by Zac Moore
“Basically, it doesn’t affect me at all so as long as I have my medication. But if I don’t have my medication I may suddenly collapse and become unresponsive for a few seconds, but my heart will still be beating and I’ll still be breathing normally, this is known as a drop attack, my last one was a year ago” I respond.
“So, what should we do on the off chance you do have one of these drop attacks” asks Eve.
“I’m not sure, but the last time it happened I was moved to the sick bay, and then I went home with my mother and rested for the rest of the day. I’ve been told if I’m out longer than 2 minutes than an ambulance has to be called” I respond.
“So basically, seek medical attention immediately and if you don’t recover within 2 minutes, call an ambulance” says Elizabeth, “Seems simple enough”.
“Yep! Pretty simple!” I exclaim.
Gotthold is being way too nice for somebody who hates me, what is she up to?
Around half an hour later, the rest of the class arrive. Aside from myself, Eve, and Gotthold, there are 15 other students in my class; Marcus, Stuart, Dillan, Hayley, Ming, two Cal’s (one of which whose brother one of my sisters know), Tracy, Elva, Bailey, Nela, Cydney, Bianca, Tatiana, Jaden, /, and my best friend and worst enemy from the orientation; Deniz!
“HEY ALEX!” screams Deniz.
He really is quite loud.
“Hey there Mister Ear Infection! So, we’re in the same class hey?” I ask, rhetorically.
“Sure looks like it, be prepared for a whole year of non-stop talking!” says Deniz.
We better not end up having to share a room!
“Hey bro, any idea what your living arrangements are?” I ask.
“Oh, yeah, I’m living in the Support Unit’s residences, what about you?” Deniz asks.
Oh, thank goodness!
“Oh, I’m living in the mainstream residences” I respond.
“Oh! Cool!” Deniz says.
At that moment, Elizabeth chimes in, what’s she got to say now?
“Oh great so I’m going to have to deal with you AFTER school as well?! Far out, God give me strength” says Elizabeth, begrudgingly.
Hey, maybe I should try that tip Ellen gave me.
“Sorry Elizabeth, I don’t like this anymore than you do but in my defence, I wasn’t given a choice” I say, in my most sympathetic voice possible.
“Hey Alexander, remember how earlier I said it’d be a cold day in Hell before I called you my friend?” Elizabeth enquires.
Hey, she didn’t refer to me by my surname for once!
“Yes, I do, what about it?” I ask.
“Well, it’s still far off, but it’s starting to feel awfully chilly” she says, while smiling.
“What do you mean? Are you cold?” I ask.
“Oh for the love of, IT’S A FIGURE OF SPEECH, you idiot!” she says, frustratingly.
Well, at least we’re on a legal given name basis.
“Hey! Don’t call me friend an idiot! I’ll bet you’re not exactly a genius yourself!” says Deniz to Elizabeth, angrily.
Oh shit.
“Stay out of this, Deniz, this is none of your business, this is between Alexander and I” says Elizabeth, sternly.
“Like hell it’s none of my business, that’s my best friend you’re picking on there!” says Deniz.
...I’ll just leave ‘em be, let’s see, quick exit, quick exit, oh is that Tracy over there?
“AL!” yells Tracy.
“TRACY!” I yell back, running over to Tracy.
“Thanks for that, I needed an exit, Elizabeth and Deniz are arguing” I say.
“Yeah, I saw that, just stay out of it, come talk with me!” Tracy suggests, enthusiastically.
Chapter 3
Election Time
I met Tracy during the orientation, and we hit it off almost immediately, no, not romantically, though I certainly wouldn’t mind that! Ha ha! Right, where was I? Oh yes, introducing Tracy, so like I said we met during the orientation-
“Alex you already said that” says Tracy.
“Crap, Tracy, now YOU’RE breaking the fourth wall?!” I ask, surprisingly.
“Haha, yep!” Tracy acknowledges.
Alright, so like I was saying, Tracy is that ray of sunshine that everybody could use in their lives, she’s basically the opposite of Elizabeth.
