It was Tuesday, 3:25 and the bell had just rang signaling the end of the day's classes. The teacher, Ms. Keitis, stood at the front of the classroom, her eyes scanning the room as she made a final announcement for the day.
"There will be an assessment test tomorrow, so make sure you're all prepared. That's all, class dismissed."
Ms. Keitis looked young, perhaps 26, but she exuded professionalism. Her poise and confidence commanded respect.
One student spoke up, "But isn't it too soon for a test? We just had an entrance exam, and school's only been in session for a week."
"Yeah, what's that about Ms Keitis?" Chimed in another. This being my second day I hadn't gotten the names of all my classmates but there were a few familiar faces from primary school, though – people who'd made my life miserable back then. Even now, the memory of those days made me almost nauseous.
Ms. Keitis's expression remained neutral. "Apparently, the prefects submitted this proposal to the school, citing the need to 'create a wide enough gap between houses.' for you form ones, the deputy head accepted their proposal. To be honest I'm kind of curious to find out how it'll play out." She said, a faint smile playing on her face. "Anyway that'll be all" With that, Ms. Keitis grabbed her things and walked purposefully toward the door, indicating that the discussion was closed.
"…"
The classroom fell silent. Then, a voice broke the stillness. "What a babe, huh, Vills ?" Connor said.
"Hehe." Vills chuckled. Their brief back and forth drew my attention to them.
As the class prepared to leave… "Hey, just before everyone goes, id like to say, I think we should have regular meetings every once in a while to stay organized, you know what I mean? What do you say?"
A boy named Houston spoke up. He was one of the people's names I had caught on my first day here, quite the memorable student too; he made a lasting impression, that's what I thought anyway.
Connor chimed in, his voice laced with sarcasm. "What, are we in some kind of business setting or something?" His comment earning him snickers from the class.
"Yes, actually!" Houston said proudly with a faint grin.
"Yeah, ok… Carry on then, boss." He said laughter being the class's response.
"First we need a representative." Houston said.
"Yeah, who then, boss?" Connor joked again, causing the class to chuckle.
"Could you please…"
"Alright."
"Honestly, I can't with you." Houston retorted shaking his head.
"…"
"Alright, I elect…" His eyes scanned the classroom before landing on me. "Newcomer, what was your name again?" 'What was your name again?' Huh, I felt as if he could've done without that last sentence.
"Ubeko! Right?" He finally said looking at me, while I nodded, my surroundings followed his line of sight, silence followed and I stared blankly at him as I tried to digest the new development.
Then thinking, before things get out of hand I spoke up. "I'm not really the representative type you know, hahaha." I said with an awkward laugh while scratching my head.
"Uhh, Houston I don't think that's a good idea, I know him I went to primary with him, he never did well in school, I have to wonder how did you even get into this very school, let alone this class.. "
"Damn, the guy is here with us you know."This time Mukesh who had been quiet spoke up.
"Well, no matter what he's done or hasn't done, isn't important," Houston protested. "I still would like for him to be the representative. Come on, why don't we give him a chance? He might surprise us, might even surprise you, Shari. Besides, we're going off your words alone. Maybe he's changed. We can't be so quick to treat him like he has no use." I appreciated the way Houston had phrased his argument. It sounded like, if I really did turn out to be useless, I'd be neglected.
"He's only just started school yesterday, I doubt he's grasped the rules of the school," another student chimed in. "All of us were given grace period last week to get the rules down. With that in mind, would you still like to have him be rep?" The speaker tossed a glance my way.
"Yeah, what he said, haha." I said, feeling embarrassed and uncomfortable with the constant stares I'd been receiving from my classmates.
"I don't quite think it's a good idea to have him be the one to lead our class." Shari reiterated sounding really skeptical.
It was true that I probably wasn't fit for the role and I didn't want to take it on, but It kinda felt painful hearing that she didn't want me to be to be the representative.
Conner chuckled, "Hehehe, yup, Houston, I don't think she's yielding on that one."
Houston sighed and spoke calmly, "Alright, why don't we decide with a majority vote by a show of hands? All those in favor of having Ubeko be rep, raise your hands…" Everyone except for Houston had their hands down. "Hehe, yikes," Vills chuckled.
"Okay, all those not in favor…" Just like last time, everyone had their hand down except for one person: Shari.
"Seriously?" Shari seemed taken aback. "What are you all… Chase, Kendal, we were in the same class as him." She tried to get others on her side. The names of the people she had just called out where one of the people I went to school with back in primary.
