Because if you are, Ms. Ploy Adulyadej Ayatdeli, then you will ask me why I asked you that question!"

Some are laughing and some are stunned by what the teacher said. I mumbled as I analyzed the situation to defend myself.

Earlier, he was discussing a writer who wrote a book on a traveler who went to Sukhothai for a trip and wrote a fantasy about him alongside his magical pets touring the kingdom. The writer did not mention any king there, but the teacher tried to surprise me by asking who is the actual king of Sukhothai.

Before he turned back to continue with his lecture, I tried to defend myself or else I would remain standing.

"May I know why you asked me that question, sir? The story is about a writer who went on a trip to Thailand along with his magical pets to escape their world, why didn't he include the name of their ruler?"

The teacher gave me a big smile.

"That's a good question! I like students like Ploy – curious. When a student is curious, it's a sign of high IQ!"

Everyone in class applauded me and I'm quite satisfied with their response and had me smiling for a while.

When class was over, it's recess time. There are a lot of students in the canteen, so I just bought milk and instant porridge and ate somewhere else with a small number of people.

Ann, one of my classmates, sat right next to me and asked, "Ploy? Are you busy?"

I replied, "Not much. Why?"

She held my hand and smiled, "May I ask a little bit of favor?"

I ate a spoonful and told her, "Sure! What is it?"

She hesitantly replied, "Ummm.. my friends and I are playing volleyball today! Could you help us get the ball from Aom?"

When I heard the name, my eyes widened and I almost dropped my porridge in shock. I exclaimed, "AOM?"

That popular, attention-seeking girl who threatened me after seeing me looking pleasant and pretty when my friend had tied my hair nicely.

I tried to calm myself down, breathing heavily in and out. With the thought of getting myself traumatized again, I just smiled at her and laughed it off, "Hi hi hi. Okay! Sure! Fine, I will help you get that ball from her."

After eating, I walked through the hallway and looked for her classroom. I saw her standing while talking to her classmate. Sneakingly, I tip-toed around the door and crawled to grab the ball as silent as I could. I held the door with my right hand so I could stand up slowly, carefully, not to make any noise.

I rushed out of the classroom to look for Ann when I bumped into her. She grabs the ball and calls her friends. Dripping with cold sweat, I annoyingly told myself,

"Wow… she did not even ask me if I was okay. You're welcome!"

Recess had ended, and it's Ms. Fern's history class. My group mates and I passed our project.

The teacher discussed our school event activity and suddenly announed the class's dismissal.

"You know, class, mosquitos are very common in tropical countries. Dengue's rate here in Bangkok is 61%, so we have to be very careful. That's why the school decided to hire mosquito foggers. Class is dismissed. Stay healthy!"