7 Cover Me?

Lina rushed around her bedroom and rummaged through her chest of drawers for some clean clothes.

She turned on the faucet and trembled under the shockingly cold water; multi-tasking by brushing her teeth and shampooing her hair at the same time. The soapy water ran over her body and washed away any trace of the previous night.

She quickly slipped on a black knee-length skirt and pulled a striped, cream and black sweater over her head, shaking her damp hair as she feverishly rubbed some lotion on her face and slipped on a pair of fresh white ankle socks.

She scraped her hair into low ponytail and stuffed her makeup bag into her handbag with the intention of finishing her face on the subway.

"Bye dad," she called seeing the sleepy old man waddle into the kitchen.

"Eat some breakfast Li Na!" he scolded her with a frown, rubbing his wrinkled eyes.

Lina pulled on her black ankle boots and secured each zipper. "Can't, late."

She grabbed her bag and shrugged on a white and black hound's tooth coat, before escaping the apartment.

She pressed the elevator button, and tapped an impatient foot before noticing a note taped to the door.

'Under Repair'

Lina glanced at her watch.

I'm late!

She ran down the flights of stairs, running her hand along the handrail as she skipped multiple steps and her bag bounced on her hip.

"Whoaa!!" screamed Mrs.Kim, she was an older, Korean woman who lived on their level in apartment 22B.

Lina dipped and picked up the shopping bag at the older woman's feet, "Sorry Mrs.Kim!"

She continued to rush, making her way quickly out of the building and power-walked down the bright street in the direction of the subway.

The streets were quiet and clean at this early hour, and usually Lina would take her time and pass by a local coffee shop, but today was different; she was running late and she had the first class with grade eight.

...

On the ride to the Chaoyang district, Lina sat in a discreet seat at the back of the carriage beside the window and propped her compact mirror strategically against her bulky bag on the table in front of her.

She removed her hair tie and ruffled her hair, which had now partially dried into loose waves.

Lina wasn't a fan of heavy makeup but working at a prestigious school required a tidy appearance so she dabbed a finger into an orangey-pink powder and dotted it on both cheeks and her eyelids.

She used two hands to spread out the color, adding some life to her face and cleaned her round framed glasses with a tissue.

A group of public school children watched her from the opposite side of the carriage, but Lina just smiled and shrugged her shoulders.

...

Chaoyang International School,

"Good morning grade eight! Pencils ready please!" she said wiping the board clean in her classroom.

The students giggled and chatted, not acknowledging her presence.

Lina turned to face the class with both hands on her hips, "Did you all hear what I said?"

"Yes Miss Liang," they chanted, taking out their books.

"Alright! We have a pop quiz on the Ancient Greeks! You should have studied from the materials I gave you last week, so I don't want to hear any excuses."

Lina began passing out the test papers among the desks and spotted one student with tears running down her face.

Lina leaned in closed to speak to the girl in a hushed, quiet voice.

"What's wrong Julie?"

"Nothing Miss Liang..." the girl sniffed and rubbed her nose with a tissue.

"Come, let's have a word outside."

Lina took the young girl by the arm and escorted her outside, she left the classroom door slightly open while she leaned down to hear the sad girl speak.

"It's just that... I didn't get a chance to study for the quiz... my grandmother is very sick, and I have been staying with my aunt, and their house is so noisy."

"Right." Lina nodded with crossed arms and a concerned expression.

"Is there anywhere else you can go to study? Anyone else you can stay with?"

Julie shook her head, and ran her fingers over a piece of her dark raven hair.

Julie was a young thirteen year-old with a cute round face and dark straight hair. Other teachers complained about her, but Lina always thought that Julie was very smart and sweet.

"Okay, don't worry Julie. You can attempt the quiz now, and if your grade will bring down your average then I will arrange for you to retake it."

"Oh" Julie's eyes lit up and she wrapped her arms around Lina's waist, "Thank you Miss Liang."

Lina smiled and patted the girl's shoulder before entering the class with her.

...

During lunch break Lina made her way to the teacher's lounge for a much deserved cup of coffee.

She entered the room and was immediately met with the eyes of a round table, filled with male teachers sitting around Wen ShaoQing.

This is awkward, she said to herself.

She walked past the men and began making herself a cup of coffee in her trusty purple mug.

She stirred the hot beverage and took a seat at a table in the corner of the large room.

Some female teachers huddled together on a sofa but left after five minutes.

Now and again, Lina would catch Shao staring at her, but he continued to sit with the guys around him.

He eventually came over and sat in the chair beside her. He smiled and pushed a folder across the table, into her space.

"Hey.."

"What's this?" she answered, taking the slim folder.

"It's the lesson plans for today. Remember?" he asked with a tilted head, "You said that you would cover me."

Lina's eyes grew wide. She had totally forgotten that she had agreed to cover his lessons and she felt totally exhausted from the lack of sleep, plus she had her own classes to prepare for and a looming stack of quiz papers on her desk needing graded.

"Ah... Shao, listen, about that." she sighed.

He pecked her quickly on the cheek and patted her shoulder, "Thank you." he whispered.

Lina wiped his kiss and leaned her cheek on her hand, "But I am so tired from last night, and I actually..."

Shao laughed loudly and puffed his chest in front of the table of men; standing up and placing both hands in his pockets, "Yeah last night was exhausting... you're right about that." he spoke audibly.

Lina scrunched up her nose at his weird behavior.

"Thanks Lina, you're awesome." he said before turning around and returning to the table.

Lina sighed and drank her coffee, after ShaoQing left the room with most of the other teachers.

Leaving only one weirdly happy Physical Education teacher staring at her.

She flicked through the pages for today's lesson and saw that it was the English Literature class for her grade eight students.

...