Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 2020complete | Page 264

I hid in the library, drowned in the world of books, sheltering myself from my classmates' harsh words and
actions.
The once ebullient me was foundered.
Little did I know, the books I read boosted my writing skills. On a Monday afternoon, my English teacher
announced in front of my class, 'Class, our school has a writing competition held annually with all the other
international schools for grade 5 students, so our class needs one person to join.'
An enormous amount of hands shot in the air, however, as soon as my hand was raised a great amount of
smirking filled the room.
My teacher, who seemed to not notice the laughing, nodded approvingly at the vast amount of people
willing to join and replied,' I will announce the participant tomorrow. Class dismissed!'
The night seems to drag, I couldn't wait to hear the results, a part of me tells me that my writing skills
seemed to improve and was better than anyone else in my class.
'Who's excited to know the results?' my English teacher exclaimed cheerfully. The talkative class seemed to
be buzzing again. I sat on my seat upright and was praying that I would be of the chosen. Then I heard two
girls not far from me said, 'The new girl from GBA thinks she's great, how can she even have the guts to
volunteer?'
'The special participant is …' my English teacher announced with suspense in her voice, the class quieted
down heartbeat could be heard. 'Kate Wang!' my teacher shrieked.
I did not expect much from my classmates. I knew they would react with their usual smirk and mocking
laughter. Strangely, one of my classmates started with a slow clap, followed by another one and another one.
Gradually, the whole class started clapping.
My whole entire heart was filled with joy, I didn't know whether it is because I was the participant of the
writing competition or I got the entire class's applause. Still, my heart felt terrific, and words can't describe
my joy.
I started getting 'famous' people suddenly stopped ignoring me, they even stopped calling me 'The new girl
from GBA,' some people who I don't know of started giving me a wave in the hallway.
They finally knew me as a girl who could write a fantastic composition even though I couldn't pronounce
English properly.
The girl who wore the pink flamingo earring approached me with a forged smile on her face, 'Hey, you're
the new student, right?' She didn't wait for my response before she could extend her hands and said, 'My
name is Leslie, nice to meet you!'