The Sapphire Ring Of Destiny

Chapter 5: Alliance And Competition

After being introduced to the class, they were informed of the campaign for class-captain and were also told they were to cast their votes since they were now part of the class. Frederick possessed a handsome and curious face while Gwendolyn seemed like someone who was not on the same age-level of the class but as for her looks she wasnt so bad either.
Ms. Prudence allowed the newcomers and the class-captain candidates get to know each other better.

Robin, always the first, stood up from her seat, escorted by her henchmen of Shirley and Bobby. Bobby only followed because he sensed that Robin was attracted to the new guy― and big, tough Bobby wasn’t prepared to share his girl with another boy. He was right about one thing; Robin was indeed attracted to Frederick but what Bobby didn’t know, unless he saw what was going on in her head, was that Robin wasn’t planning on sharing her attention between him and Frederick. She was going to replace him.

They got to Frederick and Robin handed him a handbill. Robin then introduced herself. She checked him out with a sassy stare while she talked about herself and smiled when he looked away. The smile came from a mistaken belief; Robin thought he was nervous and sensitive of her proximity that he looked away from her because he had a crush on her but she didnt see the threatening and demeaning gaze of Bobby which, by the way, was the actual reason Frederick had looked away, whereas her friend, Shirley was simultaneously blushing at him behind Robins back.

After that tense confrontation, Frederick was left alone as the crew, excluding Bobby, went to Gwendolyn to get her support. Robin handed out an handbill to Gwendolyn and spoke brusquely about herself and her party which she described as the winning team.

Without so many escorts, Sophie did the same. At first, Sophie went to Gwendolyn who used the handbill given to her to blow her nose. The unwelcoming reception was further enhanced by their awkward conversation, in which Gwendolyn remained mute as she fingered the ring-finger of her other hand absentmindedly while Sophie talked.

With the poor reception she received from Gwendolyn, Sophie felt a great deal of pressure in confronting Frederick. She invited Constance as her reinforcement as they tagged along and approached Frederick. They gave him a handbill. Sophie didnt say much as she was nervous talking to him, and if Constance hadnt agreed to walk with her, she might have not said a word to him.

Frederick and Gwendolyn didn’t approve of the elections― although for different reasons. Frederick’s reason was that the contest didn’t include a boy and was therefore discriminatory but being compelled to vote then he had Sophie at the back of his mind. He however, remained displeased that women were always at the helm of affairs in this town just as the illegitimate and unpopular queen in his former town of Barbados. He had migrated from Barbados to Alaoma to have a fresh start at life.

Gwendolyn, on the other hand, was uninterested because she had bigger thoughts for herself but if she actually felt like fulfilling her obligation and franchise, she would vote for the snooty, popular and supposedly easier to manipulate one, Robin.

Two ballot boxes were placed as Ms. Prudence ordered that voting be commenced. The selection of Class 4A captain could have been and can be done by just asking voters to raise their hands in support for their candidate. But that wasnt going to happen in Class 4A, at least not under Ms. Prudence watch. To Sophies meticulous teacher, this strenuous method of selecting a class-captain was the fairest and most effective way. Furthermore, it cultured the children the process of elections.

Class 4 had a subdivision of three classes, just like other senior classes; Class 4A also known as Class Four Alpha, Class 4B also known as Class Four Beta, Class 4C also known as Class Four Omega. Each subdivision had its own captain, but Class Omega had to vote during Class Beta and Class Alpha campaign while Class Beta had to participate in only the elections of Class Alpha.