That Storm Must've Passed

Knitting asa

The morning sun was gushing with gold on my first day of teaching at this school.

"Assalaamu'alaikum, good morning teacher.." said a girl about 9 years old while greeting me.

"Wa'alaikumussalaam.welcome early in the morning." I replied with a smile.

"Std....The new teacher's mother." I heard the whispers of the students behind the girl who greeted me earlier.

From the opposite direction, Nia, the boy I knew next to my old rented house, came up to me saying hello, "Assalaamu'alaikum ma'am guru Dina.."

"Wa'alaikumussalaam Nia..."

"Eh friends, meet this new teacher who will teach English in our school, her name is teacher Dina. Let's say hello donk." Nia cheerfully introduced me to her friends.

"Assalaamu'alaikum ma'am teacher Dina..!" said friends Nia at the same time.

"Wa'alaikumussalaam children." I replied with a smile.

The moment the entrance bell rang, the school sign was about to begin. It just so happened that it was Monday, the first day the children entered school after the first semester break was over.

The students rushed to the school grounds, they lined up according to the order of the class. This morning they will hold a ceremony every Monday. Today is the first ceremony after approximately two weeks of their school holidays.

Mr. Surya, the headmaster at the time acted as the ceremonial coach, and in the midst of the ceremonial message he told his students that a new teacher would teach them.

In his mandate Mr. Surya introduced me to them that I would teach them the field of English studies ranging from grade 4 to grade 6.

It turns out that I'm not the only one Mr. Surya has accepted as a new teacher here.

There are also other English teachers who are much younger than my age, and the teacher will teach English from grade 1 to grade 3.

Later I found out that Mr. Surya was a very good person, unable to see others difficult, so he still accepted my request to teach at that school, in fact, he accepted the request of another teacher.

Knowing this, I felt very bad and wrong. Moreover, there were some fellow teachers who looked at me with one eye. Hopefully this is just my feeling.

I realized, as a teacher of the field of study, let alone the field of English studies, I only get two hours per class per week. There will be plenty of free time for me.

But I'm not the idle type of person on the sidelines of free time.

For the sake of removing the negative impression because I am only a complementary teacher, I try hard so that I can be a lot of power and benefit for this school.

That afternoon, when I finished teaching in fourth grade, I went to the teacher's room and I saw two plain, non-closed teacher desks.

I checked around hoping to find something that could be made into a tablecloth. But I found only a large tablecloth but not wide enough to cover the two long tables.

At the same time a middle-aged father entered the teacher's room.

"Assalaamu'alaikum, good day, Miss Dina." said the father

"Wa'alaikumussalaam.good morning also father. Sorry...with whose father..??" my many.

"Meet me, I am Mr. Abdi Nugroho. Simply called Mr. Abdi." he said with a smile.

"Oh.yeah. Mr. Abdi. What class did you teach in? my many.

"Sorry father if I may ask, do you know there are other tablecloths? Because I see this tablecloth is not enough to cover this long table."

"Ooo ..anu bu Dina.indeed this tablecloth is not the proper tablecloth. Because this teacher's desk was recently replaced by the principal's father. So of course it does not fit." explained Mr. Abdi.

"Continue .. This table has no applaknya sir? If that table was where you were, sir?" ask again.

"The old teacher's desk is in the principal's room."

"Oo so, sir. I'm sorry, then, can I please use this tablecloth so that it can be enough to cover this long table?" ask me for permission.

"Oh .. Bu Dina can sew?" ask Mr. Abdi.

"Ah. yes. I just don't have a sewing machine. Inipun if I want permak, maybe just use hand sewing in an honest way, sir." I replied.

"If indeed Dina ma'am wants, try asking Widi ma'am, religious teacher, who knows there are still sewing machines belonging to the village that are usually rented. You can rent the sewing machine by paying rent per month. Ms. Dina can sew using a machine, can't she?" ask Mr. Abdi.

Hearing Mr. Abdi's words I was very happy.

"Yes sir.I can. But can I really borrow that sewing machine?" my many.

"Yes ma'am, but try to make sure first whether the sewing machine is still there" said Mr. Abdi.

"Well sir, I'll ask Widi" I replied excitedly.

"Well mom, if the leased sewing machine is still there, can I ask for help?"

"Yes sir..what is that?"

"I have some oversized shirts, can I ask you later to help Ms Dina shrink it? Later there is an example so that mothers follow the size according to the example. But that's after Dina's mom gets her certainty."

"Yes sir, God willing. Now I want to ask Widi" I replied.

I hurried away from the teacher's room to look for Bu Widi.

After searching for some time, I finally found him in the cooperative room.

"Assalaamu'alaikum Bu Widi."

"Wa'alaikumussalaam..oh bu Dina, how can I help you?"

"Look ma'am... Is it true that there are sewing machines at home that can be rented? If there really is, can I rent it?"

"Oo right mom.it just so happens that the sewing machine is still there is only one fruit. The machine belongs to the village and is used to residents in need with a rental system per month. So if indeed Dina ma'am needs, please take Dina ma'am to the house later in the afternoon." said Widi bu.

"If you may know, how much is the rent per month ma'am?"

"It's not expensive, it's just five grand."

"Alhamdulillaah is quite cheap ma'am, and I think insya Allaah I can pay it that much." I said.

I was very happy and felt grateful with the sewing machine, I could find a side income later, he said, because just relying on my honor as a teacher is not fixed will certainly not be enough to cover our daily needs. I hope with the sewing machine this loan a little more will be very helpful.