Unfinished and un-proof-read yet)


Unbutton My Dress

Lao Fang

The bell for the class rang. Lao Fang, with books under his arm, walked into Room 8 on the third floor of the clasroom building of the English Department.

"Stand up!" the class leader shouted and the students all stood up. The chairs made a rustling noise that died out instantly and the classroom was as quiet as a graveyard. A faint sound of plane could be heard, a plane that had taken off from the Yuzhong airport.

In silence, Lao Fang looked at the green forest in front of him, raised right arm and salutted the class:"Sit down!" The forest now became shrubs.

All of a suddenly Lao Fang noticed a patch of white color oddly mixed with the green at the corner of the classroom. He was slightly near-sighted. Although he did not need to wear glasses, figures ten miters away would be out of focus. Lao Fang stared in that direction and blinked energetically. With focus somehow adjusted, he discovered that the color was nothing other than a round shoulders of a woman.

Lao Fang looked away, fearing of being detected as losing his composure. He recited the Confucian motto "Eyes off the sin, eyes off the sin". He did not want to stumble because of staring at something distracting.

"In this period, I am going to chek your homework and then we proceed to listening exercise." Thus saying, Lao Fang said to himself silently:"Who the hell is this woman? This is a military school, mostly boys. Won't she be a distraction in class?"

The soldiers (now we know this is a military school) opened their books. Lao Fang ramdomly checked their homework, walking around in the classroom and cast a secret look at the woman when the opportunity came while maintaining a nonattentive look. When their eyes met, the woman gave him a smiling nod. Lao Fang noticed that she has an oval face that was on the verge of beauty.

The woman was writing down something in a big notbook. Lao Fang remembered that the week before they had a meeting in the department. Teachers were told that the national education commission had a project researching on the teaching of English for non-English-majors and this school was one of the fieldwork sites. Some people would observe classes. Teachers could be in part of this project voluntarily. They could also decide if they would like to be observed, to be observed with video recording, and to be interviewed. Lao Fang only ticked off observation. He did not want his aging face and greys to be filed with national archives.

Could this be the class observer? So unexpected! Lao Fang felt his chin that had remained unshaved for three days and let down the shirt sleeve. He remembered there was a stain on the sleeve and he did not change shirt that morning because he got up late and had to hurry.

After homework checking it was listening exercise. It was pilot communication. The class went well. Students seemed to be more active than usual. Eighty per cent of the time Lao Fang was speaking in fast English and the students did not show signs of incomprehension. Lao Fang wondered if the presence of the woman freshened the students or the students wanted to behave themselved in front of a stranger.
Lao Fang had been a teacher for almost twenty years but he was a little bit nervous before an observer, especiall one dressed so Avant-garde. Lao Fang had been to the U.S. and had seen many baer shoulders and low cut bossoms. Besides, reform and opening has greatly changed the dressing code in the country and the color of flesh can be seen everywhere nowadays. Why should he be bothered with this?

But on the other hand, this is a military school. Lao Fang had grown used to soldiers with serious looks and after class, he shuttled between the dorm, the libray and the office. He no longer visited dance halls as he had done when he was young. So today's Lao Fang was none other than a hermit or a monk. This bright color against the background of "defense green" was too shiny, too heart piercing.

"Why didn't they specify a dress code for class observation?" Lao Fang thoguht indignantly. He wanted to talk with the political commissar about this after class. Of course, he would not mention the dress. He would reuest to be notified beforehand if there was class observation.

The class material was quickly coverd among the enthusiasm of the students. It was quite out of Lao Fang's expectation, because he did not repare anything else.
His eye swept across the classroom and found that the woman was looking at him with questioning eye, as if she could tell he had no backup forces.

"Damn! I would not let her to be my Waterloo!" thought Lao Fang.

The computer in the classroom caught his eye. He rememberd that a few years ago when he was in the States, he recorded the Tv interview of the American naval pilot Osborn who was the Mission Commander of the EP 3 Aires II recon plane. Wasn't this a good authentic material? He went to the office to fetch the tape and showed it to the students. While playing he checked the students' comprehension and did not forget to throw in some criticism of the U.S. military, lest someone should report him to the department as spreading U.S. propaganda.

to be continued.