MY COFFEE STORY 英会話「あぜりあ」本八幡・西船橋・津田沼・佐倉
MY COFFEE STORY
Greetings To All Of You My Dear Friends In Japan Who Have Been Following Me Through My Blogs Every Week And Getting To Know Me. I thought though since for two weeks, we did nothing but talk about eating food in Blog # 8 — Parts # 1 and # 2 — this Blog that is . # 9 — should have the drinking part of it in it. So this why I am writing the following for my Blog # 9. Have a terrific time reading this week’s Blog!
MY COFFEE STORY
Coffee! I love it! It is my Drink Of Choice! And I have been drinking it since I was a young wee girl-child. My late father introduced to the drinking of coffee — hot — complete with cream and sugar which was the way he drank it. I drink it that way too still but only sometimes now or Iced especially when I am thinking about my late father a lot and missing him. But most of the time, I drink it cold and black. I drink my coffee all day long and all night long. And I DO mean that.
However, how or why I drink my coffee is not my reason for the writing of this Blog. I have another reason.
My Coffee Story actually begins way back when I was in school and was forced — yes My Dear Readers — forced — is the word I am using for this — to take Home Economics Class. I think you all know what that is, but in case you don’t, Home Economics is the science and art of Homemaking, Nutrition, and all such as that.
Anyway, I was forced to take this class (and truly hated every single minute of it) and was wishing I was elsewhere because I was definitely oh so NOT good at such things as what the Home Economics class would have me do.
Well, I was in the class just a few days when my Home Economics teacher — a very nice woman actually — by the name of Mrs. Ida Cherry — said — that the following day we (the class) would be split up into groups of four — each of the groups going into their special parts of the Home Economics field.
Great, I thought. I was The Outcast. Where would I wind up? Where would I finally be placed?
The next day, I did not show up for the class. In fact, that day I did not show up for any of my classes. I was home, sick, in bed. In fact I was home sick in bed for several days. And when I did return to school and to Mrs. Cherry’s class, complete with a Doctor’s Note as well as a note written in RED INK from my (now late) Mother, the horror of all horrors awaited me.
In and during my absence due to being sick, the groups had been formed and I was placed with the Kitchen Group with three other girls whom I did not want or care to be with and who, it was very apparent by their actions and attitude towards me that they were: (1) All THAT and More, (2) Better than me. And that (3) I was definitely NOT in their League and (4) I did not know anything about anything especially in THIS class and (5) What the heck was I doing in THEIR KITCHEN when I did not belong there?
Days and Time passed.
My three Group-mates had formed an alliance against me and which before it was a shield that not even a King’s best and most heavily armored Knight could battle and joust his way through.
Now of course, I could have reported the girls to Mrs. Cherry but then if I did that I would wind up looking very much like a Cry-Baby. So, instead, I faked my way through the class and tried my best to look busy whenever Mrs. Cherry was near in spite of being made fun of and ridiculed without mercy by The Three Know-It-All’s.
More time passed.
Then one day, Mrs. Cherry made a very important announcement.
Very soon, we would be having a formal Tea. One of those formal afternoon party affairs that one only read about in romance novels. We could invite whomever we wished to this “TEA”. But we had to plan the meal, set the table, make the food and all that went with it, including the clean-up and washing the dishes afterward. I was not included in any of this at all. The three group-mates planned everything and had it in their minds to do everything. So, I let them.
In the meantime during the up and coming days, I sat at the Home Economics Kitchen Table and Hand-made and wrote up my Formal Invitation for the person whom I wanted so very much to invite to this “Tea”. My Senior English Teacher Mr. L. When I told Mrs. Cherry whom I was planning to invite she was thrilled. When I was finally finished, I hand-delivered my Formal Invitation to Mr. L. (I have no idea now who The Alliance Girls invited but their invitation turned out to be by word of mouth and not made like mine). Anyway, when I gave my Invitation to Mr. L so he could come to the TEA, he was very pleased and honored that I should go to such great lengths to invite him.
The Special Day Of The Formal Afternoon Tea finally arrived and everyone came who was invited. Everyone was dressed in their best and when Mr. L came, I went over and greeted him very politely and thanked him for coming to our Tea. After speaking to him a bit longer (I could have stayed there with him the entire afternoon!), I politely excused myself saying I had to help get things ready at our group table.