“Hey I heard that!” shouts Elizabeth.
“Can everyone just stop breaking the fourth wall for a few minutes!” I shout.
Mr. Davin then enters the tent.
“What is UP, 7W?” he enquires.
7W? The hell is he talking about?
“Mister Moore you look confused, what’s up?” he asks.
“Oh, it’s nothing, Mr. Davin, just wondering what on Earth 7W is?” I question.
“Oh! That’s just the code for your class, year 7, class W, see?” he explains.
“Alright, but that raises another question-” I say, before being interrupted.
“Alexander, is this really that big a deal to you right now?” Elizabeth questions “Just let Davin finish his talk than you can ask all the meaningless questions you want! Ugh!”.
“Sorry dear” I say to Elizabeth, sarcastically.
All I wanted to know is what the W stood for. Calm your beans, Elizabeth.
“Alex I’ll answer whatever questions you have after this is over with, for now just listen” says Davin “Now, do any of you know what a class leader is?”.
Almost everybody except for me and Tracy look at each with this face that just screams “I dunno, do you?”.
“Nobody?” he asks again.
Somebody really should answer.
“Well I guess nobody read page 12 of the Student Handbook, so I’ll just-” he says before being interrupted.
“I KNOW” Tracy and I scream in chorus, throwing our hands up.
Crap, now who’s going to answer?
“Alright, Tracy, you’ve been at Lisa Hills longer, you answer” he says.
“A class leader is, as the name suggests, the leader of the class, they’re responsible for organising everybody in the class, resolving disputes, liaising between the class and school staff, year advisors and the year leaders, that kind of stuff” Tracy explains.
“Very good, now Alex, I recall you reading the Student Handbook multiple times during the orientation, do you know how class leaders are chosen” he asks.
“Sure do, Dav-man! First at least two students volunteer for the two positions, then if more than two students volunteer two elections happen, one for the male candidate, and another for the female candidate, these elections work similar to how federal House of Representatives elections work, everybody ranks the candidates by order of preference, and a candidate needs at least 51% of the vote to win, if nobody gets 51%, then the candidate with the least votes gets eliminated, and the process continues until the position is filled” I respond,
“Pretty good explanation, but do you know what happens if nobody volunteers, or if only one student volunteers?” he asks.
“Simple, if nobody volunteers then everybody in the class is put up for election, and if only one student volunteers then everybody of the opposite gender is put up for election” I respond.
“Correct! So, does anybody want to be school- err I mean class leader?” he asks.
Being class leader doesn’t seem like a bad way to get closer to my classmates, and it’s not like I don’t have the experience, I mean, I WAS a reserve SRC representative a couple of years ago, alright, let’s do this! I throw my hand up with enthusiasm.
“I’ll be a candidate, Mr Davin!” I say, enthusiastically.
“Awesome, Alexander Hamilton! Anything you want to say to your fellow classmates, maybe a reason they should vote for you rather than anybody else?” He enquires
“Well, uh, I mean I’m not exactly the best public speaker” I reply, shyly.
I’m really not!
“Come on, Al, have some confidence” s
ays Tracy.
I feel a sudden burst of confidence from Tracy’s words, ah screw it, what do I have to lose?
“You know what? I will give a speech!” I say, confidently, “Students of 7W, I know most of you don’t know me, but I promise you this: if you do decide to vote for me, you’ll be voting for experience, as I have a year’s experience as a reserve SRC representative, now pardon my boldness, but I don’t see a single pinhole on the guys’ shirts, but I’m sure they’d be great if you’re only looking for familiarity, but let us remember, our current Prime Minister has been around for years and is doing a terrible job at the moment! Thank you”.
My hypersensitive hearing allows me to clearly hear many murmurs among the class; “Alex is a great public speaker”, “I’d vote for him”, “Sure he’s a total stranger, but that speech…”.
“Any of you other guys want to run for class leader?” enquires Mr Davin.
“I will” says some tall guy with messy hair, I think his name is Cal.
