First Impression I

Chapter Five- Madmoiselle's Ensnare

Chapter 5- Mademoiselle’s Ensnare

The green summer leaves of August slowly gave way to the golden hue of autumn. Then far too soon, October came and the leaves dropped, leaving the tree branches naked and bare.

I shivered as a breeze wheezed past. Pulling my blazer tightly around myself, I glared at the notice board in front of me. To say that it was big was an understatement. It was gargantuan. Measuring approximately 6 by 2 metres, the glossy mahogany board stretched the whole length of the main corridor leading to the cafeteria. I had always thought that the board was unnecessarily huge. Usually, it was never more than half-filled with notices no matter how far apart they were pasted. Until October came.

Currently, every single inch of the notice board was plastered in posters of all sizes, shapes and colours. They overlapped one another, fighting furiously for a position on the cramped board. Despite the obvious lack of space, the centre of the board was strangely empty. Someone had ruthlessly removed everything within a radius of thirty centimetres and pasted a huge life-size poster of Audrey, complete with the slogan ‘Audrey for Secretary!’. Oh the horror of walking past that everyday.

I glared at the notice board once more before sullenly walking off. It was the Double E months. Examinations and Elections. The exams would be held during the last week of October and only those with a GPA of at least 3.2 (4 was the maximum) would be allowed to contest for seats in the student council.

Then, there would be two whole weeks of continuous campaigning before the final elections for the Elementary, Middle and Head student council. Elementary school was from first to sixth grade. Middle school consisted of students from seventh to tenth grade. Only tenth graders were eligible for positions in the Middle Council. Lastly, the Head council consisted of students in the eleventh grade. Final year students were usually too busy preparing for university.

There were five positions in each Council. Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer and Advisor. Odd numbers of members ensured that there would not be a tie when they voted. The councils were responsible for the welfare of the students with minimal control by the Principal.

That was the little briefing that Mademoiselle Clementine had given me yesterday to prepare me for my campaign as Secretary in the council. Simple? It should have been. Except that nothing concerning the Quartet was ever simple. Because the Quartet was campaigning for the Middle Council, the whole female population of the tenth grade were at one another’s throats for the only post left. Difficult? Try impossible. So how on earth do I win? But I had to at least try. If not, I would be at Mademoiselle’s mercy for the rest of my school life. Oh why was I thus foolish to fall into her trap?

*

“…minimal control by the Principal,” Mademoiselle Clementine was telling me during one of our etiquette remedial lessons. (I hadn’t met her standard of eighty-five percent but she had agreed to tutor me so I could advance to the tenth grade lessons after the winter holidays. She was also my counsellor who would be helping me to adjust to Thornwell customs and rules.)

“Hmm,” was my clever reply. I wasn’t really paying attention. The student council had slipped to the back of my mind. I had joined the karate club and oratorical society. Audrey had become too busy to continue harassing me. My problems had been solved. There was absolutely no need to bother about the student council.

Furthermore, I was currently fascinated by a picture of an exceedingly elaborate table setting, Russian style. Fourteen pieces of silver cutlery with crystal goblets and china plates. There were eight forks! The salad fork, the fish fork and the...