The system worked like so: at the end of the first semester the student body of Dawson High School (seventh grade to tenth grade) would vote for prefects or 'student body representatives'. They would be responsible for keeping the children in line, conveying grievances with teachers and made up fifty percent of the school governing body – the people that made decisions about where the money went. The prefects were all tenth graders and the teachers had no say in who became a prefect.
Now, on the first day of school after summer vacation, the principal held an assembly which was kind of like his State of the Union. He told the student what he expected over the next school year and told them that 'a new semester means a new beginning!'. The students would clap but their attention would be on other matters. Until the announcement of the next year's prefects. Bets had been made and hopes had been raised.
Jack Gareth sat in the back of the auditorium with his tenth grade classmates. He crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. He knew who he'd voted for, he didn't expect them to win. He'd voted for the kindest people he could, people he thought would properly represent the students of the school. He'd carried all his hatred of former prefects and his memories from seventh grade through onto the voting sheet. It reflected who he really wanted to be prefect and most of all, it was completely honest. He hoped that the rest of the school were clever enough to be honest as well, do themselves a favour. Tenth grade was full of jerks, but it had its stars too. They, thought Jack, should be prefects.
The first prefect was a total let-down in Jack's opinion. Evelyn le Roux, a rich girl who thought her daddy's money could make people like her. She wasn't particularly nasty, but had an element of elitism about her. The students clapped.
The next two weren't as bad. However, they only reinforced Jack's notion that like all other elections, it was a popularity contest. Damian and Brick were the two boys that had raised Dawson High School to the top of the ranks in the Freedom City District. Damian and Brick were the ency of all the boys and the desire of the girls. They had the school at their fingertips. Unfortunately, they were pretty dumb. All they cared about was sport and they loved sticking people with name tag. They believed in a class system and would definitely ignore any issues raised by anyone that wasn't a tenth grader. Ah well. The students clapped and a few whistled as the boys walked up to the stage.
Conner Edward Jack knew well. They stayed at the same orphanage and in the same room. Conner was a genius – literally, according to his IQ anyway. He was the inverse of Damian and Brick, and yet played just next to them in the football team. He was a brilliant tactician and that made him a valuable asset to the team. Added to that, he was really strong (perhaps more so than Damian and Brick? thought some students). The students clapped, for a little longer than expected. The principal was halted in his speech. Well done, Conner.
“The next prefect is... Hector Dwayne.” A few jeers rounded the auditorium. Hector stood up, a massive boy and strode up the aisle. He shook the principal's hand, took his badge greedily and turned to wave at the students. The kids that were jeering quickly shut up as his gaze fell upon them. He looked pleased with himself as did several other tough looking boys in Jack's class.
“Next, the triplets!”
Their parents were very spiritual and had named their children after elements in nature.
The first boy's name was Fire. He had dark red hair and an evil grin as he received his badge. His brother's name was Ocean. His deep blue eyes met with Jack's as he passed him, walking up the aisle. Ivy was their sister. Her hair was goldish-blond and her body was built rather... sleekly. She walked up. A few of the boys whistled. She accepted her badge with a smile and Ocean threw his arm around her.
Evelyn, Damian, Brick, Hector and the triplets were seven out of ten prefects. Kit and Conner were just two. The last prefect, Jack thought, better not be a jerk. He leaned over and whispered in his best friend's ear, “Who do you think it'll be?” As he whispered, the name was announced. Cheers and claps went up, students rose to their feet and some whistled. It was so loud Jack hadn't even heard the name.
His best friend, Jason Howard, simply turned and said, “You.”
“The badge doesn't quite fit,” Jack said as he tried to place it somewhere on his plain white, collarless T-shirt.
“What do you mean, you just stick the pin through.”
“Yeah but... it doesn't look right. What do you think?”
Jack faced Jason. He adjusted his badge which was pinned on his right side. “Um... Jack? All the other prefects are wearing it on the left.” The bell rang for the next lesson. Jack quickly took out the badge and stuck it through his left side, penetrating a layer of skin. He cussed and pulled it out slowly. He fit it - although he thought it looked slightly skew - and rushed out.
“Come on,” he called to Jason. “I can't be late for class... not now.”
His first act as student body president was to ask for strawberry, not vanilla, flavored yoghurt at lunch time. The lunch lady smiled. “Sure thing,” she said, “Mr President.” She laughed and handed him his yoghurt.
Jack took a few steps, looking around the cafeteria for a place to sit. Jason appeared next to him and scanned the cafeteria as well. As he looked, he saw Evelyn waving for him to join them. Jason was about to join when she pointed with emphasis on Jack. “Dude,” Jack said, “it's fine. Let's just find somewhere else to sit.”
“No, it's okay. Go ahead.”
Jack sat down next to Kit, Conner, Damian and Brick. Opposite them sat Hector, Evelyn and the triplets. “So, Jack,” began Evelyn le Roux with her obnoxious rich-girl accent, “What does it feel like?”
“What?”
“You joke,” she said. He dug into his sandwich, simultaneously shaking her head. “No? That's a shame. I just thought you might be feeling a little better... I mean, you know, might be feeling a little higher... you know what I mean?” She tossed her blond hair out of her face and took a sip of mineral water.
“Oh. I don't feel that different. I'm still just me.”
“How do you feel, Evelyn?” Kit asked.
Evelyn shifted in her seat. Her eyes darted between the prefects and she smiled. “I feel... glamorous.”
“That's one way to describe it,” Conner whispered under his breath.
Jack risked a smile, Damian laughed. Brick said, “Yeah! I feel glamorous too!”
Evelyn laughed along with them. Surprising. Maybe Jack had misjudged her? “Look,” she said as she tucked her water into her bag. “I'm looking forward to working with all of you this year. Especially you, Jack. I don't think we've been properly... acquainted over the past few years. That's mostly my fault, I guess. But I promise you guys, I'm going to be a better person this year.”
She walked off, hips swinging from side to side. Her hair had an impossible sheen to it. Her bracelets were perfectly circular and made everyone else's look like a toddler's attempt at drawing a circle. She turned and grinned at the prefects as she walked out of the cafeteria. She had a yoghurt mustache, but Jack didn't care. That made her look all the better.
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