Curses

There's a fresh face at school, new to teaching and new to Nanachu, new to work, just like me last summer. She's young like me, just graduated from university and seems to have buckets of energy. This her First Job and she's getting stuck in. She's a hit, she's really smiley, everybody is making an effort to talk to her and welcome and help her...except me.

I should explain. April not September is the new school year here and all the roles and desks have been shifted about in the teacher's room. It was done in a highly Japanese manner, that is, embracing both efficiency and negligence, like you would wife and mistress. All hands to the pumps! Throw everything out of the room and then put it all back in, newly positioned! Why recycle all that waste paper when we can just shred it?!

Anyway. the end product was that the ex-Third Form Teachers are all now First Form Teachers, and, consequently, all sit a lot closer to me. Like, right behind me. Trouble is, I'm not sure they like me all that much. Like, hate me.

I'm going somewhere with this, don't worry. The new young teacher- did I mention, new English teacher?- she sits with the ex-Third Form now First Form teachers, just behind me. And Takiko Sensei has taken her under her wing as if she's her prodigy, her long lost daughter or her younger sister or something similarly close. Takiko Sensei is amongst those I think see fit to look down their noses or throw daggers with their eyes at me. No, she's definitely not a fan of me.

And I'm intimidated (isn't that pathetic?) of talking to Yuki (the new teacher) because I know Takiko Sensei has an allergy against me (hitherto an unheard of condition, of course). Amongst all the desk shuffling yesterday I snatched a glimpse of Takiko Sensei's desk. On which she has a picture of her in full Japanese martial art (kendo: which I thought was just for men!) regalia, looking....well, the only word for it is fierce.

I can't have traded more than three sentences with anyone in conversation all day and here is someone on a level with me, who can speak the same language as me, and I shirk the chance and shrink into the background.