Picture by @f3nix
Source:https://steemit.com/finishthestory/@bananafish/finish-the-story-contest-week-50

Here is my entry for Finish The Story Contest - Week #55!

You can find the contest at:

https://steemit.com/finishthestory/@bananafish/finish-the-story-contest-week-55

Original Story

Foreigner

“You can’t to do that,” she said in her broken English.

Her face was contorted in a rage, highlighting the wrinkles that came with late age. Lee Minkyung slammed the door behind her as she entered. “Other students. Yes. Say this is not equal. You can’t do that.”

Lee Minkyung pointed her finger towards the student in question, Park Dasol. The child’s lips still quivered in fear and anxiety, after having flunked her summoning test with a total and complete bomb.

“She failed. Yes.” Minkyung said. “Why you give her…another chance?”

Sarah Lopez folded her arms. Her excitement after first having met Minkyung deteriorated five minutes after their first class together, half a year back. Where Sarah’s style was calm, orderly and authoritative, Minkyung’s was hectic, erratic and authoritarian. The perfunctory policy of the Korean Magical Education Bureau regarding Korean instructors always shadowing foreign instructors in the classroom weighed on Sarah. It was Minkyung, and Minkyung only, that she butted heads with. Every day since then had been like brushing teeth with a razor blade.

This conflict, Sarah knew, was inevitable.

All other classes were perfect. Latin Summons accompanied with Bek Jinsoo, went smooth and the children brought out a myriad of lesser demons without error. History of Incantations with Lee Jaeyun was exciting, with students ready to participate, eager to learn the variations on Germanic blood rites and how these symbols shifted over time.

Sarah didn’t want to hate Minkyung. But damn if that bitch didn’t make it hard as hell not to.

So when Minkyung taunted Dasol in front of the class for failing to summon a basic familiar, that was the last straw.

Minkyung paced up to her and pulled Dasol’s breathing mask down, asking her why she was afraid to speak in front of the class. Dasol, large for her age, and in fact the largest girl in the school, stared down at her feet. Minkyung pulled the mask and let it snap back on Dasol’s face and at that, Sarah intervened.

She’d never interevened before. A foreigner wasn’t supposed to intervene in a Korean’s affairs. Especially an older woman’s affairs.

But Sarah did. And when the class ended, she brought Dasol along for an opportunity to summon the familiar with just the two of them in a side room meant for student studying.

Minkyung rambled on about how unfair it was. And Sarah finally broke.

“Shut up,” she said. “Stop talking and leave. Let me talk to Dasol. Let me help her, and that will be that.”

“Excuse me?” Minkyung bawked. Her neck shrunk back like a turkey and her splotchy makeup grew disheveled as the woman’s taught skin stretched over her face.

“Leave!” Sarah demanded.

Minkyung protested. Then they heard it.

“Hajima!!!” Dasol shouted in Korean. Sarah knew enough by this point to understand.

The student was shouting ‘stop’.

But she wasn’t talking to her teachers.

---

Here is my ending

It was too late Park Dasol twisted, shrugging his neck, raising his shoulders and curling his back.

For a moment, Dasol's body language seemed familiar to Sarah.

"You'd better shut up, Lee Minkyung," said Dasol in a high-pitched voice.

Lee Minkyung became even more energetic and pointed her knotty finger at Park Dasol.

"How dare you talk to a teacher like that?"

The veins in her neck dilated and her tone of voice became more intense.

"You're on detention, Park Dasol!"

The undisturbed girl spoke to Professor Lee again

"Shut up, you little crane"

Lee Minkyung opened her eyes wide

"Listen to me when I speak to you! Lustful young lady! Do you want me to tell Sarah how it bothered you how smart she was and how clumsy you were?"

Lee Minkyung was mute

Sarah chuckled.

"That's right," said the strange presence towards Sarah.

"I think it's a good opportunity to tell her about the time I had to call the police when I found that man riding on you," she pointed with her bony little finger.

This time it was Lee Minkyung's lips that quivered.

"Have you seen, Sarah? How my little crane likes to step on weak people"

"Abusing poor Park Dasol. tsk, tsk, tsk" she clicked her tongue, disapproving Minkyung behavior.

Sarah kept her arms crossed. But she covered her mouth with one hand to avoid comment.

"Halmeoni!" Minkyung objected.

"No granny!" scolded the spirit that possessed Park Dasol.

"Your behavior has offended me and your ancestors, you'd better do penance. Otherwise, your father will come!"

Lee Minkyung became even paler than she was. She ran out of the hall with her hands above her ears, screaming like crazy.

"I'm sorry, appa! I'm sorry, appa!" Running around the magical institution.

The other teachers looked at each other in surprise at what was happening to Lee Minkyung.

"Not a word," grandmother said to Sarah.

Sara ran her fingers over her lips pretending to close a zipper. She made a small cross on her chest with her index finger.

The spirit smiled pleased

"Finite Invocatio," Sarah whispered.

Little Park Dasol woke up from her trance and became nervous again.

"We'll keep practicing tomorrow," Sarah said.

"Go home. Professor Lee Minkyung won't bother us again."

---

Moral: Behave, otherwise the ancestors will come for us.