Chapter 14 - New Principal

The college entrance exams were fast approaching and Hua was trying to figure out the best way to get Mr. Zhang's signature on the registrar's papers.

Mr. Zhang happened to walk into the study where Hua was cleaning. He immediately grabbed a paper and wrote something and pointed at her.

The note said, "I bought a piano for Mingmei. It will be delivered right now. You handle the delivery and just bring me the papers to sign after to confirm."

Hua read and immediately nodded. This might be the way. She immediately went to her closet room and grabbed the form. Luckily, the form was only one sheet of paper. Hopefully, she could slip this into the purchase and delivery papers to be signed.

A few hours later, the delivery did come to the house. There were five delivery people who were moving the piano into the house. It was going to be placed in the second study room in the house which was hardly used.

The house happened to be empty and Mr. Zhang was in his study on a business call. While the movers were working, Hua had taken the papers that needed signatures from the manager.

There were quite a few papers so Hua slipped the form into the pile. Luckily, the needed signature was in the right-hand corner just like the papers for the piano. With her heart pounding, Hua went into the study and found Mr. Zhang on the phone. He was busy looking at files when he glanced up and gestured for Hua to hurry up.

Hua went with the stack of papers and pointed to the corner of the pages. Mr. Zhang then just quickly signed all the papers with his signature and shooed her out of the study.

With her legs almost feeling like they turned to jelly, Hua made her way out. She took the form and hid it in her room. After the delivery people left, Mr. Zhang also left the house to go back to work.

Hua went to look at the form and saw that he signed it perfectly on the line. She felt relief at how things worked out in this matter. She immediately went to the registrar's office to process the document. She gave her contact info for confirmation.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Zhang who was getting her weekly massage at the spa was thinking about Mingmei. Even with Li Hua tutoring Mingmei for the next four months, she would probably not pass all her exams. She hatched a plan to go visit the school and talk to the principal.

She had heard from Mingmei that Principal Jhen had fallen ill and retired just last month. A new principal was hired and he was very by the book. She frowned and hoped that this new one would be as accommodating as the Old Jhen.

The next day, Mrs. Zhang dressed in a demure fashion to elevate her motherly image. She grabbed Li Hua after school ended and headed to the principal's office. Li Hua still hadn't seen or met the new principal.

Principal Lee Chen was a disciplined man who used to be a military general. He retired in his late 30s due to injury. He recovered eventually and instead of going back to the military, he decided to become a teacher. He worked hard and became a principal in several reputable schools.

He came to this school only because his father was friends with the Old Jhen. He was talking to his assistant about the top-scoring students in all classes. He was looking over the progress reports of students ranked low in overall studies. He came across Li Hua.

"Li Hua?"

"Sir, she's a disabled student, Li Hua in 12-A."

"Disabled how?"

"She can't hear or speak."

Just then, the phone buzzed indicating a call from the reception. The assistant answered the call.

"Sir, Mrs. Zhang is here to meet with you."

"Oh? What a coincidence."

Sitting in the reception area, Mrs. Zhang kept writing fiercely into Hua's notebook about the wonderful things she could tell the principal about while talking about Mingmei. A short novel could be written with just what she had written in the 15 minutes while they waited.

"Mrs. Zhang, you can go in now."

"Thank you, Miss Lang."

She pulled Hua a little too hard when trying to bring her into the office like she was her mother. Hua just let herself be dragged in while making sure her pen recorder was on as soon as they entered.

Principal Chen, a tall man with a straight stature bowed and greeted them politely with a faint smile. He gave off similar vibes to Master Wang. Hua had a feeling that he was a good person.

"Mrs. Zhang, it's nice to meet you. I'm Lee Chen."

"So, nice to meet you, Principal Chen. I'm Zhang Sunmei and this is my niece, Li Hua."

Hua signed, "Hello Principal Chen. I'm Li Hua."

Principal Chen signed back catching Hua by surprise but Mrs. Zhang seemed to have already known.

