Anne's eyes darkened as she came up with a plan in mind.
During the reading session the following day, Anne handed a lengthy Encerian article to Helen.
"You'll demonstrate reading this to the class."
Without glancing up, Helen promptly declined, "Sorry, I'm not interested."
Anne had been confident Helen would decline. This made her even more determined to have Helen read Encerian.
In their country, those without a proper environment had struggled with speaking despite taking the written exams.
Helen's spoken Encerian must be poor, Anne thought. Helen was afraid to read aloud and be laughed at.
But Anne wanted precisely that, to see Helen embarrassed.
"You must read today, or I'll dock your conduct points," Anne threatened.
Conduct points mattered to most students. But Helen seemed unfazed, not bothering to engage with Anne.
"Do as you please. Dock the points if you want."
Furious, Anne exerted her "authority" to the fullest.
"Helen, what's the meaning of this? Everyone follows my instructions. Are you the exception?"
"To avoid further trouble, I won't resist this time," Helen conceded, taking the Encerian textbook.
Helen began to read earnestly to Anne's anticipation.
But once Helen spoke, the class fell silent. Everyone listened to the pure Encerian accent flowing through the room. It was a treat for the ears.
Anne's face paled. She dug her fingers into her flesh silently.
Helen's level was like that of a native speaker. It far surpassed hers, not at all the country bumpkin Anne presumed.
"No, this can't be!"
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