First Impression II: At Second Glance

Chapter Twenty-Seven - Sudden Changes

Chapter Twenty-Seven — Sudden Changes

Adrian called for a student council meeting on the first day of school.

"I will be resigning from my position as Chairman of the Student Council," he said. "Due to some unexpected personal matters, I find that I am not able to adequately fulfil my responsibilities as Chairman. Thus, I find that it is better for me to step down and hand over the role to someone who can better serve the needs of the students."

I sneaked a glance at him. He face was calm and his voice was carefully bland.

"I apologise for this sudden departure and I will make to do everything in my ability to ensure the transition goes smoothly after I resign."

Nobody said anything for a long while afterwards. We had all heard the rumours regarding the Hamilton bank but nobody had thought things would get this serious. Except for Edmund probably. I looked at him and he seemed calm. He already knew about this.

"According to the constitution, the Chairman has to explain his resignation to the student council members and staff advisors and it has to be confirmed by both bodies," Edward spoke. "In light of present circumstances, I will stand by Adrian's choice to resign." He paused. "What do the rest of you think?"

"What do you mean by present circumstances?" Hermione asked, breaking the silence.

There was a pause and I saw Adrian's hand waver on the edge of his chair.

"You have not really explained your reasons for resigning," Hermione said. "If we are to sign off on this, shouldn't we all have a clearer understanding of the issue?"

"Yes, I should have explained my motivations for resigning more clearly," Adrian said slowly. "There has been some trouble..." He paused. "My mother has been rather ill lately. Unexpected circumstances. Therefore, I would like to cut down on school commitments so as to spend more time with her."

He took out a letter from his bag. "Here is a copy of my resignation letter if you wish to take a look. I will be handing it to Mademoiselle and the Headmaster after this meeting today."

Secger snatched up the letter and read it, still looking a bit dazed as if he couldn't believe Adrian was actually resigning. He passed the letter to Hermione who then passed it to me. It was short and basically repeated what he had just said. Family matters...mother rather ill...unable to fulfil responsibilities to the best of my abilities.

I slide the letter back to Adrian.

"I will respect Adrian's decision," I said. "Secger? Hermione?"

Both of them nodded.

There was a pause.

"So what next?" I asked.

"The Vice-President will take over the President's role," Edmund said. "And the council will decide whether to hold elections to elect another member if it is not too late in the semester. If yes, the elections are to be held within two weeks after the resignation is confirmed. The rules are all in constitution."

"Are there any other questions?" Adrian asked.

We shook our heads, still trying to absorb this sudden news.

"Then I'll make my leave first since I have a meeting with the Headmaster now," he said. "It's been a pleasure working with all of you. I apologise for this sudden departure. And thank you for everything." He gave a short nod and then left.

Edmund began tidying his stuff too. "Let's all take a look at the Constitution before this Wednesday's meeting. The important stuff is on pages 10 to 12."