Rotten, no-good, crummy kind of day

Today has been a bad day. In summation, "today" started yesterday around 9 am. But my days have started to blur together due to lack of excitement and general amusement so forgive me of this story spans over the last 42 hours.


It started with me running into my 8 am class late. Like 3 minutes late.
I've had this same exact 8 am class everyday. Monday through Friday. At EIGHT IN THE MORNING.

I have never once been late. So naturally, the ONE day that I choose to not sprint up the 7 flights of stairs in the Tanner Building, my professor chooses to acknowledge this.

As I am frantically trying to situate myself, breathing as heavily as I can without actually sounding like I am breathing heavy, my teacher beckons to me.  Everyone goes silent as I tip top my way into the room.

Embarrassed and frazzled, I slink down into my seat and try to block out how humiliating I must have been.

The class continues with our usual work. We were asked to turn to our neighbors for a couple of minutes to discuss the current topic we just learned while the professor returns our previous assignments.

Since I was late I'm sitting in the back of the room. I slip my way to the nearest group so I could participate. Just my luck, the only spot for me to sit is in the middle of the classroom. Sitting in the middle of the classroom isn't a big deal. It's what happens next that makes it a big deal.

My professor taps me on my shoulder from behind and says in the clearest voice possible, "Miss Kwok, I think you need to come see me in my office hours. I don't think you understand the material well enough. I'm keeping your assignments until you do."

Mortified, I look around to see if anyone else had heard this.

Of course everyone heard this. Some of the near by classmates quickly look away as if they didn't want to be caught hearing what they just heard.

For the rest of the class period, I curled up in my own head and just went over all of the things I could have possibly done to convince my professor that I was unable to take her class.

At the end of class I bravely went up to her to discuss the brief humiliation she caused me.

"Professor R., you said something about visiting you during office hours?"

"I had no idea that you were American born Chinese.."

"Well, no but I grew up in..."

"..or else I would have never recommended you to stay in this class."

"......erhm?"

"Well there is a 102 class, a step down from this course, that would be much better suited for you. It helps Cantonese speaks learn to speak Mandarin Chinese."

"I completely understand Mandarin Chinese. Sometimes I get my Cantonese and Mandarin Chinese mixed up, but I'm working on it. My reading and writing is intermediate...but this is an intermediate Chinese course...so I just thought..."

"Well, all I can say is to just finish up this semester. You won't enjoy learning this way, but get through this course and we'll see. Like I said, come see me during my office hours."

She waved her hand at me and brushed past me.

I walked to my next class with blurry vision from holding back the tears.

Before you go crying and wailing for my awful, no good, rotten bad day, I surprisingly have been pretty upbeat about it all.

While I wish I could hate my professor for saying such rude things to me, I'm determined to prove her wrong. I am going to get a good grade in her class and show her that I can do it. Because even though she is much more versed in the subject, she doesn't know me.

If it's a challenge you wanted, then it's a challenge you will get.