Essay (1)

Mr. Sam ignored the sound of protest from the class. If he stopped his class every time there was a complaint, then he would never finish his syllabus. "I want all of you to pair up and hand in a 5000 words essay on the issue of generational influence based on the characters and plot that we've discussed in the play, Fences.

"The play is set in a western setting but how do you think the theme would pan out in this setting, meaning your own family and culture. How would the concept be different if placed in the eastern context, would there be any difference or if there's none, what do you think may be the similarities?

"I wish for you to use your critical thinking skill. Like I said earlier, there will be 2 people in a group and I need the assignment to be handed in by Monday." It was a Friday, meaning the students would have the weekend to finish the essay.

"Now, I need you to split into groups and hand me the names of the group members. Chop, chop. We don't have all day."

After Mr. Sam gave the assignment, the class started to mobilize. Most sought the friend who sat adjacent to them to form the group.

Pei Ling who sat behind Jun Yang, tapped the latter on his shoulder. When Jun Yang turned around, Pei Ling asked, "Jun Yang, do you mind pairing up with me?"

Jun Yang did not have too much of an opinion on this matter. He could work well with anyone. Pei Ling was as good of a choice as any so he shrugged and said, "Sure, why not."

The casualness in Jun Yang's answer annoyed Pei Ling like she needed him more than he needed her but she did not let that emotion show on her face. She kept her face smiling.

Then, she turned to look at the rest of the class. Most of the pairs were slowly forming. At a time like this, it was quite easy to see who was more popular in class and who were those that existed mostly at the fringes.

Those who were popular had many options and they could have their pick of who they wanted to form a pair with. Following that logic, there were actually many classmates who wanted to pair up with Pei Ling and Jun Yang but since the king and queen of the class had already grouped up, the rest of the class had an unwritten understanding and collectively left them be.

Inversely, those who were less popular would be left behind. One of the examples was none other than Feng Qi. The young man was practically ignored by the rest of his class. People milled around him forming pairs but none paid him any heed. They just assumed he was invisible.

To their credit, it was not that Feng Qi pipe up to announce his presence either. He just sat there at the back of the class and faded into the background.

However, the total number of students at their class was an even number, so since the assignment was to be done in pairs, no one would be left behind. Everyone would have to find another classmate to form a pair with.

After a while, the pairings started to get finalized and the straggler was revealed. It was a young man who appeared timid and reserved. Qian Xiang was the smallest guy in class and there was nothing really annoying about him to make him unpopular. He merely did not like to communicate and mingle with others due to his extreme shyness.

The poor young man looked around the classroom with a rather helpless gaze. As people started to pair off and with no one to work with, he started to panic. He did not want to be left alone on a group assignment.

He looked around the room and noticed Feng Qi who appeared unaffected by the activity around him. He was like a sanctuary while the world raged around him. The student hesitated for a moment before moving towards Feng Qi.

Pei Ling, who had been following the movements of the other students in the classroom, noticed this. She cleared her throat and asked, "Mr. Sam, do you think it's alright for one group to have 3 members instead of two?"

Mr. Sam frowned and replied, "But isn't there 24 students in the class? That's enough to form 12 pairs. Why is there a need to have a 3 member group?"

Pei Ling answered, "Because most of us want to maintain our grade and thus do not want to carry dead weight."

Mr. Sam did not quite understand what she was hinting at because he was not that familiar with the class politics. However, two other parties got what Pei Ling was insinuating instantly.

One was the young man who was walking towards Feng Qi, attempting to get the latter to form a pair with him for the assignment. When he heard Pei Ling say that, he froze immediately. Even though he did not know what Pei Ling really wanted, he was clever enough to understand the concept of not pissing off the most powerful female student in class. So if she did not want him to associate with Feng Qi, then that was what he would do. He was already at the bottom rung of the social ladder in class, he really did not need to have Pei Ling paste a target on his back.

The other party was Pei Ling's lackey. These were the girls that Pei Ling hung out with on a daily basis so they were familiar with her MO. Without any rehearsal, they piped up to support Pei Ling. "Mr. Sam, that's right. All of us good students, who come to class daily, treat the assignment seriously. But the same cannot be said for those who can barely show up for class."

"Yes, that's right. It'll be unfair for the person who has to pick up the slack on this irresponsible person's behalf." They clarified the content that was left unsaid by Pei Ling.

One of the pairs added, "We'll allow Qian Xiang to join us. We don't mind."

By then, even Mr. Sam knew what the girls were talking about. They were trying to single out Feng Qi. After all, part of the students started snickering and some of them even turned around to look at Feng Qi.

As a teacher, he could not allow such acts of bullying to happen in his class but at the same time, he knew Pei Ling's parents were close friends with the school's director.

As Mr. Sam hesitated about what to do, suddenly a hand rose into the air and a male voice said, "I'll partner up with Feng Qi!"