终于，轮到居于末位的王美瑛老师发言。
她老娘早就想趁「新官上任三把火」──代理校长刚上任，还没把事搞砸、尚存威严之时──不吐不快：
「asyouknow,i’mlilyli’shomeroomteacher,aswellasarielliu’slanguagetutor.iknowclearlymyresponsibilitiesandobligations.ihavealreadymanifested,notjustonce,iamfullyawareofbeingobligatedtodowhatihavetodo,andreadytotakeanypracticalmeasures—andevenassistintakinglegalactions,providedmypresenceisnecessary.thiscommittee,nevertheless,kepthinderingmefromfulfillingmyduty.andnow,president,yourhonor,ishere.iwouldliketoreiteratemydisappointmentstoallofyou—」
「说中文，美瑛老师──体谅我们有些老师不讲英文。」
「getyourselvesaninterpreter,then—idon’tcare—whatihavetosayisayitoutloudandclear.andthosewhogotmypointgotmypoint—whicheverlanguageispeakin,老师。onlyifyouchoosetolisten,nottoonceagainhushmebyshoutingandhissing──ah-uh,herewegoagain—nowplease,letmecontinue...」
「很失礼耶王老师──」「尊重一下好不好？」「权宜问题、权宜问题！」「主席，立刻将王美瑛赶出去！」
见主席的神情比雕塑的表情更加肃穆，叫嚣的人员只好乖乖闭嘴。
「thewholeincidentjustremindsmeofj.d.salinger’sfamousnovel,thecatcherintherye.oneparticularpassageiwanttosharewithallofyou—andiassureyou:itdeservesyourattention.now,bearwithme—itgoeslikethis:
「‘ikeeppicturingallthelittlekidsplayingsomegameinthisbigfieldofrye.thousandsoflittlekids.nobody'saround-nobodybig,exceptme.andi'mstandingontheedgeofsomecrazycliff.whatcouldihavetodo,ihavetocatcheverylittlekidiftheystarttoruntowardthecliff—ifthey'rerunningandtheydon'tlookwherethey'regoing,ihavetocomeoutandcatchthem.that'sallidoallday.i'djustbethecatcherintherye.iknowthatsoundscrazy,butthat'stheonlythingiwillhavetobe.’」
「letmetellyou,mypeerandrespectfulseniormembers,howregretfuliam,rightnow,righthere,tohavetoattendthispointlessmeeting;notbecauseihavetoplaythelittlegamewithyouweaklings,orbecauseihavetositinthismeetingroom,discussingsomeinsignificantissuesover‘theschool’sprestige’ortheso-called‘measurestothecurrentprcrises’andwastemytime—oh-oh—
「somepeopleinthisroomwhoactuallyspeakenglishfeltseriouslywrongedandstarted—youdogetmypoint—thisisexactlywhyicallthemembersinthiscommitteeweaklings—
「allofyousawthe‘elephantintheroom’butchosetoignoreitcompletely.ifthereisapinkelephant,letuspointitoutwithourfingers—ifthereisabigwolfhidinginthewood,lurkingtoharmourkids—let’sgetit,then!why—isn’tit‘aperfectdayforthewolf?’idon’tseenopointsthatwestillsithereandwaitforamessiah-likefiguretosavetheday,toremovethethreatforus,whilewearestillfarfrombeinglatetotakeaction.