Finally, everything was ready at last. The food was prepared and our table was set and Mrs. Cherry came around checking everyone to see how well they had done everything. We were waiting at our table when Mrs. Cherry came. I was sitting at the table and my group-mates were standing near it with smiles two miles wide on their faces. I, on the other hand, not only could not bring myself to smile, I couldn’t even look Mrs. Cherry in the eye when she looked at our table and smiled and said how lovely it was.
Everything was perfect. The plates, the water glasses, forks, knives, spoons, everything was in proper order. Even the food was done perfectly. Mrs. Cherry turned to leave. Then she suddenly turned back to us again.
“Wait……” she said.
There was a rather lengthy pause as she scanned the table one more time.
“Where’s the Coffee?” she asked.
The Coffee? The cups and saucers and sugar and creamer was on the table , and the spoons were there too —- but there was no coffee in the cups.
All of us went silent. The three group-mates looked at each other to the point of being horrified. Mrs. Cherry then said that having the Coffee on the table was 90% of their final grade of the semester and was just as important to the TEA as everything else that was being presented. If the Coffee was not there on the table, our group would FAIL the class. And Mrs. Cherry walked away.
I remained quiet as the three faces of the hard-formed alliance went white and their shield of hatred crumbled before them letting down their guard as their hearts were stopped momentarily and swiftly by God’s Own Almighty Masterstroke.
They all slowly looked at each other. Then at me.
I asked why they were looking at me. I then said: “You all heard what Mrs. Cherry said. Go make the Coffee. You have done everything else. Surely you can do this one last thing. You don’t need me. You have said so and shown me in no uncertain terms that I was not needed and not wanted. So……go ahead. Make the coffee.”
I said nothing more.
There were no words spoken and the silence was so great in the next few minutes that we could have been in a morgue somewhere. Everything around us seemed to have stopped somehow.
Then, as I sat there at our table, one by one, each of these girls, admitted to me, that they couldn’t make the Coffee; they did not know how. THEN…..one by one, and using my name, probably finally realizing at last that I did actually have one or was maybe GOOD ENOUGH to have one, they asked me if I knew how to make the Coffee.
You can believe me when I say a good amount of time went by before I said anything to them. Finally, I admitted I knew how but why should I make it when they had certainly not treated me with any kind of kindness or respect all year.
“But we’ll fail the class if you don’t!”
Then all three of them got on their knees and begged me to do it for them. All in tears.
It was just about then that Mrs. Cherry came over wanting to know what was going on and why the three were crying.
“Dropped a pen,” I offered, covering for them.
“They better find it,” Mrs. Cherry countered, and walked away knowing full-well of the cover-up job that was going on.
“Please!” they all begged one more time when Mrs. Cherry was clearly out of hearing range.
“Oh, get up!” I said.
When they did, I finally pointed out Mr. L to them and I said, “Do you see that man there —- that gentleman — sitting on the couch?”
They said they did and commented immediately on how handsome he was.
I said: “That’s Mr. L. He’s my Senior English teacher. I hand-made and hand-delivered his formal invitation so he could come to this TEA. I have very high respect for him and I do not want to look like a Horse’s Tail (Behind, Rear-end) in front of him just because you three couldn’t complete your job. I’ll make the Coffee but not because of anything any of you did for me all year. I am doing it for Mr. L.”
So……yes, I made the Coffee. And because of that Coffee I made, our group passed the class and got an A. And our TEA was a success. And for the rest of the school year, the three Know-It-All’s admitted they didn’t know everything and were kind to me. I had covered for them in front of Mrs. Cherry and saved them. What else could they do?
And OH! My Dear Readers! If you’re wondering how I managed to make the Coffee —- NO. IT WAS NOT INSTANT Coffee I made. It was the real deal. Because I like Coffee so much, it just so happened that my (now late) Father had taught me how to make Coffee using our House Coffee- Maker — the night before The Big Special Tea. I never asked him. He just did it!
THANKS DAD !! I LOVE YOU!!
Mary Annさんはカリフォルニア生まれです。
旅行で訪れたハワイに魅せられて21歳の時にオアフ島にやってきました。
パパイヤ工場で20年間働き、退職後はハワイ島で猫たちとの暮らしを楽しんでいます。
初心者から楽しく英会話♪
本八幡・津田沼・西船橋・佐倉
英会話・英語塾ネイティブ講師レッスン
バイリンガル講師派遣
あぜりあラングエージスクール
「Azalea Language School」
http://www.azaleaenglish.com/
