Instantly my stomach lurched. The meeting clearly did not involve anything positive at all, and we could see that in actual fact, the complete opposite was true. It was not at all what we had foreseen and each of us sat silently looking in his direction with our smiles melting into oblivion as we focused fearfully on the angry words coming from his mouth.
Filled with dread, I sat listening to him, his face a mask of fury as he studied each and every one of us. He went through an entire spiel about appropriate use of social media and the dire consequences of posting inappropriate material online. I had no idea what he was referring to and looked blankly around the table at the others, but their eyes were darting every which way, the guilt clear on their faces.
It was then that he opened his laptop and turned the screen towards us so that we had an unobstructed view of what he was talking about. Staring back was the Facebook page, titled “Miss Boooomley” which included a very unflattering photo of a wild looking woman, probably from google images, inserted as the profile picture. It was uncanny, I thought right then, how much that photo actually did resemble Miss Bromley. But that was the last rational thought that passed through my mind as I began to process the consequences of what we had all been involved in.
Throughout Mr. Fitzgerald’s tirade, it was the word ‘expelled’ that made me really sit up and take notice. Feeling myself break into a serious sweat, I became aware of the intense heat which seemed to be consuming me like a wall of raging fire and I gulped for air as I looked urgently towards the nearest open window.
After clicking the Like button on that page earlier in the week, I had not given it another thought but evidently a long list of posts and comments along with that horrendous profile picture had since been added; the inappropriateness of each was what Mr. Fitzgerald was pointing out to us. This was followed by the threat of expulsion for whoever was responsible.
Nervously, I sat there envisioning the consequences of the mistake I had made. Why on earth had I Liked that page? If only, I had ignored it and moved on. Why was I always so impulsive?
My mother’s familiar voice then sounded in my head. As always, it happened at the most random of moments, “Think before you act, Julia!”
Shaking away thoughts of my mother as well as her reaction when she was informed, which I was sure she would be at some stage, I concentrated on Mr. Fitzgerald’s words. Apparently, a similar scenario had recently occurred at a private school in the city which I vaguely recalled hearing about in the news. It seemed that this particular story had gone viral and the school’s reputation had suffered terribly. Apart from the fact that a teacher had been ridiculed on social media, the story had been broadcast all over the state and there had been an investigation into the school and the computer usage of the students. This of course, was the worst possible kind of publicity and Mr. Fitzgerald wanted to avoid the same thing happening at Carindale High at all costs.
When he finally paused for breath, I glanced around the table at the others but was not at all comforted by the look of fear on each face. We were then ordered to leave the room and told to wait outside until we were called. Mr. Fitzgerald’s intention was to ask the school guidance officer to assist him in interviewing each of us separately in order to gauge our level of involvement.
Silently joining the others, I sat in the waiting area adjoining the office. No one dared speak but the glances amongst the group spoke volumes. To put it mildly, we all knew that we were in deep trouble and we waited anxiously for our names to be announced.
I glanced helplessly at Lisa who instantly looked away. It was clear that she did not want me for an ally. Feeling as though I wanted to throw up, I waited anxiously with the others. A girl called Shelley was the unlucky one to be questioned first. We had no idea who would be called in after her but the minutes ticked by like a time bomb, waiting to explode.
Finally Shelley opened the door. Ashen faced, she stared at us and I could see that her eyes were wet with tears. Without speaking, she rushed down the hallway towards the bathroom.
Frantically I tried to breathe, deep breaths, in and out, anything to calm my nerves and staunch the nausea sitting heavily in my stomach. Fate had a cruel way of throwing unexpected events one’s way. And I wondered fleetingly what was ahead.
When eventually it was my turn to stand and face what felt like a firing squad, I thought at first my knees might give way and I gripped onto the chair for support. Then, taking a deep breath, I made my way towards the conference room but once inside, the next few minutes passed by in a blur. Overwhelmed, the shock still vibrating through my body, I soon found myself leaving the room and making my way to the bathroom to join the others.
One glance was all I needed to realize that out of the entire group, I was the only one who had been spared. Due to the fact that after pressing the Like button, I’d had no further interaction on the page, my only consequence was a stern warning and that was all. However, the others had not been so lucky.
Although miraculously, no one had actually been expelled, each person involved had been issued with instant suspensions, the length of which varied depending on the severity of involvement. Shelley, who was the girl who had created the page in the first place, had been given the maximum penalty, a two week suspension, and I looked on in sympathy as she held her face in her hands and cried.
Mr. Fitzgerald had informed her that along with everyone else who was suspended, the incident would be added to her school record. She had since realized that her hopes for a college scholarship in the future may be in serious jeopardy, all because of a foolish prank.
“Why was I so stupid?” she sobbed. “It was all just supposed to be some harmless fun. I never expected this to happen!”
Once again, I felt the relief wash over me in waves. I knew my parents would receive a phone call but apart from that, the incident was over and I would be given no further consequences.
