Kahina Ma'am walked in, a cup of green tea in her hand and her signature pastel scarf around her neck. She gave them all a warm smile.
"Bonjour, mes enfants," she greeted, and all ten students echoed a chorus of "Bonjour, Ma'am!"
Anya, always organized and usually the one with the answers, raised her hand.
"Ma'am, we heard about the short film competition from the other classes… can our French group do one too?"
The room lit up instantly. Even Umar straightened up. Kahina Ma'am blinked with pleasant surprise, her eyes sparkling.
"Of course! What a brilliant idea. That's très bien, Anya!"
Nick leaned toward Umar. "I don't know what she just said, but I felt it in my soul."
"Same," Umar whispered, awestruck.
Kahina Ma'am set her tea down and leaned on her desk. "We can definitely do something creative. In fact, I have an idea. Why not make a short French comedy and put it on YouTube? That way, we practice our speaking skills and maybe even go viral."
"Viral?" Umar repeated, suddenly far more invested. "Like the flu?"
"No, idiot," Nick whispered. "Like famous. But French."
Everyone started chiming in with excitement. The thought of doing something fun—and being able to avoid writing essays in class—was an easy sell. Within seconds, it was unanimous. They were going to do it.
Anya took charge like she'd been preparing her whole life for this.
"Okay, so first, we should decide who's doing what. Who wants to act? Who wants to do subtitles? Who's shooting the video?"
Nick slowly raised his hand. "Can I just say baguette in different emotions?"
"You can try," Anya said, already scribbling notes like a producer at a Netflix pitch meeting.
Even the quietest students were participating. Maya, who usually spoke so softly that even air ignored her, volunteered to handle subtitles. Tanmay, who had a DSLR and took suspiciously good photos for a 16-year-old, offered to shoot the film.
Anya turned to Kahina Ma'am. "Do you think we could film some scenes in class? Maybe for a school scene?"
"Of course. Just make sure to clean up afterward," Kahina said, clearly loving the energy.
"Let's brainstorm the plot," Anya added, already on a fresh page of her notebook. "It should be simple, funny, and something we can all relate to."
"Like Nick failing to pronounce 'fromage' for three weeks straight," Maya joked.
"That's a trauma, not a plot," Nick said, offended.
Someone from the back muttered, "Plot twist: Nick is the villain of the story."
"I can hear you!" Nick said.
"Exactly," came the reply.
Kahina Ma'am smiled, letting the chaos bloom naturally. "Just remember—comedy is all about timing. And authenticity. So keep it simple, keep it real… and make it funny."
"I can do funny," Nick said confidently. "I've been a joke my whole life."
"Finally, something we agree on," Umar replied.
As they laughed, Anya wrote down a rough outline. A slice-of-life school story about a French student trying to survive an oral exam while juggling a ridiculous misunderstanding. There would be side characters, mishaps, love triangles that went nowhere, and a lot of over-the-top acting. It was just right for their level of French.
"You know we'll have to memorize actual lines, right?" Umar said, sweating already.
"And pronounce them correctly," Maya added.
"Okay, maybe we rethink the plot—what if my character just forgets how to speak?" Nick suggested.
Anya ignored him.
They spent the rest of the class assigning roles. Anya, of course, was the main director and the calm, intelligent teacher in the short film. Tanmay handled the camera. Nick and Umar were comic relief characters, obviously. Maya and two others would handle the script, set design, and subtitles.
Nick still didn't understand half the vocabulary, but he was thrilled.
"Guys," he whispered to Umar. "This is the first time I'm part of something where I'm not just 'that guy with bad handwriting.' I feel… powerful."
"Don't ruin it," Umar said.
As the bell rang and everyone packed up, Kahina Ma'am called out one last time. "Remember, students—this is your film. Make it yours. And don't forget to have fun!"
They filed out of class, buzzing with energy, already throwing around terrible French puns.
"Are we doing this?" Nick asked.
"We're doing this," Anya confirmed.
Nick grinned. "Vive la cinéma!"
"That's not how you say it—" Maya started, but gave up.
Even if half the cast couldn't conjugate basic verbs, and even if the subtitles might end up being as confusing as French grammar itself, the French short film group was officially born. And if nothing else, they were ready to make the funniest, most chaotic, accidentally-genius French comedy their school had ever seen.
The moment Anya created the WhatsApp group for their French short film, things took a turn from casual to chaotic. The group name was initially "French Film Bois"—thanks to Umar, who thought it was hilarious. Within five minutes, the name was changed to "La Baguette Squad," then to "Lost and Found Chaos," then finally to "Le Groupe du Film" after Kahina Ma'am noticed and gently messaged "Please keep it a little professional."
Nick, as usual, had no clue what was happening.
Nick: "Why is there a cat named Paper? Is this about stationery or an actual cat?"
Anya sent a YouTube link—a quirky French short film about a cat named Paper who gets lost at the airport. In the chaos of lost luggage, the cat is mistaken for everything from a baby to a hat. The comedic relief was a clueless airport staff named Hala who had one job and failed at it gloriously.
Kahina Ma'am loved the idea.
Kahina Ma'am: "This is très amusant! We can definitely adapt this. Great choice!"
Nick didn't understand what très amusant meant but liked the emojis she sent with it, so he replied,
Nick: "Yes Ma'am, very transfer mustard."
Anya: "He means très amusant…"
Umar: "I call dibs on playing Hala."
