-drops the chipper act-
We will only post the next chapter if there are suggestions. We're running out of ideas!!!
-goes into hysterics-
And no, Frans is not a ventriloquist.
Chapter 3: Prefects' Installation
The Prefects' Installation was humankind's worst natural disaster in ages. The ceremony did not go well at all. It all began with one very whiny voice…
As the school orchestra played the national anthem, everyone stood up and clapped as the new prefects marched into the hall. They all were dressed smartly in their full school uniform that was starched and pressed to a stiff flair, decked up to the nines with ties.
When the student leaders finally settled down at their allocated seats, Zachary got up and made an introductory speech. It was one of the better speeches Frank had heard, and everybody managed to stay awake. Zac had somehow managed to turn the boring topic: United we stand, Divided we fall, into a comical banter between him his listeners.
Frank pouted. Of all people, Zac just had to be chosen to be Head Boy! Zac might act serious and responsible on the outside, but Frank knew better than that! It was just a facade to fool silly head-petting teachers. They worshipped Zac adoringly, and never let a chance to praise him go to waste. It was sickeningly shameful.
Zac could be really cheeky and mischievous if he wanted to. But here he was, standing in front of them all as a Head Boy, no less. What was the world coming to? 'Soon, the sky will be raining rotten eggs', Frank thought sarcastically. It just did not make any sense!
Thinking back, Frank frowned as he remembered the lecture his mother had given him when she had found out he did not approve of Zac's improper position. Hoping to rally more support, the boy leaned over to his siblings to present his case.
"Zac isn't suited to be the Head Boy at all, don't you think?" Frank hissed to his brothers. "It isn't practical! He is one of the most mischievous boys in sixth form! If he gets to be the HAMmy (High and Mighty) Head Boy, they might as well pick me to be a prefect next! It just isn't fair. At this rate, Primrose will end up being Principal. Tis Aint Right!"
After listening to Frank's laments, Fred made a disgusted noise at the back of his throat that sounded like a wild beast farting. He looked at Frank as if his brother had just announced, 'I shall not change my socks for a month', and on the other side of him, Frans made a similar face. Frank began to feel like he had crawled out of the gutter with disgusting bits of unmentionable disgusting things clinging all over him and reeking of some disgusting smell.
"You want to be a prefect?" Fred asked Frank in growing horror. Now the world was really ending! What other surprises would the boy spring on him next? Oh, the horrible torture. Kill me now! Fred prayed for something, anything to end his miserable life there and then. He would rather climb Mount Everest in only a pair of underwear than listen to Frank go on.
Frank shot him an exasperated look. "No! Ugh! You don't get it do you? I'm just stating a point! What I meant was that…" Frank never got to finish as Frans cut him off.
"Zac may not be prim and proper all the time, but he knows how to control himself. He can behave well at the right time and he doesn't make a fool of himself. AND unlike you, Zac is approachable as a person. He has a high Emotional Quotient, and we all know that people who are sociable make good Heads that last."
Frank said nothing. He suddenly did not feel like arguing at the moment.
Zac soon finished his speech and led the other prefects in repeating the oath for swearing in. The oath was followed by the national pledge, and finally, the school song. Everyone rose for the school anthem and sang it with 'joy and gladness in their hearts'.
The chorus of the song was exceptionally high for a boy's school, and many went out of tune. They simply gave up singing it after a while, and listened on with interest as Ms Primrose embarrassed herself.
The Primrose, with all her so-called dignity, showed the boys of Clemenceau High that she could 'sing' it higher and better than any of them. Her voice soared high above the community like a blaring foghorn, and could have broken several records for being the most unbearable sound ever. Fred privately thought she sounded like an ancient pleated Victorian accordion all out of tune, but did not voice that thought aloud.
It seemed to Frank that only Zac and his band mates were keeping the right pitch. It was obvious, for The Head and Vice Head were singing directly in front of the mike. 'Goody for them', the boy thought dourly. At least their voices could drown out the Primrose's.
The Primrose screeched on like a faulty radio, stupidly oblivious to the chaos she had created. In fact, she went on louder than ever, blasting her horrible chords out at full pitch. She seemed to think that she was being admired for her powerful vocals! The teachers paled and students winced, while the principal continued singing way below the 'overpowering range', pretending as if nothing had happened. He was feeling very embarrassed on behalf of the Primrose.
On the other side of the hall, Frank and Fred decided that something had to be done. The boys sneakily bent down and undid the bolts of several chairs in front of them, which creaked ominously as they collapsed one by one, disrupting the song. The crowd sighed in relief.
Primrose's pudgy pudding face turned upside down. This was an important occasion! Who had dared to make such a noise? Why wasn't anyone paying attention to her? She stupidly thought that the crowd sighed simply because she had stopped singing. Starting the song up again at full-blast, Primrose wailed out the third verse. Frank covered his ears in agony. He was sure the people living five miles away could hear the school song by now.
Zac felt a torturous migraine coming on, and indulged in 'guilty pleasure' as he spotted his beloved brother Frank undoing more and more bolts in the background.
A prefect was soon heard sniggering at the back of the stage. Zac turned round and silenced the boy with a hard stare. The prefect, startled at being personally addressed by the Head Boy, straightened up and attempted to look serious. He failed miserably. Zac frowned. The Primrose seriously needed some counselling and music lessons, on top of her already overdue 'art of wearing perfume' lessons! Apparently, this was one case where the teacher needed more remedials than the students.