Chase spoke up, "Voting's optional, is it not? I'm gonna sit this one out, but I'm fine with what everyone else decides." What Chase said seemed to reflect what everyone else was thinking.
"Yeah I'll sit this one out too." Kendal agreed
"So, you're fine with our class being led by a lousy rep," Shari said, her voice dripping with disdain. "You know what It's fine. If our house hits bottom of the ranks..." She was about to finish her sentence when the door to the classroom swung open.
Everyone fell silent as our visitor walked in, the only sound being the echo of his shoes hitting the floor as he strode confidently into the room. "What's this about our house hitting the bottom?" he asked, his voice firm but curious. "Mmm... did I mishear, maybe?" He probed, his eyes scanning the room.
It was at this moment that I desperately hoped no one would bring me up as the subject of discussion. Anything that followed would only lead to more humiliation. I noticed that our visitor wore a distinctive black tie, which I inferred meant he was one of the prestigious students. Every other student wore blue ties, except for those from the house, Hammeck. I had learned they weren't allowed to wear ties.
There were four houses in each form, from 1 to Form 4: Eclept, Welbok, Rusel, and Hammeck. Eclept held the top spot on the leaderboard for our form,(the house I was currently in) but I wondered how it was for the other forms.
The visitor, who I now realized was a senior student, began to speak. "At any rate, young ones, please take care of our house. It would be disheartening to know that the juniors in my house are losing to all the other houses." So we're in the same house, huh.
He paused, surveying the room before launching into a passionate speech. "You see, I like to think of it like a shoe. When you hit the bottom, you become the sole of the shoe. Of course, you have a purpose, but you're rarely regarded as important. Hopefully, you can agree with me when I say no one ever looks at the bottom of the shoe, only the top. And when you clean a shoe, you only clean the top part, never the bottom."
I was impressed by his analogy, and it made sense. I wouldn't have thought of it that way if he hadn't shared his perspective on the school's workings. Like a shoe… I see. From what I had read in the rules yesterday, it seemed like a form of slavery. For instance, one of the rules stated that the houses ranked at the bottom were required to clean up the classrooms of all the houses in their form after school or during their free time.
Another rule that caught my attention was under the section "About Students' Dorms." It stated that the dorms of the top-ranked houses were located within the school grounds, while the dorms of the bottom-ranked houses were located outside school grounds, along Perfex Road. Students could either walk there or take the bus, which left at 5:30.
The senior student continued, "I'm sure you understand what I'm saying. Since you occupy the top spot on the ranks, you'll take care to keep your position, I'm sure." I assumed that everyone in this class had taken the entrance exam and achieved excellent results, which explained how we all came to be seated here amongst each other in the top ranked house. However, I wondered how the school determined which students were assigned to which house and which house received the top-performing students.
The senior student continued speaking "Mmm... do you have a class president?" Everyone's gaze turned towards me once again. Since his arrival, no one had spoken a single word, and he hadn't introduced himself either. I was left with many unanswered questions.
His gaze then landed on me.
"Uh..." I stuttered, unsure of how to respond.
Houston intervened, "We were just in the process of selecting a rep. I took... well, we took inspiration from our seniors. Although we settled on calling him 'representative' instead of 'class president.' Anyway, yeah, he's our rep." He pointed at me, drawing the senior student's attention back to me.
The senior student raised an eyebrow. "I see... well, rep, are you just going to sit there and stare at me?"
I hesitated, unsure of how to respond. "Uh, I don't exactly know what to say..." I trailed off, feeling a bit overwhelmed.
The senior student muttered under his breath, "Goodness, he isn't quite class president material, now is he?" He thought he was whispering to the student next to him, but his voice carried clearly across the room. I'd heard him from the back, and I was sure everyone else did too. His comment was well within the boundaries of rude, and I couldn't blame him for not even listening to what I had left to say.
There was no confidence in the way I spoke, and I'm sure he'd inferred as much the second I opened my mouth. The few words I managed to get out only seemed to solidify his opinion. I sighed internally, thinking about how easily I became the object of ridicule.
The awkwardness in the classroom became palpable, and as if to put an end to it, the senior student glanced at his watch. "Oh, I think it's about time I head out. It's been nice hanging with you ones. Let's do this sometime... umm, rep." He nodded at me before making his exit.
"Well, that's our cue, boss, rep. I'll see you on the flip," Vills said, motioning to leave while packing his things. The others followed suit, and the room filled with the sounds of chairs scraping, papers shuffling, and bags being zipped.
