I've been taking online English lessons from a teacher, let's call him Mr. B, who is an outstanding instructor at school K. Ordinarily, he teaches Political Economy at a local high school in English, and his proficiency is close to that of a native speaker.
As you might expect, during the school term he only has time to teach English online in the evenings on weekdays. His only other available slots are during the weekends, and during long school holidays, when he accepts midday lessons. However, due to his research and administrative duties at school, these slots are rare.
My normal routine is to check the availability of the teachers I have marked as 'favorites' for the next day between 11 AM and 3 PM, and to try to distribute my bookings among as many teachers as possible. But Mr. B is an exception. Whenever I find an open slot in his schedule, I book it as a priority, regardless of the time. If I'm lucky enough to get a slot, I adjust my work to fit it (but I don't take slots after 6 PM as that's family time). This could be one of the perks of being a freelancer.
Here's what happened over the last few days:
The day before yesterday: I had booked a lesson for 7 AM (6 AM Philippine time), but it was cancelled due to the teacher's circumstances. I attended another teacher's lesson at a different time and booked Mr. B's open slot for yesterday.
Yesterday: The same thing happened; his lesson was cancelled due to his circumstances. This time it was at 7:30 AM (6:30 AM Philippine time). I took another teacher's lesson at a different time and booked Mr. B's open slot for today.
Today: As soon as we met online, he apologized profusely, "I'm extremely sorry for cancelling two days in a row. I've been so busy that I just didn't have the energy."
My response was, "If you think I'm upset because you cancelled my lessons two days in a row, that's a misunderstanding. I don't mind at all. I understand that you're very busy, and given your packed schedule, it's inevitable that there might be cancellations on the day. No problem at all. Please don't worry about it."
He then asked, "But Tatsuya, why did you book such an early lesson?"
I replied, "Because that was the only time your class was available."
He looked like he was about to cry.
Incidentally, after the lesson, I saw an open slot in his schedule around noon tomorrow and automatically booked it. I'm fully prepared for a potential cancellation.
(Postscript)
Today (16th), I received a last-minute cancellation from Mr. B. Even though this couldn't be helped, I decided to try the substitute teacher who was automatically assigned. But I felt like I was just serving as her English conversation practice partner. That was quite a surprise.
