You are Just a substitute

This is a slightly sad blurb about a substitue 班长, or classroom leader. If you’ve ever used Chinese-made textbooks to study, or if you’re studying language in China, this could be managable for a beginner, otherwise, consider it an intermediate passage.
Intermediate Chinese Reading Exercise: You are Just a SubstituteChinese beginner textbooks are often filled with classroom-y words, and stories about inter-student and student-teacher relationships, so this should make a bit more intuitive sense if you’ve ever been in a real Chinese classroom environment.
In my opinion, there’s no good English translation for the word 班长. In Chinese classrooms, one student is elected the class leader – they are responsible for keeping other students in line, are given extra classroom duties, and are akin to a teacher’s pet. But in English, the word “teacher’s pet” has a negative meaning. Not so in Chinese classrooms, wher being the 班长 is considered a real privilege.
One of the more difficult clauses here is … 埋头继续玩”三国杀”. This means “… immersed themselves in continuing to play San Guo Sha.” San Guo Sha is a popular Asian card game (which, I understand, has been turned into an online multiplayer network game).
Click to Listen
核心 – hé xīn – Core, “heart”, nucleus
代替- dài tì – Substitute, instead
讲台 – jiǎng tái – Speaking platform, podium
乱哄哄 – luàn hōng hōng – Disorderly and noisy, in an uproar
耳旁风 – ěr páng fēng – In one ear and out the other
狡辩 – jiǎo biàn – Quibble, argue
反驳 – fǎn bō – Retort, sharp reply
斥责 – chì zé – Denounce
嚣张 – xiāo zhāng – Be arrogant, be on one’s high horse
争辩 – zhēng bián – Dispute
班长是一个班级里的核心，权力地位是不用说的，在班长不在时，能怎么办呢？只能找一位能力好、成绩好的同学代替了。
我就是代替的，在当天班长不在时，老师就总是找我代替，我也很开心为老师干活。
这天，刚好班长有事出去了，我只能跑上讲台，管好纪律。课室里乱哄哄的，谁也没有注意到我。我大声喊: “全部回到自己的位置上，现在开始记名。” 顿时，课室里静了一会儿，大部分同学都回到座位上了，只有少数同学把我的话当做”耳旁风“，埋头继续玩”三国杀”。
我怒了，把他们的名字登到黑板上去，而且写的大大的。他们极力狡辩“为什么登我名？” 我刚想反驳，可是检查的人来了，我心平气和地对他们说道: “检查的人来了，不许吵闹，不然可是要加作业的。” 他们立刻闭上嘴。唉，班长不好当啊！
检查团一走，他们又不管我的斥责，继续吵闹，并反驳: “你嚣张什么啊，你只是个代替的。” 他们说这话时可神气多了。我转过身，眼泪在我的眼眶里打转，我忍住了，没有跟他们争辩。
最后，班长回来了，我停止了我的”代替生活”。
唉，代替的比正的还要烦心啊。
 
The class monitor is the heart of any class [lit: grade level], needless to say it’s a powerful position. When the class monitor isn’t there, how should you deal with it? Well, you find another skilled student with good grades to substitute.
I’m a [class monitor] substitute; when the class monitor isn’t there, the teacher asks me instead, and I’m happy to do some work for the teacher.
This one day, the class monitor had just left to do something, so I ran up to the podium to oversee classroom discipline. The classroom was disorderly and loud, no one was paying attention to me. I called out loudly: “Everyone return to your places, we’re going to call roll.” The classroom immediately quieted down a bit, most students returned to their seats, but for a few, my words went in one ear and out the other, and they immersed themselves in their game of San Guo Sha.
Indignant, I wrote the names [of the misbehaving students] on the blackboard in big letters. They tried vehemently to argue, saying :”Why are you writing my name?” I had just thought up a [stinging] retort, but the class inspector arrived, and I calmly said, “The inspector has arrived, you must not be noisy, or else you’ll be assigned extra homework.” They immediately shut their mouths. Ai, it’s no fun being the class monitor!
As soon as the classroom inspector left, they once again ignored my protests, continued being noisy, and snapped, “What are you on your high horse about, you’re just a substitute.” They said this in a [mean]-spirited way. I turned away, tears welling in my eyes, but I tolerated it and did not argue with them.
Finally, the class monitor returned, and I stopped [living] my “life as a substitute”.
Ai, being a substitute is more trouble than being the real thing.