Corpus Civilization

Canada

"Hi. They called for me?" William asks the receptionist, Ms. Noel, rocking on his heels in confusion.

"Yes, yes," she says, pressing a finger to her lips and her ear to the door. "Remain quiet. I need to know when to let you in."

William nods, stifling a chuckle at the actions of the good-spirited receptionist. They remain in silence, as much as there can be with an entire ceremony on the other side of the gymnasium doors. A few minutes pass, or maybe they're just seconds. Waiting with nothing but his fingers to twiddle with can make time seem longer than it usually is.

"Okay." Ms. Noel beckons to him, standing beside him as the door opens and the sound of applause amplifies in his ears. One push and he's inside, the door shut behind him and enveloped in a darkness he'd never imagined the gym to be in. But it is, and the only lights are of those that belong to the huge stage lights that had been brought in specifically for this event. Because their school contained no auditorium, all ceremonies were conducted in the gymnasium. And when they were big ones, with performances to be given, the stage lights were rented and brought in.

Someone grabs at his arms, and he may have flinched a little but offers no resistance otherwise. The hands lead him to the side, stopping him right where the audience starts. His eyes focus on the principal, who is holding the mike in a hand and facing the audience.

"Ladies and gentlemen," She calls, and silence befalls the gym with just the three words. "I would like to thank you for being very patient with us and finding time in your busy day to come here. Now, before we end this ceremony, I do have one award I need to give."

Award? What award? Who's getting the award? Why am I brought here? The erratic thumping of his heart becomes oddly very loud in his ears. He knows he shouldn't get his hopes up, but come on, it's an award and he was brought in specifically. Is it his?

If it weren't for the hands holding him, he might've beat at his chest to stop his heart from beating so loudly, but the hands are there, and he has no choice but to tune in to the principal's speech. She's telling the audience the qualities of that one person who is about to receive the award, and it's so annoying that she won't tell the gender. William looks around, wondering if there are any other students hidden in the darkness somewhere. As far as he can see, there aren't any, but—

His mind travels back and he finally puts the pieces together.

This morning, when the students had already been gathered in the gym for the morning assembly, they'd handed out another award; this one the Teacher of the Year Award. He'd stood next to his favourite, and also homeroom teacher and waited while the principal announced that they'd be giving out a special award that morning. His teacher had excitedly held his shoulder and whispered to him, "Get ready..."

At that moment, he'd looked at her in complete confusion, because what would an award have to do with him? And what was so special about this award? Had the school decided to hand out a new one? But then the principal had announced her name and the table had been turned, with him loudly cheering and clapping as his teacher made her way over to the front.

But his teacher's words finally made sense, because she'd been expecting the award given in the morning to be for him and not herself. Because the award she'd mistaken was being given now.

"What in the fifty-two dimensions—" is all he manages to angrily? excitedly? whisper out before his name is being called.

"It is my honour to present the Leadership Award to William Black, from Grade 9a!"

The hands holding him finally let go, throwing him into the path between the audience with a push. His legs follow no commands of his, as he would be shaking on his unmovable legs, not walking towards the stage! He reaches the front, a smile on his face, because that's just the kind of person he is, smiling even when in shock. The principal smiles back and right behind her, he sees another favourite teacher of his, one who's smiling widely at his reaction and clapping wildly.

He faces the principal and she hands him the trophy, that honestly looks more like a goblet he could make a sundae in, and why is he thinking that? The trophy is bright gold, with entwining lines of green. He looks at the base to see his name etched into the plaque that names it as his. The bottom gives away and he realizes that he's also holding a gift card in his hands. The crowd bursts out in wild applause once again, and William's heart races and he finds it hard to breathe. People are cheering this loudly for him? They don't even know him...

That's a lie, his consciousness says, you know practically every parent in the audience and they know you.

I do not. He argues back, but it's a weak argument, so instead, he opts to just look for his own parents. He, unfortunately, can't find them because of the lights shining right on his face, but he knows they're probably cheering for him anyway.

Counting backwards to ten, he walks back into the darkness slowly and calmly, putting aside all need to hold his own chest for comfort. Among the audience, he sees some faces as he passes by and they're still clapping for him and giving him beaming smiles. He's ushered out of the gym before he can think too much on it and the few lingering people outside the doors clap and congratulate him as well. He thanks them as politely as he can before being told that he should head downstairs to his own classroom so that he can be picked up by his parents.

There's exhilaration in his veins that keeps him from standing still as he jumps down the stairs. Which he should probably not be doing, with all the warnings he's gotten, but this is his moment and no one's gonna put a lid on it. He admires the trophy in his hands again, getting used to the metallic feeling against his skin, the heaviness of the marble bottom.

Truth be told, he's half sure he's in a dream and not real life. The whole day had pretty much seemed unreal, with the basketball game he'd gone to after school, then the performance he'd given and now this? It had to be a dream. There was no way it couldn't be.

He pauses right outside his classroom for a second, bracing himself for...something. It's more intuitive actually. Would something happen when he walked into the class with a trophy in hand? He couldn't put it into his backpack, because his backpack was in the class. He wasn't gonna put it under his shirt either, because he wasn't an idiot. Maybe things wouldn't go bad?

Stepping inside elicits chaos inside the room, with his friends making way as he walks in. They cheer and whoop, and pat him on the back, shouting congratulations at him. He smiles at them, indulging in their questions before proceeding to give his teacher a hug as well.

Soon enough, the cheers die down and the students mingle and start their own conversations, with the few exceptions of the kids who come to see his trophy up close. Five minutes later, parents begin arriving at the door, loud, boisterous chatter filling up the hallways. While their prime goal is to pick up their kids, the parents do give William their congratulations as well.

It doesn't take long for William's own parents to arrive, and his father wraps him in a hug and his mother kisses his forehead. They make their way out, to go pick up his little brother from the other end of the hallway. While his parents mingle in the very tight-knitted crowd in front of the classroom that belongs to his brother, William chooses to loiter beside the staircase for easy escape.

Several parents give him hugs, and whispers of congratulation. It makes him wonder just how many people he knows.

Five minutes later [yes, he counted] the family of four is out of the school. The weather outside is cool, gentle flurries of snow falling ever so slowly. There is no wind, so the cold against his skin feels comforting, rather than evil.

Closing his eyes, William breathes in the smell of the night.

He's happy. 

---

By Jem