The Night Tournaments

20 - Flynn

~ One Day Later ~

"There is approximately one month left until the Autumn Lights School Festival," Ethan Whitlock announced. The Student Executive Department was in the middle of another general meeting . . . although Scythe Madden was practically half-asleep.

"I've ordered the string lights, lanterns, candles, and extra speakers for the general decor," Kimberly informed us, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "They should arrive within a few weeks' time."

"The Art Club has been assigned to designing and printing out the banners and posters for advertisement," Anna added. "The cheerleading team and Dance Club have also confirmed that they will be giving special performances in the gym."

"Great," Ethan approved, then turned to scrutinize me through his rectangular-framed glasses. "Which games are going to be featured, Mr. Armani?"

"Right," I said swiftly, glancing down at my clipboard. "There will be booths for a ring toss, trivia wheel, mini bowling, darts . . ."

"And food!" Rori chimed in, waving a hand in the air. "I'm thinking of including a hot chocolate bar, grilled cheese stand, skewers, and a fruit-filled chocolate fountain."

"Did someone say grilled cheese?" Scythe muttered, sitting up and licking his lips. ". . . Oh, wow, I would actually kill to eat some right now."

"Get up, you meathead," Nadya snapped, jabbing him in the ribs. "We're in the middle of a meeting, for heavens' sake!"

Ethan sighed and massaged his temples. "You know, Mr. Madden . . . is there a reason why you can't take anything seriously? Because I would genuinely like to hear it."

"My apologies, President," Scythe said quickly, trying to look as alert as possible. "Er, I mean, Student Council President." He shot an apologetic grin at Bree, and she smirked back.

"Anyhow, I'm quite relieved that all of the preparations seem to be progressing smoothly. Ms. Campbell, will students be on patrol during the festival to oversee behavior?" Ethan asked Bree.

She nodded, clearing her throat. "Yes; Scythe is in charge of recruiting members from the sports teams to keep a lookout for any signs of misconduct."

"Perfect. Well, then, if there are no questions, concerns, or comments . . . today's meeting is adjourned," the president of the Student Council declared, standing up from his chair.

As everyone prepared to leave, I walked over to Bree, who was shouldering her backpack and looking at her phone. 

"Oh, I think that our partner assignments for the Social Studies project are out," she told me, her eyes lighting up. "Let's go and check outside our classroom!"

"Here's the thing. Do we really have to -" I attempted to object, but was immediately cut off when she grabbed my backpack and dragged me out of the Student Council office. Seriously, how did this girl always manage to win all of our arguments?!

The two of us slowed to a stop when we caught sight of the sheet of paper taped up onto the wall outside our Socials classroom. Our partners for the project (the one that was the entire purpose of our trip to Florence) had been randomly assigned, and I gulped when I saw the other students either celebrating with joy or slumping to the ground in misery.

The title of the project, "Florence Through the Lens of Globalization," was written at the top of the page, and my eyes trailed down to spot my name, which was right beside . . . Beatrix Elsher's?!