For the rest of the group though, one of the major concerns was the expected reaction from their parents, and apart from Shelley, Lisa appeared the most distressed.
“My Dad will kill me,” she wailed. “I’ll probably be grounded for a whole year!”
I thought then of my own parents, my dad in particular, who I did not want to disappoint. I knew that he would not be impressed and would probably give me a huge lecture on the pros and cons of Facebook, of course mainly focusing on all the negative aspects that he could possibly think of. Although that was unnecessary, as I knew beyond any doubt, I would never be involved in something like that ever again.
“I bet someone dobbed us in!” moaned Shelley staring angrily at the others. “Miss Bromley probably doesn’t even use Facebook. I bet she would never have known if someone hadn’t dobbed!”
“It would have been one of those nerds who love to suck up!” one of the others continued angrily, “Someone hoping to get on her good side; anything for a decent mark!”
“Oh no!!!” Lisa stammered abruptly. “I’ve just realized something!”
“What?” Shelley prompted. “What’s wrong now?”
“I know for sure I’ll be grounded and that’ll mean I won’t be able to go to the movies with Joe tomorrow!”
It seemed that to Lisa, this was the worst consequence of all. The look of devastation on her face overtook everything else and instantly she burst into tears.
Anxiously, I looked on, not knowing what to say; although, I considered her punishment a blessing in disguise and was convinced that being unable to make her date was the best thing that could have happened to her.
As far as any serious repercussions though, I’d been spared. It was clear that no one else had been so lucky and I didn’t dare make any comments of my own. I also knew that my sympathy would not be appreciated.
So, in order to avoid any further upset or confrontation, especially with Lisa, I decided to make a quick exit.
Feeling a mixture of empathy for the others and complete relief for myself, I hurried to my next class. Ex
tremely grateful that first period was over and I was able to avoid Miss Bromley, I headed down the hallway towards the Science labs.
Just then, when I least expected it, I bumped into Ky.
Roller Coaster…
He came from the opposite direction. I had my head down, deep in thought, still reeling with emotion over the morning’s events. Reaching the classroom door I looked up, and there he was, approaching the doorway at the exact same moment.
Our eyes connected and I felt a small thrill, it was like a shiver had run quickly down my spine.
“Hey,” I said shyly, as I made my way into the room.
“Hey,” he replied, his dark eyes staring into mine.
My heart thumping, I walked towards the back and sat down in the first vacant spot I could find. Coincidentally, there happened to be a spare seat next to mine and I glanced at it as I placed my books on the laboratory benchtop in front of me.
Barely daring to breathe, I kept my eyes on the teacher at the front of the room, all the while, watching in my peripheral vision as Ky sat down next to me.
“Okay if I sit here?” he whispered quietly, not wanting to draw attention to the two of us. We had both arrived a few minutes late and had already been given a stern look by our teacher.
“Yeah, that’s fine,” I replied, giving him a nervous smile before turning back to the front of the room.
I did not want him to sense my underlying excitement and didn’t even dare to glance his way. But my whole body was tingling and it was as though a current of sparking electricity was passing directly between the two of us.
Desperately, I tried to focus my attention on the teacher, who was in the midst of revising everything we’d already learned during the semester. It was in preparation for an exam the following week but I was barely able to concentrate on what he was saying at all. In fact, I don’t think I took in a word of what he said.
Throughout the entire lesson, my conscious mind was only on the boy sitting next to me and although I took no obvious notice of him, I was completely enraptured by his presence.
Sneaking an occasional glance from the corner of my eye, I watched his hands as they wrote; long fingers, olive skin and a ring on his left index finger. It was a narrow band, silver in color, and from my vantage point, it appeared to be engraved with some sort of symbol.
He was left-handed, I noticed; such an unusual trait. I didn’t think that I actually knew anyone who was left-handed, not personally anyway. I wondered then, my lips twitching at the corners into a small smile, if I would ever get to know him personally.
Fate was such a strange thing. If I hadn’t been through the Facebook ordeal which caused me to be late to class, I may not have had the chance to sit next to him. It may never have happened. But was all this going to lead anywhere? That was the question.
Momentarily, Blake’s face flashed into my mind. Why did thoughts of him so often appear? And at the most unpredictable moments! Would I forever be haunted by his existence?
Forcing myself to get a grip on reality and the fact that I really needed to be focusing right then, I scribbled notes from the board onto my pad, anything to look busy. Although when I later attempted to read through them, I could barely decipher the scrawl.
It was crazy. There I was in a crucial Science revision lesson and all I could concentrate on were boys, in particular, the one sitting right beside me.
A few minutes later, when I felt his knee brush against mine, I had to quickly smother the gasp that threatened to escape, pretending to cough instead. Had it been accidental? Or had he intentionally allowed his leg to touch mine? I didn’t dare move, but sat rigid, concentrating on trying to control the electric currents racing through my body.
It was so strange. A person I hardly knew was having the most intense effect on me, and I wondered if he had any inclination at all of what I was feeling.
