Don't Scream (Complete)

Chapter 19

Cassidy Hoskins 

"Remember what I told you. Collect, compose, charm. The three C's. As long as you don't let your confidence waver, there's no way you won't make it in." 

Valerie Smarts was everything Cassidy had feared from the moment she'd opened her mouth to speak. 

On Sylvia's advice, Cassidy had gone to speak with Lionel first for information pertaining to the interviews. That episode hadn't gone so well. 

"I can't help you. The Council make up their interview questions on the spot. Even if I were to spy on them for information or if I were to divulge what I learned from my own interview, what I can give you is slim and most possibly won't even apply to your interview. You're on your own," Lionel had said. 

The guy was lanky and when he rose to his full height, he dominated over Cassidy; a considerable feat as Cassidy was of a reasonably respectable stature herself. 

So, next, Cassidy went to speak with Valerie. Valerie's accent was the only thing brightening the conversation between them; Valerie behaved to Cassidy coldly and Cassidy could, for once, empathize. 

She was black, but her accent made her sound like she was a cross between French and German. Cassidy found her company only slightly more consolatory than Lionel's, but that wasn't saying much. 

"You see, I am willing to help you," Valerie had began in that horrible, foreign accent of hers. "If a member of the Student Council mentors a potential recruit; one who successfully makes it in; it gives said mentor perks. Our community is growing, we need more space for the leaders of the future. You understand?" 

Cassidy hated her. But she sucked up her pride and stuck to her guns. Lionel wasn't going to help her. Valeria might well be Cassidy's last hope. 

The interviews would begin that very day and Cassidy had less than 12 hours to prepare for it. She swapped seats with the boy seated next to Valerie; some guy named Wesley; for the day so she could practice her interview with the ever-helpful Valerie. If only it was this easy to switch seats with Ponnie as well. 

According to Valerie, Cassidy's best chance of success; given her inexperience and how unprepared she was for the interview due the fact that she'd only decided to try out for it barely ten minutes before speaking with Valerie; would be to adopt the method of the 3 Sacred "Cs": Collect, Compose, Charm. 

"First and foremost, collecting your thoughts is vital. If you go in there, hoping for the best, you're screwed. Make sure you arm yourself before going into a war-zone; same rules apply in this situation as in that one. If you walk in there without bracing yourself, you'll be torn apart. Get a strategy underway," Valerie chided. 

"Next step would be your composure. If you don't look confident, you'll leave a bad impression on the invigilators. Hold your head up high. Be proud. But don't look too confident, or they'll just think you're being haughty. Be modest, but not shy. Be confident, but not boastful." 

"The last instruction is to charm your interviewers. You need to leave them with a good and strong lasting impression, so they'll remember your interview standing out from the rest. Make sure they remember you." 

Cassidy ran Valerie's words over and over in her head as if it was her mantra. Now, she stood outside the doors of the school library, a minute away from hitting 3pm. In 60 short seconds, she was going to walk through those doors. She wasn't sure how many other candidates had shown up for the actual interviews and she was nervous at a surprisingly high level. But she bit her fears down as the second hand on her watch ticked away, counting down the time until it was her turn to go in.