The Best Is Yet to Come (Chapter 4)
By Friday, Dave had finally acclimated to his alarm clock screaming at him to wake up (not to mention that his twin had fallen back into his habit of ignoring it). He rolled out of bed and performed his morning routine. It was starting to get chilly out, so he added a gray Army sweatshirt to his attire.
George peeked into Dave and Eli's room, fully dressed. "Are you guys ready yet? I really don't want to be late today."
"In a minute, George." Eli slurred. Dave watched his brother pathetically pull on a long sleeve shirt and yawn. "Okay, I'm ready."
After breakfast, they piled into the car, Eli at the wheel. He adjusted the rearview mirror and pulled out of the garage.
"Wait!" Eli stopped the car, then saw the source of the voice running toward his side, a girl with red hair. "Thank you!" she breathed.
"Meryl?" Dave said. "Why did you make us stop?"
"I missed the bus," She placed a hand on her chest and panted. "Will you take me with you? My uncle'll kill me if I'm late."
Eli ogled at her. "Get in, hotness." he blurted. He elbowed Dave in the passenger seat. "Dave, get in the back. You know hot chicks get shotgun."
Dave looked to Meryl. She giggled. "Fine." he sighed, defeated. He joined George in the backseat, and the redhead hopped in.
"I'm Eli, by the way." he drawled.
George reached out his hand from the backseat. "Hi, I'm George. Nice to meet you, Meryl."
"Well, nice to meet you too." She took his hand in a playful way and shook it.
From inside the car, the pale morning sun rose above them at an irritating angle, barely distinguished from the blanched sky. Eli grabbed the pair of aviator sunglasses hanging off the rearview mirror and slipped them on. He caused the female to cover her mouth and snicker when he flipped his hair and grinned at her.
"Dave, did you do the algebra homework last night?" Meryl asked as they got onto the road.
"Yeah. Do you need to copy or something?"
"No, I just want to compare answers. I really need the math credit this year, and I don't want to screw over my grades immediately."
"You failed a class and are in Algebra II?" George asked. "Were you on the honors math track?"
"Not anymore." Meryl huffed. She stared at the evergreen trees dotting the side of the road. "My uncle grounded me for the whole summer after he saw my report card."
Eli scoffed. "Parents can be real a-holes sometimes."
"Tell me about it. He thinks he can order me around like one of his soldiers at the base."
"Your uncle works at a military base?" Dave said. "Our dad works at Richardson."
"Really? He does too!" Meryl smirked and folded her arms. "He might actually approve of me being in contact with other boys, then."
The conversation ceased, and Eli focused on driving. It wasn't a long drive, and he made only a few more turns on the forested roads until he entered the Bartlett parking lot.
Eli parked in a spot close to the front and replaced his sunglasses. "Jeez, that's rare," he muttered. "Okay, everybody out."
"I guess I'll see you guys after my meeting." George waved and joined the stream of other teenagers bounding into the school.
"I have business to take care of as well." Eli shoved his keys in his pocket and sauntered completely behind the building, his body readily obscured by shadows.
Dave jabbed a thumb towards his brother. "You don't need to ask what his 'business' is."
"Way ahead of you." Meryl perked up. "Hey, do you want to walk to class with me?"
"I have to stop at my locker first. Is that okay with you?" Dave swung his backpack over his shoulder.
"I don't mind."
Dave shrugged and walked along, Meryl following close behind.
"Do you have anything to do this weekend?" Meryl asked.
"No, not really." They pushed past the crowd of kids ahead and entered the school.
Dave was drifting away. Meryl placed her hand on his shoulder to stop him. He looked over at her. "Do you want to come over to my house tomorrow?" She bashfully threw her hands behind her back.
"Sure. That could be fun."
The redhead beamed.
George had been nervous all day. While the normal rigors of his classes had distracted him from it during regular hours, it was now after school, when he had to face the beast of student government head-on.
He shuffled into the sophomore hallway, the bright orange of the walls and lockers almost startling him. He continued on his path until he reached room 107. A laminated sign was hung on the doorknob that read "Student Government Primaries." Though paralyzed by the glamor of it all, George forced himself to open the door.
He was greeted by desks arranged in a circle and the phrase "Welcome to Student Government!" written on the board in frilly penmanship. A female student was depositing papers onto the desks, stopping in front of George when she dropped off her last sheet. "Hello there." Her voice added some awkwardness to her words, like English wasn't her first language.
The male pulled his hands close to his chest. "Hi." He took a step back, flustered.
"You are here for student government, yes?" she asked. She leaned on the desk behind her.
"You're right…" George looked down. Her smart attire of a white ruffled blouse and black skirt intimidated him. She looked so confident and well-put together, her jet black hair tied up into a long and high ponytail to boot.
Her head curiously tilted to the side. "Aw, you look nervous. Are you okay?"
He began to sweat. "Well...um…" He jumped when she put her hand on his shoulder.
"It's okay if you are," she consoled. "Everyone is their first time. You'll get used to it."
George sighed. "Thank you. I think I just needed to hear that."
