Announcement
Ella P.O.V
“Students may I have your attention please,” Mrs Cole said and immediately the hall fell quiet, with the screech of chair legs as everyone turned to face the front, eager to know what this assembly was about. Most teachers seemed angry that their lessons had been taken away whilst most students seemed happy that they didn’t have to sit through class speeches or teacher lectures about assignments needing to be handed in on time.
“Today we gather to celebrate, our very late, very impromptu leadership assembly. You see we only really put everything last night and called parents last night, so please forgive us if we get something wrong. We have had everything prepared for a while now, but we have only just pieced everything together.” Mr Long’s hand was running up and down his thigh now, sending tingles that I couldn’t control through my body.
“You guys were right,” Mr Long whispered as he leaned slightly towards me.
Mr Martin the principal was called to the stage and the slideshow started behind him. There was a picture of Mr Martin as well as the word’s ‘Principal’s Address’. Mr Martin was well known for his long speeches that seemed to get nowhere, so along with the rest of the student body I leaned back in my chair to sit out the wait.
“As you know here at Oakwood High we believe that anything is possible, we believe that helping others, helps you. We believe that many hands make light work. We believe...” At Oakwood High you were meant to believe a lot of things. The handbook that you received during your first year listed all one hundred and forty-six of them. They included things like dressing correctly, postures, attitude and more that were all supposed to help you. Every year at this assembly he would always read them all out, that is why there was always a glass of water at the podium where he stood.
Beside me Mr Long seemed to be listening intently and I watched him take in every word of what Mr Martin was saying. I looked up front to the seats on the stage where Mrs Cole and some other high members of staff sat on cushioned chairs. Mrs Cole was trying her best to keep a ‘I’m listening face’ on but everyone could see through it and she was as bored as the rest of us. About five minutes into Mr Martin’s speech, Mr Long leaned back in his chair.
“Well I don’t think we will be getting back to class today.” He said giving my leg a deliberate tap, the sound not alone in the bored students sudden mingling and fooling around which Mr Martin didn’t seem to hear. By rights if I wanted to be mayor I should be able to listen to speeches that went on forever but I didn’t have the tolerance for them; especially not ones that I had heard a million times over. “In fact I think I might have to pull some of your lunch time away from you to discuss this catch-up assignment.”
“That’s fine.” I said quietly my mouth not moving much at all as I knew the staff at the front could see everyone’s faces clearly and that they normally watched me. Maya gave me a weird look that I ignored because I didn’t really understand what it meant and I didn’t care either.
Thirty minutes, six drinks later, Mr Martin finally finished the rules and called the leaders of the previous year onto the stage. They each held a bag in their hand; a gift to pass on to the next leader.
“Did you put in a form?” Mr Long whispered quickly to me. I just nodded, scared stiff. I was terrified that I wouldn’t get in! Mr Long sensed my fear and put a reassuring hand on my arm, resting just below my elbow.
“We now call up our ten finalists in no order.” The captain’s of last year were so excited, the girls shifting their weight constantly the guys eager to get a bag out of their hands, eager to get off the stage and back home away from the school they thought they had left for good. “Ebony Taylor, Kim Brown, Samantha White, Troy Wilson, Hayden McGraw, Zach Long, Poppy Williams, Ryan Tremblay, Connor Johnson, Clover Smith and last but not least...”
