The students inside were doing their morning reading. Pang Qian helped Gu Mingxi take off his raincoat outside the classroom door, then hung it up on the hook on the back of the door. She put her umbrella in the corner, and walked to her seat with Gu Mingxi.
This was the only fixed desk in the fifth grade classroom. Even when seating charts were being rearranged, it wouldn’t change. The desk was against the window, in the last row. Pang Qian’s father, Pang Shuisheng, had custom ordered it from a carpenter.
The desk was as long as all the other desks, but one side was raised higher, the other lower. The higher side was the same height as other desks, but the lower side was more than 20 cm shorter. Also, all the other students sat on benches. Only Gu Mingxi sat on a chair with a back.
The two kids sat down at the desk. Pang Qian helped Gu Mingxi take off his hat and scarf. Then she looked into her backpack to pull out her notebook, not bothering him any longer. Gu Mingxi leaned back in his chair, kicked off his shoes, and rested his feet on the short desk.
He was wearing socks that left the toes open. He grabbed onto his backpack with his left foot. And with his right, he skillfully unzipped the bag, pulling out the textbooks he needed and his pencil box.
The rest of the class didn’t pay any particular attention to him. They continued with their reading and dictation. Teacher Li stood at the lectern, watching over everyone, also not paying much attention to him.
Gu Mingxi’s eyes lowered, he looked calm. Sometimes he would whisper things to Pang Qian.
Pang Qian worked on her assignments as she absently listened to him. Everything seemed as usual.
Except for Gu Mingxi’s narrow shoulders, where a pair of empty sleeves hung in the air.