"My pleasure," She gave a smile that reached her dark brown eyes. George's face grew hotter. "I should have introduced myself. I'm Mei Ling." She held out a dainty hand.
He straightened up. "I'm George Pliskin." The two engaged in a tight shake.
"You have a nice handshake. What grade are you in?"
"I'm only a freshman." he admitted.
"I think that's so brave of you! I didn't have the confidence to try student government until last year."
"Er, well, thank you." His face was full scarlet now.
"Why don't you take a seat?" She pushed herself off the desk. "The meeting will start soon." As she said that, another student walked in, and she closed in to greet them. George sat himself in the desk Mei Ling was leaning on and folded his hands in patient anticipation. He could still feel her hand on his shoulder, the somatic signals fizzing out like a sparking wire.
Students trickled in at a steady pace, and George was surrounded by other sharply dressed students, who appeared to be considerably older and bigger than him. His anxiety returned, albeit much milder this time.
"Hello Mrs. McClain," Mei Ling said to an older woman in a pink dress as she entered. "I handed out the papers like you asked."
"Thank you so much, dear." She hobbled closer to the young girl. "By the way, how is your cousin doing? I completely forgot to ask you before class."
"He hasn't written to us in a while, but I think he's doing alright."
Her face held taut with an abnormal grin. "You haven't been sent an admittance yet, have you?"
"No, not yet. I hope it's this year, though. My GPA is higher than his was when he got accepted."
"...Me too, dearie." Mei Ling politely exited and took a seat next to George.
The students made an effort not to watch as McClain made her way to the front of the desk circle. "Welcome to student government, where your voice can be heard and effect change." Her voice took on a much more bitter tone, cleaving the room's mood in half. Everyone was now wringing their hands or nervously looking away. "We're here to choose the most qualified candidates. Please redirect your attention to the sheets on your desks."
The students examined the papers, which read "Student Primary Debate Instructions" at the top. "For president, we will decide the three candidates by those rules. For anyone who wants to run, you will have a half-hour to prepare a one to two minute speech about your goals as student body president. The other positions will be discussed afterwards. Any questions?"
Reluctantly, George raised his hand. "Um, when will we know who the candidates are?"
"On Monday." Mrs. McClain dryly replied.
The class remained silent. "Get to work, then."
George pulled out a notebook and pencil from his backpack and opened to a fresh page. His thoughts froze; he'd assumed this would come easier.
"Do you need help?" Mei Ling asked. "I'm running for treasurer, so I have some time."
"Well, I am a little stuck…" He slumped over in his seat. "Will I be good enough as a candidate?"
She pondered. "It might help to remember this: 'A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song.'"
"What does that mean?"
"It means that you don't have to know everything. The bird sings because it has passion, and enjoys what it does. If you have passion, and you care about the students, you will be a good president."
He perked up. "I do have passion. Thank you, Mei Ling."
"My pleasure." she giggled.
George quickly got to work on his speech. The first page was riddled with cross outs, eraser smudges, and other meaningless scribbles, new phrases scrawled into the margins. The final draft on the next page was much cleaner. He just finished writing the last word when McClain called the time.
"Your half-hour's up!" she announced. "Pencils down!" All of the students still working released their writing utensils. "Who wants to go first?"
Wrist aching and emboldened, George again raised his hand. "I'll go." He scuttled to the front of the desks, tightly gripping his notebook. He noticed Mei Ling give him an encouraging smile. He cleared his throat and began.
"We all see it everyday: boredom, apathy, and mismanagement. Why is it that students are so disinterested in their education? Why do most see school as a waste of time, and prefer to mindlessly doodle in their notebooks, or stare out the window and daydream? School is a place that most adults remember with a bad taste in their mouths. They remember hours of meaningless rote work that did nothing to prepare them for their working lives afterwards.
This tedium is only crippling students from future opportunity. Most now associate learning with the pointless memorization of school, their innate curiosity all but extinguished. Individual teachers try to engage and bring back the awe and wonder that it once was, but they are trying to operate in a system in which their hands are tied. Mistakes and assumptions are made, and some are disproportionately affected by the meandering.
Too many students slip through the cracks and traipse through high school without guidance. They are discounted by all of their teachers and counselors, seen as a "lost cause." They are then spit out after a close graduation, aimless and alone. The system has given up on them, and vice versa.
The bright students, on the other hand, rise to the top, attaining perfect grades and various accolades for their performances. They are then shuttled off to universities, where they can gain the qualifications to be employed in professional fields. They are the ones given the attention and resources that the disenfranchised need just as much, if not more.
It's clear what the problem is. So why is nothing done to fix it?
I want to end this. I want to make every student's education a rich and vibrant one. I want to make sure that every young person is given the tools and attention that they need to reach their full potential. Everyone deserves to have a happy and fulfilling life, and that starts with a fair and enlightening education."
The room clapped. Shaky and sweaty, George wobbled back to his seat.
"You did great!" Mei Ling whispered to him.
"Great job," Mrs. McClain moaned. "Who's next?"
"I'll go next, ma'am." A tall boy with white blond hair rose and marched to the front.