“Cal, maybe you’d like to say something as well?” suggests Mr Davin.
“Gladly, Dav-man!” says Cal, “Guys, sure Alex is a good speaker, but that’s only part of being a good leader, sure he has experience as a reserve SRC representative, but here’s a question we need to ask: What has Alex actually done for the class he represented?”.
Cal’s speech was literally just a smear campaign on me! Wait, is that Elizabeth standing up?.
“Mr Davin, might I get a word in?” asks Elizabeth.
“This is odd, but I’ll allow it” says Mr Davin.
“Cal, what kind of a speech was that? All you did was rag on Alexander for never representing his class! Big deal! He was a RESERVE, you know, somebody who attends meetings when both main representatives are unable to? Students of 7W, I implore you, don’t let Alexander’s lack of experience in representation dissuade you, give him a chance! I rest my case” says Elizabeth.
Thank you, Elizabeth.
“Well, that concludes the time for male candidate speeches! Now it’s time for the ladies. Any of you ladies want to be class leader?” asks Mr Davin.
Elizabeth puts her hand up, I thought maybe Tracy would’ve ran but the fact that she isn’t is honestly surprising.
“Tracy, you’re not running?” I ask Tracy.
“Alex, I’m more an advisor than a leader, and while working alongside you would’ve been fun, I think you and Elizabeth need a reason to sort out your issues” she says.
She’s right, damn why does she have to be so wise!
“Looks like Lizzy G is our only female candidate, so she wins by default” says Mr Davin, “Elizabeth, any words for your students?”.
“Only 6 Mr Davin; Let’s get along, students of 7W” says Elizabeth.
I would point out that 7W isn’t technically a word, but I’d hate to turn our neutral friendship into a fierce rivalry when we could end up leading the class together!
“Alright, now Mr Mackie, Mr Moore, kindly come stand either side of me” says Mr Davin “You have about 30 seconds for final words before your classmates go off and vote”.
Cal and I go up and stand either side of Mr Davin, neither of us have any final words so he just briefs our classmates on how the voting works.
“Alright guys, now here’s what you’re going to do: take one card and envelope, pass the rest to the next person, go to those booths at the back of the room, write the name of the person who you want to win on the card, put in the envelope, close the envelope, and put it in the plastic box, don’t write your name or anything identifying on it”.
The class, except for Cal and I, go off to vote, so what do we do now?
“Now you two would normally get to vote, but there’s a special rule for candidates; you can’t vote for yourself, so officially, you two are just presumed to have voted for each other, basically cancelling each other out” says Mr Davin.
Guess they can’t have anybody looking at the public record getting suspicious, actually, would the results be public knowledge, or even recorded?
“Hey Mr Davin, after the election, are the results recorded in writing anywhere?” I ask.
“Oh, of course, myself, Ms Janson; the other year advisor, the deputy principals, and the principal can view them on any school computer, the class leaders can view them on any class leader computer in your year group, and anybody in your class can ask to view it at the front office” says Mr Davin.
“So, we can access through it our computers, so in theory, could our classmates ask us to view it?” asks Cal.
Isn’t the idea that we DON’T know that they’ve seen it?
“Well, you’re not supposed to know that they’ve seen it, but there’s no actual rule against it, just give either myself or Ms Janson a call and we’ll tell you what to do” says Mr Davin “So, any other questions guys?”
“I have one; I recall you saying before the election that one of our responsibilities is liaising between the class and year leaders, what are year leaders exactly?” I ask.
“They’re basically like class leaders, except they’re only responsible for the 8 class leaders under them, all the class leaders vote for one set of their own to represent their year to the High School Leadership Team” says Davin.
“So, in other words we don’t vote for people we vote for classes?” asks Cal.
“Well, you still vote for people but both of those people have to be from the same class, essentially you can’t elect the male leader from 7W and the female leader from 7R, it has to be either the leaders of 7W or 7R” says Mr Davin.
At that moment, my classmates come out from the voting area, and they all return to their seats, as do myself and Cal.
