It's My Life • Shawn Hunter

39| On The Air

"Good morning, John Adams High. After a ten year absence, we've dusted off the console and put Patriot Radio back on the air!" Mr. Feeny's voice came through the speakers in the cafeteria, following by a gurgling noise before theme music was heard. Zoey scrunched her face in confusion as she stood beside Shawn and Cory. "And with me here, my engineer and wacky side-kick on the morning zoo, Mr. Alive Meese."

"Thank you, Mr. Feeny, you're a great friend to the radio." Meese's voice was heard over the speakers.

"That's enough, Alvin. Nobody likes a mike hog." Mr. Feeny said. "And now, because the halls of our school beat with the lively heart of contemporary youth... here is the happy sounds of Mr. Michael Bolton."

Nature music played over the speakers which caused Zoey to cover her ears with her hands, while the kids in the cafeteria all groaned, not liking the music. Shawn immediately stood on a chair and tried to cut the wire from the speakers.

"Ahh!" Make it stop! Make it stop!" Cory shouted.

"My ears are going to bleed!" Zoey yelled.

"It's hard to cut the wires with a plastic spoon." Shawn shot back, trying to do so.

"How about you use a knife, stupid!" Zoey yelled.

"I don't have one, Zoey!" Shawn retorted.

"Just rip the whole speaker down!" Cory screamed.

"Hey, guys. Try this knife." A familiar voice offered.

"Thanks." Shawn said, not looking back to see who it was that he took the knife from.

The three turned to see Mr. Turner behind them. They gasped in shock and pointed at him.

"Down." Mr. Turner ordered to Shawn, who did what he was told and handed the knife back. "Come on, guys. The station's only been on five minutes. Is it really that bad?"

"Oh, just wait, Mr. Turner." Zoey said.

"And now, a little change of pace. A blast from my past.... this is Mr. Perry Como." Mr. Feeny said into the speaker before classical music was played.

"Look, Mr. Turner, you clip the wires and we'll cover for you." Zoey tried to negotiate with an assuring smile.

"You don't like what you hear? Get on the air and do better." Mr. Turner suggested.

"Us on the radio!" Shawn questioned as they followed Mr. Turner to a table.

"Yeah. See if you can't squeeze it in between doing nothing at school. and nothing at home." Mr. Turner responded.

"What are you saying? We don't do anything?" Shawn questioned, placing his hands on his hips.

Zoey raised an eyebrow. "I think that's exactly what he's saying."

"You know, we should think about that." Cory said.

"I don't wanna." Shawn refused. Zoey sighed and placed a hand on his shoulder.

Cory shook his head slightly. "Look, Shawn, maybe he's got a point. I mean, maybe if we became radio personalities, then we'd have... personalities."

"I don't wanna do nothing." Shawn said.

"Look, Shawny, radio is just sitting around talking." Zoey simply explained.

"Like we are now?" Shawn asked.

Zoey nodded. "Yeah. Maybe you have to push a button."

"How hard?" Shawn wondered.

"Like this." Zoey said, showing him as she pushed her finger forward through the air.