Then when I glanced at the clock on the wall and realized the lesson was almost over, I felt a rush of panic. What was I to do? Be friendly? Say something? Although I had no idea what! Or should I just try to act cool, not speak at all, maybe get up and leave?
Class was about to end and I was so concerned that I would ruin the moment; lose the perfect opportunity to at least strike up a conversation. But as if in answer to my prayer, the solution was handed to me, without any effort on my part at all.
Everyone stood to file out into the hallway, eager to get to morning recess. However, as Ky and I had been sitting towards the back, we were the last to leave the room. I was searching for something interesting to say to him; anything to get his attention, when unexpectedly, I heard the teacher’s voice.
“Julia. Ky. Would you guys mind giving me a hand please? I need some help to carry this pile of books down to the storeroom.”
“Oh, sure, Mr. Anderson,” Ky responded without any hesitation at all, and then glanced at me, his intense eyes boring into my own.
“Err, that’s fine, Mr. Anderson,” I added, my pulse racing out of control in reaction to the idea of spending another five minutes at Ky’s side.
But to my utter delight, those five minutes became another twenty, as one trip to the storeroom resulted in several. Right then, I could not think of another way that I’d rather spend my morning break. By the time we had finished, we were laughing and joking and I was at least feeling a little more at ease in his company.
That was until our work was done, then all of a sudden, we were left standing alone together in the hallway. It was one of those awkward moments where one stares at the other and each person is at a loss for what to say.
Fearful of completely embarrassing myself, I took sideways glances, all the while frantically trying to find the right words. I was mute, unable to speak and could feel myself turn red as I waited expectantly in the hope that he would say something, anything at all to camouflage the intensity of the moment.
My heart was pounding in my chest but, frozen to the spot, I felt unable to move. It was a weird sensation because I really did not know quite what to do. His penetrating brown eyes stared into mine and then, at the same time, we both opened our mouths to speak.
“Sorry,” I continued, “You first.”
And then he murmured the words I had been hoping to hear.
“Do you want to hang out sometime, Julia?”
Just as I was about to voice my reply, the bell to resume classes clanged in our ears, and I smiled at him as I waited for the deafening noise to end.
Eventually the sound stopped and I found the courage to reply, “Yes, I would. That’d be really fun.”
Smiling briefly, I looked into his eyes once again; dark pools of emotion staring back into my own. Until, within seconds, the hallway was filled with gossiping students, rushing to their next class, and the moment between us faded away.
Just before turning in the other direction, he spoke again. Three words, that was all. “I’ll message you.”
Then, caught up in the wave of rushing students, he was gone.
Hugging my arms close to myself, as if in a silent celebratory cheer, I could feel the grin on my face rapidly spread from one side to the other, while I made my way to my next class. If anyone had warned me earlier, that my day would be filled with a roller coaster of emotions which included shock and despair and then abruptly and unexpectedly turn into outright joy, I would never have believed them.
Opening the door of my classroom, I found that I was soon to discover, the craziness of that day was far from over.
Chaos…
In the middle of our Math lesson, the school alarm bells began to sound; an unrelenting piercing noise that instantly alerted everyone’s attention. This was much to the dismay of our relief teacher who had never taught at Carindale High before and was at a loss for what to do.
At first, we all assumed it was a fire drill. These happened on a regular basis and while the teachers found them frustrating because their lessons were interrupted, the students were always more than happy to have a
n excuse to waste time and avoid class.
“It’s a fire alarm, Miss,” assured Jack, one of the boys who happened to be seated at the front of the room and who had sensed her confusion.
Each one of us was already on our feet, headed towards the classroom door. Our usual procedure was to make our way outside and assemble with the rest of the school on the sports oval, which was situated away from all the buildings.
The teacher, who was clearly flustered but unsure as to whether it was actually a fire drill or possibly something else, insisted that everyone remain in their seats until she was able to call through to the office for confirmation. Several kids ignored her though and kept moving towards the door, whilst others took advantage of some free time to chat with their friends.
The noise level in the room quickly reached maximum volume with everyone raising their voices in order to be heard above the din. While the class wasn’t really out of control, it was definitely in a state of chaos and the teacher, who was on the phone attempting to get clarification, was also frantically trying to maintain some semblance of authority over her students.
Then, in the abrupt blink of an eye, we were instantly silenced by her words, “ITS A LOCKDOWN!!!”
Immediately, all heads turned towards the panicked voice that was yelling to us from across the room. The genuine distress that masked her features was all the proof we needed and it only took a few seconds for everyone to process the fact that rather than a regular drill, we actually did have a genuine lockdown occurring in our school.
I had never experienced anything other than practice sessions before and it seemed that this was the case with everyone in the room, including the teacher.
After rushing to lock the door, she began yelling at us to get under the desks and stay down. Several kids automatically obeyed her insistent gestures while others were looking around the room in confusion, unsure as to what was happening.
Julia Jones - The Teenage Years: Boxed Set - Books 2, 3 and 4 Page 7