Back to School (episode 1)

We have been watching the wall of the school for few days now, in search of the fateful lists. The same lists we used to run our eyes over, when we were kids, sick with fear. And today, I come across the principal herself as she hangs up the sheets on the brand new panel. I’m afraid to come too close, I do not want to bother her. But I want to know. We talked a lot all summer long, picturing the three possible scenarios. Two women, one man. A strict man, sometimes he shouts. But probably not a bad teacher. And you know, maybe you’ll have to adapt yourself, and be cool.
I’m finally within sight. I squint my eyes to identify the lists of the three classes that preoccupy me. I move from one to another, trying to aim at the line, in the left column, corresponding to the first letter of my surname. After two scans, I read my daughter’s full name. Or rather, I recognize the image of those two words among all these names in uppercase. And then, my eyes drop to another name at the bottom left. A man’s one.