The Bad Boy of Waterloo Road

Chapter Nine.

Smiling back, I turned back around in my seat and read the message he had sent before replying back to him.

Finn: Meet me by the bike shed during free period ;)

Lindsay: Sure ;)

Not wanting to make the same mistake twice of getting caught texting during class, I slid my phone back into my pocket and continued to sit next to Lauren grinning like an absolute idiot! All I can say is...I cannot wait to see what free period has in store for me.

****

It was now time for the anti-drugs assembly that my dad has organised for all the Year 13's. Everyone started flocking into the hall, scrambling for seats next door to their friends. Thankfully, I was one of the first inside, managing to secure four seats in a row not far from the front. We took our seats as the room began to fill with noise from several different cliques spread around the room. Not long later, the door swung open, the massive hall falling into silence as my dad walked over to the stage, climbing the steps to the side of it and strolling over to the solid oak podium situated to the far right, which had a microphone attached to it.

"Good morning Year 13 and teaching staff. I sure hope you have all had a good weekend." He introduced, getting the formalities out of the way. "Now, today's assembly is going to be a little different because I won't be taking it...one of your fellow students will. As most of you will know, we had a drugs scandal here last week, which resulted in me having to suspend three of my pupils and I gave one of those pupils the responsibility of presenting an anti-drugs talk to you all." He added and I glanced over at Finn, who seemed rather tetchy and what my dad followed up with, I understood why. "Finn Sharkey, can you come up here please?" He announced as he started clapping, the rest of the hall half-heartedly joining in.

I watched as he stood up from his seat and headed over to the stage, trying to avoid eye-contact with pretty much everyone. Seeing him so worried made me want to just cuddle him and not let go, but the only people who know our true feelings towards each other is me and him. He skipped up the steps and walked over to the podium, replacing himself in my dad's position. Before he began his speech, I saw my dad pat him reassuringly on the back, making Finn smile.

"Erm...as you are all now aware, last week, I made a really stupid decision and brought a joint onto school premises. As a bit of fun, I encouraged my friends into smoking it with me which I soon realised was a huge mistake. It was only when someone who I really care about needed to be seen to by the nurse that it actually sunk in exactly what I had done and the amount of danger I could have potentially caused..." He broadcasted and I soon felt Lauren and Josh's eyes on me but my eyes were firmly set on the stage where he stood. "I don't really know where I am going with this and I can't say that I won't make any mistakes again so the only piece of advice I can give you is, don't go making any thoughtless decisions without taking into account the consequences because I can assure you, it's really not worth it!" He declared but there was no reaction and judging by the silence, I don't think he received the response he was looking for.

Seeing him stood on that stage, he looked so humiliated. I couldn't help but feel sorry for him because he must have felt so small stood up on stage, in front of his peers and teachers just feeling dissatisfied at the speech he had delivered.

To break the rather awkward silence, my dad erupted into applause again, hoping that everyone else would follow suit and thankfully, it was well-received but part of me didn't think it was genuine. Hearing the clapping, I watched a small smile break onto Finn's face as my dad walked back over near the podium, standing beside Finn but still at a suitable distance from the microphone.