Leblouche's diary

5. The elections (1)

"So, you managed to land the job at Ectogen..." said my former colleague.

"Yep! I start tomorrow!" I replied excitedly.

"Ectogen... lucky you... Can you ask them if they've got another position open?"

I laughed at that.

"Matt, do you realize you'd have to leave your hometown to work here? Paris isn't exactly next door."

"I don't care! I'd leave this planet if I had to! I'd even leave my wife to get that job!" Matt exclaimed.

"(Laughs) You're really crazy!" I chuckled. "Anyway, wish me luck. I already had a quick look at the offices — the atmosphere isn't the same as in Nice."

"Yeah, what did you expect? That they'd welcome you like in a musical?" he joked. "But don't worry. You've got this, champ! They didn't hire you for nothing."

"Thanks. Say hi to Magalie and the kids for me. See you!"

"Alright, see you, man."

And just like that, I ended the call with my former colleague Matthieu, with whom I used to work at my previous job in Nice.

Today is a Monday like any other, but tomorrow promises to be an exceptional day, because I'm about to begin a new chapter in my professional life.

Preparations are going smoothly, and I've just come back from the dry cleaner with my suit. I'm a little nervous about this new step in my career, but it's a healthy kind of excitement — a small knot of anticipation settling in my stomach.

To calm the butterflies, I decide to take a short break. I grab my diary and drop onto the couch.

Dear Diary,

This morning, just as the boredom of our arithmetic lesson was starting to settle in, Mr. Picota came into our classroom to announce that it was time to start organizing the elections.

"Ah, Mr. Picota, what brings you here today?" Mrs. Chauvin welcomed him.

"Just a brief breeze, because I'll be very quick," said the supervisor. "As you know, it's time to elect a class representative for each of your classes. Elections will be organized. If you're interested, let the student office know. You have until the end of the week to decide. Now, I'll let you get back to your lesson."

A murmur immediately filled the classroom.

"Let's return to our lesson, please! Come on, enough chatter!" our teacher scolded.

Every class was already talking about who might get elected. In our case, it already seemed settled, because we knew who we were going to vote for. For the moment, the only confirmed candidate in our class was, of course, Laurent. However, during recess, a small argument raised the number to four. In the end, Adèle, Alain, and Maxime joined the race.

During recess...

"Well, Laurent, congratulations on your re-election," Alain said.

"But... we haven't even prepared anything yet, and we don't even have candidates," Laurent replied with a confused smile.

"So, are you running again?"

"Yeah, like always."

"Then there's no problem — you'll be our representative."

"Just because you've elected me since third grade doesn't mean it's settled. There are several people you could vote for in this class."

"It's not for nothing that we elect you, dear Laurent," Alain said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "And besides, those 'people' aren't very trustworthy. Are we really going to elect Maxime the brute, or Adèle the diva? Honestly, tell me."