“Well done, 7W, I’ll take the plastic box with your votes in them and hand them in for counting” says Mr Davin, grabbing the box and leaving the tent.
We spend the next hour or so making small talk, during which I found out that these elections take place every 2 years, so we’ll have to do this again in years 9 and 11. Oh, hey, counting must be finished because I see a woman with red hair coming in with an envelope.
“Thank you for your patience 7W, I have with me the results of the class leader election” she says.
Alright, moment of truth!
“For the males, Calvin Mackie got 9 votes, while Alexander Moore got 11 votes, and obviously only Elizabeth Gotthold volunteered for the other position, so your new class leaders are Alexander Luna Moore and Elizabeth Gotthold! Could they both please come up here” she says.
Applause come from all around the room, even from Cal, and especially from Tracy and Eve, while Elizabeth and I look at each other in disbelief.
“I HAVE TO WORK WITH YOU FOR THE NEXT TWO YEARS?! YOU HAVE GOT TO BE JOKING ME! FORFEIT NOW!” We scream at each other
Chapter 4
Curse You, 7W
Author’s note: This chapter takes place from Elizabeth’s perspective for plot reasons.
Oh, my, GOD, I can’t believe this, I mean it’s not like I hate him but REALLY, I have to work with somebody who THREATENED ME?!
“Ms Gotthold, Master Moore, will you please come up here?” says Ms Janson.
Oh yeah, that “woman with red hair” that Alexander mentioned in the previous chapter? That’s Ms Janson, she's our other year advisor.
“Ms Janson, may Alexander and I please have a few minutes to get our speeches ready?” I ask, politely.
“Of course, go right ahead” she says.
I drag Alexander out of the tent by the collar, we're not really going to prepare speeches, as if it wasn't obvious enough.
“Now see here Alexander, neither of us clearly want to work with the other so how about this: I forfeit the position and then maybe they'll have another election for the female leader” I suggest.
“Yeah that's not actually going to work, I had a read of the candidate's guide and forfeiture is only permitted after 1 semester in office or under special circumstances, like ill health” says Alexander.
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“Blast! Well, I'll give it a try for 1 semester but after that, don't expect me to hang around” I say “Well, time to go face our fellow classmates”.
A whole semester with this guy, Lord, give me strength!
“Are you two ready?” asks Ms Janson.
“As ready as we’ll ever be” says Alexander.
“Alright then, get up there and face your adoring public!” says Ms Janson.
We ascend our podiums and nod at each other approvingly.
“You go first” says Alexander.
“Alright” I respond, “Students of 7W, it is my pleasure to be leading you alongside Alexander here, if there’s anything I can do to better represent you, then please, do not hesitate to say so”.
I turn my head and nod at Alexander as if to say, “Your turn”.
“Students of 7W, I know we don’t really know each other, but I thank you for voting for me, and I hope we get along” says Alexander.
I knew he wouldn’t be able to give more than one speech without making it about himself. Thankfully though the whole class is cheering for us, Ms Janson beckons for us and we descend our podiums.
“Well done Elizabeth and Alex” says Ms Janson “By the way, Alex, I’m Ms Janson, your other year advisor”.
“A pleasure to meet you Ms Janson” says Alexander.
“Same to you, Alex, now follow me you two, there’s an important class leader’s meeting” she says.
“ALREADY?!” exclaim Alexander and I.
She leads us into the residential district and into this giant black building with a sign saying, “Class of 2012 – Leaders Building”.
“Ms Janson, what’s this meeting about?” asks Alexander.
“To introduce all the class leaders and elect the year leaders” says Ms Janson.
We’ve had a big morning can’t this wait until the afternoon? *sigh* Oh God I’m turning into Alexander.
The meeting lasted about 2 hours and like Ms Janson said, we all introduced ourselves and elected the year leaders, 7B is represented by Kana and Michael, 7G by Ellen and David, and 7R by Amber and Robert, Kana and Michael were unanimously elected as year leaders, and yes, Alexander and I actually agreed on who to vote for.