"Oh my, how marvelous that you use sign language, Principal Chen."

"Why yes, I learned when I was younger. It's been many years and I haven't used it in a while."

"I'm surprised you haven't picked it up, Mrs. Zhang. How does the family communicate with Li Hua at home?"

Mrs. Zhang panicked but reeled her composure in a matter of milliseconds.

"Taking care of two children, Principal Chen is not an easy matter. Fang is usually so busy, he's mostly at the library with his study group and rarely, ever home. The kids have always been busy doing their own activities."

"Two, you said?"

"Yes, my eldest, Zhang Fang. He's at King's University, just finishing up his first year, studying politics and sociology."

"I see, he must be a smart lad."

"Yes, I'm so proud. There is a plaque here with his name on it too."

"Oh, I see, and Li Hua? You mentioned just now you had two children."

"I meant to say three. Li Hua is adopted. Distant relatives. We didn't want her to end up in the orphanage when we, her family are still here. My husband and I opened our home to her."

"That's very noble of you, Mrs. Zhang."

Mrs. Zhang slightly bowed down to show her humble modest attitude. Hua had to give it up to her for her top-notch acting skills.

"So, you were saying, communicating with Li Hua is done how usually?"

Hua's eyes flashed with amusement. It seems Principal Chen was not a fool. He kept prodding Mrs. Zhang.

Replying stiffly with a rigid smile, "We thought it would be better to write down everything and because of that Hua is very smart and has such neat writing too."

Mrs. Zhang wanted to curse this Principal Chen for making her praise a lowly maid.

"I see. Which university is Li Hua aspiring to attend?"

Mrs. Zhang's heart dropped, "Umm... she hasn't made a decision yet."

"I see."

"But my Mingmei has set her sights on King's University's vocal and acting program. She's been scouted by talent agencies since a young age. But we wanted her to get her education first before venturing into the industry."

"How wonderful to have such a talented daughter. Which class is she in?"

"Oh, I'm surprised you don't know my Mingmei. She's in 12-A, with Mrs. Zhao. She's ranked in the top 3 of the entire grade."

"That's great. I'm still new here and getting used to the students' names. I mostly remember only the troublemaker students right now."

Mrs. Zhang let out a peal of roaring high-pitched laughter, "No wonder you don't know my Mingmei, Principal Chen. She is the kindest and sweetest child."

She went into a whole descriptive speech about Mingmei and how hardworking she was and that she studied tirelessly for her grades, and aspirations and even mentioned her exam stresses. It was almost like a monologue straight out of a Shakespearean play.

"Principal Chen, my Mingmei is very fragile mentally. She gets nervous easily and Li Hua, her sister being beside her during the national exams would keep her grounded and perform well. The girls have grown up together and they're each other's mental and moral support. Mingmei has been working hard for so long and I'm afraid her nerves and mental health will suffer and affect her future."

Mrs. Zhang's eyes filled with tears and her expression depicted sorrow at the plight of Mingmei. It was an Oscar-worthy performance and Hua was genuinely impressed by her.

Principal Chen just nodded to indicate he was listening. He glanced at Hua who was just staring blankly at them.

"If you could arrange that for both my daughters, our family will be forever grateful."

"I see. Where is Student Mingmei? I thought she'd be here with you, Mrs. Zhang to tell me her difficulties, herself."

"Mingmei wasn't feeling well today so she is at home resting."

It was like fate was playing a prank because Principal Chen's office had a large window that overlooked the soccer field. Just as he was about to say something, a group of girls walked by laughing out loud. There was Mingmei in person giggling and skipping with her friends.

"It seems Student Mingmei is feeling better now."

Mrs. Zhang smiled softly and sighed dramatically while inwardly cursing at the terrible timing, "The only time I see her smile now is when she's with her friends. She won't be seeing many of them often since everyone is going to different universities. She's been feeling lonely and sad too. My poor Mingmei."

Principal Chen smiled politely, "This is the age where kids want to spend time with their friends, of course."

