CHAPTER 8

Even though we got to school around 7:50, the time flew by too fast. Some of her time was spent with me talking about what students listened to and why things like articulation and brevity are important, but it turns out she had something important to get to at 8:10. I guess that's why she went to school so early.

I spent most of my time before class just walking through the hallways. I don't do so well under pressure, and this whole situation was kind of getting to me. I think Nicole noticed; she gave me a hug and told me I'll do well right before she left. For a girl so spontaneous and tomboyish, you'd think she was rugged and smelled like motor oil or men's cologne or something, but her touch was actually really soft and gentle, and she smelled like lilac.

At about 8:50, I gave up wandering the halls. It was really nice to have a friend around, because when I was by myself, I felt nothing but overwhelmed. Not even nervous, just overwhelmed. And to think, it wasn't even November yet…

Quietly, I trudged into Mr. Carrozza's science class and sat down at my desk. I was the only one there besides him, since not a lot of students were exactly his biggest fans. As I sat down, the noise alerted him and he looked up from his desk.

"Ah, young master Watson." He looked pleased to see me, or another living soul. "Can I help you?"

"…I'm in your class, Mr. Carrozza." I said slowly to him. I wasn't sure if sleep was never kind to him, or if he was just batty. Frankly, it may as well have been a combination of the two.

"Ah yes, so you are." Mr. Carrozza said, looking back down at his paper. "Well, welcome. If you'd like to get a head start, today we'll be looking at cameras and how light is… Wait a moment…" He slowly looked up from his desk, looking like he had just remembered something. "Adam Watson… There was something that I wanted to say to you today."

I waited for a few seconds before filling in the blanks for him. "Was it about the election?"

"Ah, yes! The election!" His old, dim eyes light up behind his large frames, and his gaze centered on me. "All students running for elections need to be present in the gymnasium before the assembly."

"Oh, really?" I asked him. "And when should I be there?"

"Nine o' clock." Mr. Carrozza said. "You might as well get down there now."

"Good idea." I said, defeated. I pulled myself out of the chair and began to slink to the gymnasium, leaving my backpack behind. Oh well. At least it would all be over soon.

***

Because of the school's population, we had to hold assemblies in the gym since the auditorium might be able to fit a fourth of the school in it, tops. I didn't like it there. It was big, echoey, and too bright. It made me feel small.

In a structural sense, though, it looked nice. It had fold-out bleachers as well as a big space to begin with, and even a small stage for small school events to take place during assemblies. Like, say, elections.

As I found out when I got there, it was called the 'elections' rather than the 'election' because grade 10 students were also running for a position at this time, so the stage was filled with preppy people, all looking smug and confident. Then there was me.

I took a look around, trying to see if I could adapt to this unfamiliar environment. Around the stage were people I couldn't recognize, most of them wearing polo shirts and using words like 'totally' and 'bro.' Blondie from my drama class was there too. I guess he was one of the candidates.

After standing awkwardly through the morning announcements, it was 9:03 and we were all graced by a powerful new presence in the room, in the form of what looked like a tall grade 12. He had a bit of a goofy-looking grin on his face, ginger hair, and a striped sweater that clung to him with its life.

"What's up, guys?" he began. "It's great to see you all here. My name's Phil, and I'm your student council president. I'm just gonna be going over a few things before we get going here."

In my quietest and squeakiest of voices, I interrupted. "Phil Love?" I asked him.

He stopped his speech and turned to me, his goofy grin reappearing. "That's me, man." He said as he patted me on the shoulder forcefully. "You get extra points for knowing who I am. I've heard you've been doing research." he winked at me and returned to his speech. Do people wink more now in high school than they did before?

"Alright, now I just need to go over a few basics before we begin," he began. "Firstly, I'd like all grade 9 tryouts over here on my left side. Those in grade 10, on my right." We all shifted to accommodate his instructions. "Great. Now, you all in grade 9, you'll be trying out for grade 9 rep. You will be representing the school, helping out at school events, keeping news stuff organized for the school's website and monthly newsletter, and are expected to attend every meeting on Mondays at 3, starting today if you win."

Oh, crap. If these meetings lasted until past 3:30, I definitely couldn't get in.

"10s, you're going to get a bit more responsibility. You're expected to help at events, organize school dances, help us manage our budgets, and take care of advertising so that everyone knows what's going on when. You all will have to maintain an average of at least an average of 70 in all classes to represent the school properly. If any of you don't want this responsibility, you're in the wrong place. Am I clear?"

Everyone nodded their heads, and Phil enthusiastically grinned. "Great. Now it's not all serious stuff. Student council is honestly the greatest thing I ever chose to do here. You're going to have a blast, we'll make sure of it. I've been here for all four years, so take it from me. But to get in, you must win over your people, your classmates, the school. Today, you all will be doing that with speeches that you've spent a good long while preparing, I'm sure."

I swallowed hard.

"Now, I know we're normally supposed to check these speeches of yours, but we decided not to this year, to let you guys feel this is all on you." Phil continued. I breathed a sigh of relief. God was on my side.

"However, of course, there are ground rules," he sternly said. "First, no profanity, swear words, dirty talk, the student council doesn't have room for that. Second, no bashing other candidates. I don't care if he just went up and made a shitty speech – pardon my French – you don't say anything bad about the other folks running. Third, keep it under two minutes. You wanna tell people why they wanna vote for you quickly, then stand down while you still have their attention. Don't bore them." He paused to make sure we got it, and was met with a sea of nods.

"Great. You guys are awesome for just trying out, remember that. You're all winners already." Yup, he was a president all right. Filled the cheesy quota and everything. "Feel free to hang around here until the assembly starts and do whatever, but at 9:30 sharp, you're here, at this stage, sitting down on those chairs." He pointed to a corner of the stage where 10 chairs sat. "Alright, are there any questions?"

Naturally, no one had a thing to say, so Phil nodded and went about his duties. Everyone else started practicing or talking to other people, but I just wanted to sit down. I grabbed the closest chair to me, and sat down, putting my head down.

I almost fell asleep, and was snapped out of my trance by the feeling of a hand on my shoulder. "Hey, you okay?" I heard a concerned male voice ask. I looked up to see that two other candidates had ambushed me, with a guy on my left and a girl on my right. Both of them had blond hair, and while hers was draped over her shoulders, he was just past his ears and sort of waved in one direction. The both of them were wearing glasses, and I could tell immediately that they were siblings.

"Oh, I'm fine!" I said with more enthusiasm than was necessary, to prove my point. "I'm just a little sleepy, that's all. Woke up early."