Yash: "Same."
Nick: "Excuse me, I want to be Hala too. I've been training my entire life to mess up security checks."
After a five-minute argument involving GIFs, it was decided: all three of them would play Hala. The Hala character would "magically" change faces in each scene, but nobody in the airport would notice. It made no sense, which made it even funnier.
The group split roles:
• Anya: Director & scriptwriter
• Sarthak: Cameraman
• Yash, Nick, Umar: Hala
• Amreen: Voiceover artist
• Raj: Played the man who lost his hat but ended up with a cat
• Isha: Played the lady who accused the cat of being her missing purse
• Paper the Cat: A paper-mâché puppet made by Nick using old biology charts
Filming began at school after class, and then at Nick's house over the weekend. His parents, surprisingly supportive, provided snacks and background music.
During the shoot:
[Scene: French Short Film - Fake Airport Set]
Take 1:
Yash: (walking dramatically with a fake suitcase) "Hi, I am Bateman, and I have lost my papers."
Nick: (blinking in confusion) "Wait, you're Batman?"
Umar: (scrunching his face) "I thought Batman was black."
Yash: (throwing hands up) "What?? Batman is NOT black! Also, my name's Batemen — not Batman!"
Nick: (giggling) "Bro, you walked in like Gotham needed saving."
Umar: (laughing) "Yeah, and now Gotham needs a photocopy of your passport."
Anya: (facepalming) "CUT!!"
⸻
Take 2:
Yash: (this time more formal) "Hello there."
Nick: (instantly reacting with a deep voice) "General Kenobi."
Anya: (sighing loudly) "CUT! Bro, wrong movie! This is not Star Wars!"
Umar: (fake holding a lightsaber) "At this point, should we just film 'Revenge of the Lost Baggage'?"
Everyone: (laughing)
⸻
Take 3:
Yash: (serious now) "Bonjour. I have lost—"
(Before he can finish, two small kids — run into the shot.)
(Kid 1): "Excuse me, have you seen Perry?"
Nick: (without blinking, dives under the fake counter, and pulls out a green plushie platypus.)
Nick: (handing it to them heroically) "Here is your Perry."
(Kid 2): (beaming) "There you are, Perry! Thank you, mister!"
(They run off like nothing happened.)
Anya: (staring blankly) "Who… who are those kids??"
Abdul (camera guy): (whispering) "Did we just get invaded by Disney Channel?"
Umar: (laughing) "Bro, Perry the Platypus even has better plot consistency than us!"
⸻
Take 12 (or maybe 100, who knows):
Anya: (checking her clipboard) "How many takes has it been??"
Abdul: (shrugging, dead inside) "I have lost count. And maybe my will to live."
⸻
(Suddenly, a random woman with a suitcase and a man in a suit walk into the scene, as if they belong.)
Anya: (frantic) "WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?"
Nick: (grinning) "Relax, it's just a classic Bollywood airport scene."
Got it! I'll continue perfectly from where we left off, making the kneeling scene dramatic and funny just like you want. Here's the full continuation:
⸻
(The man kneels down dramatically in the middle of their fake airport set, holding a small ring box.)
Man: (emotional) "Pooja… will you marry me?"
(The woman gasps loudly and nods with tears in her eyes.)
Woman: "YES!"
(Everyone on set stares, absolutely frozen. Even the fake cat-turned-platypus stops moving.)
Anya: (facepalming so hard it echoes) "WHAT The "
Nick: (interrupting before Anya explodes) "Fire truck!! Fire truck!! This novel is for all ages!"
Editing took 3 days and was a beautiful disaster.
Raj: "Why is there romantic music when the cat is found?"
Nick: "Because emotions, bro."
Umar: "Also I look good in that light."
Anya and Sarthak managed to subtitle the whole film in both French and English. The subtitles were… ambitious.
French: "Je suis le chat."
English: "I am cat."
Nick's suggestion: "I are the cat?"
Kahina Ma'am reviewed the final cut.
Kahina Ma'am: "This is ridiculous and charming. I love it."
And finally, it was time to upload.
They debated for hours about the title.
Anya: "Let's call it 'Le Chat Perdu.'"
Nick: "Too normal. What about 'Hala vs The Airport?'"
Umar: "'The Cat Who Knew Too Much?'"
Yash: "What about 'Paper Chase'?"
Kahina Ma'am: "Guys, it's already 1 a.m. Just choose something, please."
They settled on: "Chaos à l'Aéroport"
Subheading: Starring 3 Halas and 1 lost cat
Nick clicked upload, holding his breath like he was launching a space mission.
The video went live on YouTube. In the first ten minutes, it got 12 views.
Nick: "That's almost my whole family!"
Umar: "Don't worry. I'll play it 30 times tonight."
Yash: "Tag me on Insta, I'll share it."
Anya sent the link to Kahina Ma'am, who forwarded it to the staff group chat.
By morning, the video had 186 views and 14 comments, including:
• "What did I just watch?"
• "Hala deserves an Oscar."
• "I screamed when the cat was used as a wig."
Nick felt proud. Even if it was a bizarre film about a cat named Paper, it was their bizarre film.
Zaid and K, who had nothing to do with the French short film, watched it during lunch.
K: "Bro, you're actually good at acting dumb. I'm impressed."
Zaid: "Tell me why I actually felt things when you called the cat an emotion?"
Nick: "Because that cat… was us."
K: "Okay, relax Hala."