Having been seeing red for the past few days, I went on a sword fighting spree the night before, ended up getting ten iron ingots and five pairs of dented gold boots from it, and failed to sleep properly. I sat down to a Skype meeting about yet another academic award. (Really?)
"This award," our principal declared, "is different from all other awards." He says that about every award, but it's all the same. Who's in twenty different activities? Who has a solid 9999.0 unweighted GPA? Who can put up the veneer and not let it crack at all costs? "This is the Steve award and it is to be given to two students who displays true heroism: one in high school and one in middle school." The criteria likely go against everything I stand for; the award's probably going to go to some contest combat kid. "Our middle school candidates are Adrian Roth and Estelle Messina and our high school candidates are Ayako Miyazawa and Adrienne Weiss. Please decide between the two candidates one at a time and we'll go from department to department starting with English and ending with fine arts."
I nearly spit my coffee out. I asked why she qualified for the award. The others all had something positive to say about her, but I saw no semblance of heroism in what they said. It was all the same 9999.0 unweighted GPA stuff. Like a coward would, she probably cheated in half of those classes. I overhear stuff about using Slader to do homework in all the time from the band, so it's pretty likely that the orchestra does it too.
My blood boiled as the other teachers practically sang praises to Adrienne. She had them all under her thumb, her cowardly, switchblade-pulling thumb. After the choir director said she had to go with Adrienne because of she had some sort of beef with Ayako, I took a deep breath and told them why Ayako should receive the award. I know next to nothing about Ayako apart from the fact that she plays second clarinet in band, but I did see a similar-looking girl posting lists of suicide hotlines in the halls.
When I said that Ayako should receive the award, the other teachers stared at me as if I had suddenly switched to Chinese. They all told me how great Adrienne was and how she had the Code of Honorable Combat memorized. (How ironic.) At this point, I had a choice. Do I show them the switchblade or do I not? Although I was tempted to expose the Adrienne behind the charming girl everyone else knew, I believe in dealing with disciplinary issues personally and privately, so I just praised Ayako's initiative instead.
I nearly spit my coffee out. I asked why she qualified for the award. The others all had something positive to say about her, but I saw no semblance of heroism in what they said. It was all the same 9999.0 unweighted GPA stuff. Like a coward would, she probably cheated in half of those classes. I overhear stuff about using Slader to do homework in all the time from the band, so it's pretty likely that the orchestra does it too.
My blood boiled as the other teachers practically sang praises to Adrienne. She had them all under her thumb, her cowardly, switchblade-pulling thumb. After the choir director said she had to go with Adrienne because of she had some sort of beef with Ayako, I took a deep breath and told them why Ayako should receive the award. I know next to nothing about Ayako apart from the fact that she plays second clarinet in band, but I did see a similar-looking girl posting lists of suicide hotlines in the halls.
When I said that Ayako should receive the award, the other teachers stared at me as if I had suddenly switched to Chinese. They all told me how great Adrienne was and how she had the Code of Honorable Combat memorized. (How ironic.) At this point, I had a choice. Do I show them the switchblade or do I not? Although I was tempted to expose the Adrienne behind the charming girl everyone else knew, I believe in dealing with disciplinary issues personally and privately, so I just praised Ayako's initiative instead.
Roth is really obvious from the early tales.
ReplyDeleteWhy wasn't Alex nominated?
Minecraft heroism...
And where does music come into the fine arts?
Choir directors and favourites ... that theme deserves a book and a half.
[Then again it is CampNaNoWriMo in two weeks...]
"I know next to nothing about Ayako apart from the fact that she plays second clarinet in band, but I did see a similar-looking girl posting lists of suicide hotlines in the halls."
Alex wasn't nominated because she was pulled out of the school.
DeleteI'm not familiar with the whole choir scene, but I've heard bits and pieces.
Now I remember that Alex was pulled out of school.
DeleteIt came out through dribs and drabs in yours and Max's stories.
Yes, Jordan did right there.
I would probably nominate the person who did the most to try to stop the suicide epidemic and enhance the morale among students.
The bits and pieces I have known about choir are the Children's Choir who sing every year at Christmas carols. Several friends of mine were involved.
And I seem to read a few choristers in the blogging world as well, since about 2009.