She dramatically sighed to appear melancholic, "Mingmei, my poor baby girl. She shouldn't be out of bed. I must have a talk with her later. I apologize, Principal Chen."

"That's okay, Mrs. Zhang."

Mrs. Zhang immediately agreed to make sure she still had the upper hand in the discussion.

"Does Li Hua feel the same way?"

"Of course, they've both been staying up for hours on end studying and reviewing for exams."

Mrs. Zhang proceeded to excessively glare at Hua as if to warn her not to say anything unnecessary.

Principal Chen asked, "Is everything okay?"

"Yes, it is Principal Chen."

"Be polite, Li Hua."

Mrs. Zhang was putting on the mother act of reprimanding and reminding her "child" to be polite and respectful. She stood up to look at Fang's plaque and even took her phone out to take photos smiling proudly.

Meanwhile, Principale Chen and Hua started talking in sign.

"Good to meet you, Student Hua."

"You too, Principal Chen."

"She is a real piece of work."

Hua's eyes twinkled with amusement, "You have no idea."

"Does she really think the seating for the national exams conducted by government officials will be up to me?

"She thinks she's smart enough to outsmart the system."

"Why does she insist on you both sitting together?"

Hua contemplated at how honest she should be and asked, "Will I be held accountable for being forced into a situation from 9 years old due to my family circumstances?"

Principal Chen hummed, "No, but please be honest and tell me what's the situation."

"I've practiced how to write like Mingmei so I write the tests and put her name on them. She does her and writes my name on them."

"So, her grades or yours?"

"Yes, I've also held back, or else she would be number one in school or the entire district."

"Hmm.... this is indeed a very odd situation."

Mrs. Zhang got a call and left the office to answer and gave a death stare to Hua before leaving as if to give off a warning.

"Home life has not been easy on you?"

"Not for the past 9 years."

"Are you related to them?"

"No, I'm adopted."

"So, does Mrs. Zhang think Mingmei can copy off your national exams?"

"If that's not possible, she will try to exchange her exams with mine. If she gets caught, she plans to blame me for it."

Principal Chen was dumbfounded at the audacity of the mother-daughter pair to think that it would work.

"Even if you both sat next to each other, there are 5 versions of each exam paper, to prevent students sitting next to or behind and in front of each other from cheating. Also, there is a record of which version each student gets. This is the latest prevention added to the national exams system this year. It hasn't been publicized yet."

Hua signed, "Really? That's smart."

"These exams have been conducted since 1952. The whole process has improved so much over the years, in terms of preventing cheating of any kind. She really is underestimating the government."

Hua smiled faintly, "It seems that they like to underestimate a lot of things."

Principal Chen grinned, "Okay, don't worry. I'll handle this matter. What about university? They are not letting you go, are they?"

I turn 18 right after the exams so they can't prevent me from leaving. I already have a plan in place."

Principal Chen smiled, "Please let me know if I can be of assistance."

Hua nodded, "Thank you, Principal Chen. I'm glad I was able to meet you."

Principal Chen, "Do visit after you graduate. All the best with your exams. This time don't let anything stop your path to success."

Hua smiled softly and deeply bowed in gratitude. Mrs. Zhang came back into the office and Principal Chen simply said, "I will talk to the other teachers and see what can be done Mrs. Zhang but no promises will be made. These are national exams and things that go against the process are not looked upon kindly. If anything goes wrong, the school will not assume responsibility."

"I understand, I understand," she bowed with happiness and left with Hua who waved at Principal Chen. The meeting was after school hours, there weren't any students around. So, this was the perfect opportunity for Mrs. Zhang to yell and slap Hua for making her seem stupid for not knowing sign language.

Mrs. Zhang pulled Hua roughly into an empty hallway, "What did you say to Principal Chen?"

Hua took out a notebook to write, "Told him about Mingmei studying and fainting."

Mrs. Zhang sighed in relief, "Good."

The supposed plan was deemed to be a success in their minds setting into motion a very different future to what they imagined.

Written by Uner90 (R.R.)