Revolution In Another World

As the first day of a new school year always goes, it was a nervous affair for Leah Lenov, a quiet brunette who preferred to keep herself modest and unnoticed. With her father being a diplomat, she was no stranger to moving countries and schools. Yet, there was always that anxious tingle on the first days - meeting new people, having to introduce herself, adapting to a new environment. If there was any solace here though, it was that this school - just like every other school she'd been through in past years - was an international school where most students had similar experience of moving around as Leah did. 

The school was near Munich, Germany. Located in the small village of Erding where nothing of note really existed except a local brewery (albeit a very big and successful one), it was going to be a rather calm place where Leah could concentrate on her studies. That boded her well.

On the other hand, there was Jean Simmers. Hailing from a small town of Guildford in Surrey, England she was no stranger to trouble. To the extent that her rather affluent family was that the only way to rescue her daughter from continuing her rampant and mischievous lifestyle was to send her abroad to somewhere where she wasn't surrounded by her 'bad influences'.

Jean protested, rebelled, and sulked. But she did not cry, for she was not the type of girl to cry in adversities. And here she was, starting her new life in a new country, in a stoic village. 

What her parents did not think of though, was that in the state of Bavaria, which the locals called Bayern, the age of drinking for beer was twelve, pubs welcomed kids up to sixteen years old until 10 PM, and after that age, anything was fine except for buying spirits. 

But that was a life that Jean came to enjoy sometime later, and on this first day of school, she sat in the class with new classmates.

There were 25 students in her class, almost equally divided between boys and girls. And most of them looked like boring bozos, Jean thought, which was ironing considering that Jean was probably the most bozo of them all.

The teacher walked into the class and introduced himself. Mr. Smith was his name, from Canada. International schools always had teachers from all over the world, just like the students were. 

"Alright, class. Welcome to Erding International School and the new school year. My name is Kate Smith and I will be your homeroom teacher for the next year. I'm an English Literature and Language teacher but should you need any support or assistance in your school life, as your homeroom teacher you can always come talk to me"

The kind, gentle, and utterly monotonous voice of Mrs. Smith made Jean yawn. 

'No. Not today. Not on my first day. Not in my first class at least'

As much as her playful spirit was still alive, she too, in some sense, wanted to mend her ways. Her parents had promised her that if she managed to graduate successfully from Germany, they'd welcome her back and provide for her during her studies at university. Jean had no interest in going, but at least it was her ticket to return to her homeland. 

 "So, everyone. Please take turns introducing herself"

This was it. 

Leah already prepared a modest introduction. A revision of what she had done many times before. Just keep it simple - she told herself. The key was to introduce yourself but leave no strong impression. She wasn't the kind of girl who enjoyed attention.

When it became the quiet girl's turn, she stood up and spoke.

"Good morning everyone. Nice to meet you. My name is Leah Lenov. I'm from England but I have lived in quite a few different countries. The last school I went to was an International School in Hong Kong. Thank you"

Nice and bland, Leah thought. It contained generic enough personal information without giving anything away. 

After a round of customary applause, a few more students introduced themselves. Some talked about their hobbies, and some talked about their family, like how many siblings they had - Asian students tended to do that, Leah never understood why but coming from Hong Kong she was familiar enough with the culture. 

Then it was Jean's turn, the last one left, so she stood up. She swayed her body from side to side as she often does when talking in public, a habit she wasn't aware of. 

"My name is Jean Simmers. I like the Beatles, Nirvana, and the Sex Pistols. Nice to meet you all"

Leah knew the Beatles. Of course, who doesn't?

She wasn't familiar with the other two, but the mention of the 'Sex Pistols' caused some giggles and chuckles around the classroom. It wasn't so much that students had particular knowledge or understanding of the infamous punk band from the 80s. It was just that the name rang funny and seemed wildly inappropriate to say as a part of a self-introduction on the first day of school. 

"Right", Mrs. Smith concluded, raising, extending, and lowering the vowel as she spoke.

'What an oddball', was all Leah thought after Jean sat down on her seat again. 

But it was nothing special. She's seen her share of oddballs from all around the world. This blond girl was probably just one of those edgy kids whose raison d'etre was just to be different from others. 

When the introduction was over, their math teacher came in. Math was one of Leah's favorite subjects, but that didn't say much since she pretty much liked all subjects at school and excelled in all of them - bar Physical Education. 

The math teacher's name was Mr. Sparks. An elderly man in his early sixties spoke rather loudly, but his cheerful tone made it less irritating than it might have been otherwise. 

"So, let's get started with the Unit 1. Everyone, turn to page 8"

It was then that, amidst the rustling sound of books opening and pages turning, a loud snoring sound started to reverberate. 

On the first day at her new school, in her first class, Jean Simmers managed to fall asleep within five minutes.