Unrequited Love <3

Chapter 10

She just nodded as if to say, "Suit yourself."

As soon all the learners were seated, and as quiet as mice, the principal cleared his throat and fixed his tie tentatively.

"Thank you," he said formally, scanning the whole assembly with attentive eyes.

"First of all, I'd like to thank you all for being here today. Today's programme differs from that of a normal school day, and that's because we, as the school gorvening body, have come to the conclusion that we ought to have a debate every now and then."

He paused, and took a brief look at his prepared speech before presuming.

"This idea was suggested to us by a young man, a fellow learner at Meadow's High - Mvuselelo Mthembu. Could you please make your away up here?"

At this point, my eyebrows were nearly touching my scalp. My mouth was hung open.

Since when did Lelo come up with ideas as to how to pimp up this school, never mind disrupt the normal school routine?

Girls screamed, squealed and threw their hands up in the air as Lelo made his way up to the stage.

"Lelo, baby!" one of the girls called, planting butterfly kisses in the air.

His girlfriend, maybe?

I wasn't suprised by this boisterous outburst. Lelo was the captain of the basketball team, the deputy headboy and one of the hottest guys at this school; it was no wonder all the girls went crazy around him.

Except me.

Self-proclaimed weirdo slash outcast. Would you believe me if I said my sexual orientation has been questioned more than once at this school, mostly by the 'it' girls. They say I might as well be a lesbian for not being interested in Lelo. Seriously.

The thought just peeved me off.

"Ahem, thank you, Sir," Lelo spoke into the microphone.

The noise gradually receded, replaced by dreamy sighs and sniffled giggles from excited girls at the back.

"Learners! May we have some silence, please?" Mr Crompton asked. "Let's give this young man a chance to get his point across. What are the three most important words at this school?"

"Respect, order and discipline," the learners mumbled in unison.

"That's right. Now, Lelo, the ball is in your court," he said, stepping away from the microphone.

Lelo smiled gratefully, and stepped foward.

"Thanks again, Mr Crompton. And a big thanks to each and every one of you for allowing me to stand here today," he started in his naturaly confident voice that had girls going weak at the knees.

"As the principal has already explained, there'll be a debate session once a week, every week. This is to encourage learners to voice out their opinions and to develop assertiveness, both in their academic and personal lives. What inspired this idea was the astonishing number of people who hide behind their masks, and let others speak out for them.

"The topics will be random, and anyone who wishes to contribute to the debate is welcome to do so. Only one learner will elaborate the chosen topic, and provide a platform for others to speak up. All this will be done with you in mind. We all know that as teenagers, we have a lot of things to talk about but it isn't always easy to do so. I'll speak more about that as we go on. For today, I'd like to raise the topic of love."

Whistles filled the room, and girls went crazy, yet again. I just sat in my seat like a stature, paying full attention to whatever my best friend had to say. About love.