The Latin teacher was a stern, serious little old lady with graying hair. She wore a vintage dark dress beneath a thick wool shawl and a pair of half-moon glasses, through which her sharp gaze could easily pick out every distracted student.
"Miss Chen." The little old lady frowned at the student, who was still panting heavily. "I believe the time the school allows between classes is quite sufficient for you to reach your next classroom."
Lia hurried to apologize. "S-sorry, Mrs. Paget! I'll be more careful next time!"
Mrs. Paget was notoriously strict, and Lia broke into a nervous sweat, afraid she would lose participation marks for being late.
Mrs. Paget did not acknowledge her apology. Instead, she looked at Miaomiao beside her and lightly adjusted her glasses. "I don't believe I've seen this student before?"
"Her name is Miaomiao Wayne. She transferred here today." After a moment's thought, Lia added quietly, worried about a repeat of what had happened in their last class, "She hasn't had time to choose her electives yet, so I brought her along."
"A new student?"
Looking at the two girls, Mrs. Paget seemed to guess what had happened, and her tone softened somewhat. "Since you were helping a new student, I'll let it pass this time. But don't let it happen again."
With that, she lifted her chin, signaling for them to take their seats.
"Quick, sit down." Lia let out a huge sigh of relief and hurriedly pulled Miaomiao toward the empty seats.
Their desks were beside the aisle. As soon as they sat down, Mrs. Paget turned to the blackboard. Chalk swept across its surface, and rows of curling Latin letters slowly appeared.
Miaomiao looked up at the board. To her, those winding characters looked like little swimming tadpoles. Bruce had