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:
「‘ikeeppicturingalhelittlekidsplayingsomegameinthisbigfieldofrye.thousandsoflittlekids.nobody#039saround-nobodybig,exceptme.andi#039mstandingontheedgeofsomecrazycliff.whatcouldihavetodo,ihavetocatcheverylittlekidiftheystarttoruntowardthecliff—ifthey#039rerunningandtheydon#039tlookwherethey#039regoing,ihavetocomeoutandcatchthem.that#039sallidoallday.i#039djustbethecatcherintherye.iknowthatsoundscrazy,butthat#039stheonlythingiwillhavetobe.’」
「letmetellyou,mypeerandrespectfulseniormembers,howregretfuliam,rightnow,righthere,tohavetoattendthispointlessmeetingnotbecauseihavetoplaythelittlegamewithyouweaklings,orbecauseihavetositinthismeetingroom,discussingsomeinsignificantissuesover‘theschool’sprestige’ortheso-called‘measurestothecurrentprcrises’andwastemytime—oh-oh—
「somepeopleinthisroomwhoactuallyspeakenglishfeseriouslywrongedandstarted—youdogetmypoint—thisisexactlywhyicalhemembersinthiscommitteeweaklings—
「allofyousawthe‘elephantintheroom’butchosetoignoreitcompletely.ifthereisapinkelephant,letuspointitoutwithourfingers—ifthereisabigwolfhidinginthewood,lurkingtoharmourkids—let’sgetit,then!why—isn’tit‘aperfectdayforthewolf?’idon’tseenopointsthatwestillsithereandwaitforamessiah-likefiguretosavetheday,toremovethethreatforus,whilewearestillfarfrombeinglatetotakeaction.
「iregrettedit,ideeplyregrettedthatifailedtobethat‘catcherintherye’whentherewasakid,anabsolutelylovelysweetheart,whojustranstraighttowardthe‘crazycliff,’whilestillwithinarm’sreach—icouldhavecaughtherinmyarms[acatchinherthroat].iregrettedthatwejustletithappen,asshejustfelloverthenest,withouttheslightestchancetogrowupandlearntoflutterherlittlebutbravewings—」
「够了喔，王老师。今天不是来听你发洩情绪──是来解决问题──」
「那前面开好几次会怎么都没看你们解决问题！」
美瑛的反驳令在座的人员，除主席之外，全都愣住了。
没等被震慑的人回过神，美瑛继续质问：
「前面开那么多会，你们哪个有要解决问题──」
「嘘──」「嘘──」「嘘──」
台下开始发出嘘声，随后则是更多附和者加入行列。
「oh,oh,somepeoplearesweepingawaythepersontheydisagreewith—finebyme,iknowiamneverwelcomehere.themomentisteppedintothisschool,i’dalreadyknownyouallhatedmetothebone.youallseemeasanoutsider,ifnotapariah—whichisfine.iknowthehonestoutsideralwaysgetsexpelledfromthecitystatejustbecauseshespeaksthetruth.」
美瑛已经起身，气冲冲奔向门口，用力扭开门把。
「sincethismeetinggetsusnowhere,now,pleaseallowmetotakemyleave.」
对着主席说完最后一句话，她愤怒地甩门离去。