Page 25 of Didn't See That Coming

“TikTok,” he groans, pinching the bridge of his nose. “You kids and your social media.”

“Um.” I’m not sure what to say to that. Am I supposed to apologize for the existence of social media?

“What’s this video of you about?” He looks more irritated than concerned.

The thought of the video, with me on a never-ending loop, makes my insides coil. “It’s kind of hard to explain…,”I mumble. Now I really regret having brought up the video atall.

“Show me, then.”

For the first time, I’m glad that my phone is in the basket outside my classroom. “I don’t have my phone.”

“That’s fine, I’ll use mine.” He takes out his phone, taps on the screen, and opens TikTok. Interesting that he claimed to hate social media but has the TikTok app. “What do I searchfor?”

The words fight me the whole way out. “#Xingfa #CrazyKiki.” I keep my eyes on my hands, which are grasped above my lap, as he finds the video and plays it. My voice streams out.

“You obnoxious twat! You obnoxious twat!” And in the background, “B-A-N-A-N-A-S!”

The line between Mr.Lin’s eyebrows deepens, and he pauses the video. “I don’t understand. This is actually evidence of you being the aggressor. Are you reporting yourself for bullying?”

“What?”I stand up. Holy shit. I totally did not see that coming. “No, wait—”

“You really need to work on your manners when addressing your elders,” he barks, and he’s gone from looking irritated to looking incandescent with anger. “Look at yourself, your behavior—it’s atrocious. And your skirt! Did you shorten it? It’s supposed to be four fingers’ width under your knee, not over it. You need to order a new size, you hear me? One that doesn’t make you look so indecent.”

My insides shrivel up, my neck and face burning withshame. I feel so humiliated I almost burst into tears then and there. God, why did I shorten my school uniform? Why?? “I’m so sorry, sir. I didn’t mean to—I just—no, I’m not reporting myself for bullying. Sir.”

He grunts, leaning back slightly. “Well, all I see is you violating school rules—calling someone names. Shouting. It’s all very disturbing.”

“I—yes, but now they’re all calling me crazy, and I don’t think that’s appropriate either, and it’s all because of Jonas Arifin. He’s the one who—”

“Ah, Jonas Arifin.” The frown lines melt away from his forehead, and his eyes actually twinkle with affection. “I’ve known that boy since he was in K1.”

“Uh…” Now that I know he’s Jonas’s number one fan, I have no idea how to proceed.

“So he’s the one who started calling you crazy?”

I nod hesitantly.

Mr.Lin snorts. “Ah, that Jonas. He is a character, isn’t he? Look, that’s his way of showing you that he likes you.”

“I don’t think—”

“Trust me. I’ve been the principal here for thirty-two years. Thirty-two! That’s almost twice as long as you’ve been alive, ya? And under my guidance, Xingfa has become the nation’s top-tier school. Our reputation is known throughout the whole of Southeast Asia. We even rival Singapore’s top schools.”

I wish I could tell him that he sounds like a cheesy marketing brochure.

“Look, I know what I’m talking about, okay? Don’t be sosensitive. Jonas is a very popular boy, and for him to be soattentive to you is a compliment. You kids nowadays are so sensitive, to the point that you can’t even tell what’s a joke and what’s serious. Don’t take it so seriously, ya?”

“But everyone is—”

He waves at me with atchsound. “Don’t worry about what everyone says. You need to have self-confidence. We are raising confident leaders of the future here, not weak-willed little snowflakes who melt at the slightest criticism. And ‘crazy’? That’s not even a criticism. To be honest, in your video, you do seem a bit—” He snorts and makes a seesaw motion with his hand. “You know?”

Did he just call me a bit crazy? I stare at him, open-mouthed.

“Now, whatisserious is you using foul language. That’s unacceptable. I’m going to let it go this one time, because you’re new and your old school might be more lenient….” His voice trails off, and I realize he’s waiting for me to grovel and thank him for his leniency.

“Thank you, sir,” I manage to bite out.

Principal Lin nods. “If this happens again, I won’t be so lenient.” He doesn’t wait for me to reply before standing up. I guess our meeting is over.

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