"But we aren't quite through," Houston protested, trying to stop everyone from leaving.
Vills stopped in his tracks, turning back to face Houston. "What's the group for?" he asked.
Houston's response was met with silence. "Exactly!" Vills exclaimed, as if Houston's silence was all the answer he needed. Apparently, they had a group where they held discussions, and Vills' question confirmed my suspicion.
"Well, see ya," Vills said, and Houston followed him outside the classroom. "Wait, can I talk to you for a sec?" Houston asked, before the door closed behind him.
With that, everyone left, and I decided to sit in the classroom for a bit. However, after a while, I'd had enough of hearing my thoughts and the clock ticking in the background. I started preparing to leave, pushing my chair back and driving it back into place. Just as I was about to walk towards the door, Houston suddenly opened it, and I figured he had come back for his bag.
"Ah... Ubeko, y-you're still here," he said, seeming a bit out of breath. "Let me... j-just catch my breath." He leaned against the doorframe, taking a moment to compose himself.
"Sure," I replied, waiting for him to continue.
He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Haaah." Then, he looked at me with a serious expression. "Listen, don't let any of that get to you, you know what I mean."
"Get to me, yeah, I'll keep that in mind." I replied.
Houston's expression turned sincere. "I don't know what happened when you were in primary, and I can't take what Shari said about you at face value. Even if it's true, I have faith in you. So, please, give this role a chance. You might not be a good leader now, but I believe with time you'll make a great one. If you need anything, you can even ask me for help. Yeah, what do you say—"
I cut him off before he could finish. "Why do you keep pushing that ? You don't even know me well enough. I arrived just this week." I couldn't fully trust his goodwill; my guard was up.
Houston seemed taken aback by my response. "I— well, I, I guess I just—" I interrupted him again, sensing that he was struggling to find the right words.
"It's better not to get involved with me," I said firmly. "I think it's best to drop the matter. Listen, I gotta head to my dorm." I indicated that I was done with the conversation.
But he insisted. "Just give it a try, alright?" He paused, then added, "Why don't we exchange numbers?" I thought I had won my way out, but he had one last card to play.
I hesitated, and Houston sensed that I might come up with a reason to refuse. He continued, "We are classmates, after all. I'd like to keep you updated on what you'll probably miss out on, and you can do the same when I miss out on something , if you're fine with that. But no pressure though." He managed to persuade me, and I reluctantly agreed.
"Yeah, I guess that makes sense."
"Here, put your number in my phone," he said, walking to his desk to retrieve his phone from his bag. After I put in my number, I passed his phone back to him.
"Great, well, let me not hold you any longer," he said with a faint smile. I walked toward the door, finally glad I was heading back to my dorm.
{{grr grr}} My phone vibrated in my pocket. I was startled but finally realized who'd just called.
"Haha... I thought you had given me the wrong number. Sorry about that. I'll be seeing you tomorrow, then," he said.
"Yeah, tomorrow," I said in return. I left the classroom and started walking to my dorm room within the school. I was glad I didn't have to walk all the way to Prefex Road. I had already been drained from the day's events.
Walking through the hallways, I could finally let my hair down. I passed by the school's architecture and admired the well-kept grass and the color of the paint on the walls. "Neat." I muttered to myself. While deep in thought, I walked to my dorm, pondering how the rest of my school life at Camberton High would unfold and how high school compared to primary school was different, both good and bad. I was also still a little concerned about my former classmates attending school here with me. I might not lead a peaceful life here. They would ruin it for me I thought.
My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of students laughing and talking loudly near a fountain. They seemed to hold no regard for their surroundings. In some way this has to be considered some type of noise pollution. I thought.
Among the students was the senior student who had entered our class earlier. He noticed me and called out, "Ahh... Rep, heading back to the dorms already? Why don't you come on over here for a second?"
I had thought that from class to my dorm, I wouldn't encounter anyone else I'd need to talk to. "I can't seem to take a break now can I" I sighed and muttered to myself.
Lately, I had found myself sighing a lot more; almost like a daily practice. I trudged on over there, wondering what business he had with me, calling me over like that.
"You know him, Bruet?" asked a student who stood next to him, so his name was Bruet I thought. It was a group made up of five: the three girls sitting by the fountain and the two standing. That made six as I joined them.
"Yes, I went into their class, like I told you... long story short, I asked who their class president was, and here he is," Bruet explained.
"I see... you must be an exceptional student then, to have been given the position of classroom president," Bruets friend said.
Delegated, rather, you should say I thought to myself.