Remember Autumn

Business and Busyness

SUNNYVAN Crest looked at her schedule with uncertainty. Today was going to be a busy day. Yesterday had been, too. And so would tomorrow be. Every day was a busy day for her. She looked at all the announcements for tomorrow's events. She was squinting so hard that the other students thought her eyes were closed for she had such tiny little eyes. She had gotten it from her pretty Chinese mother.

Okay, let's get this over with, she thought as she stood up on the platform overlooking the freshman assembly. Everyone looked so bored and tired. She gulped. She wasn't going to mess this up.

"Good morning!" she said jubilantly over the microphone. It wasn't a good morning, though. It never was, as long as the tiresome morning assemblies were held. And as always, no one responded.

"I have pleasant news for everyone!" Her voice again echoed cheerfully. No one was even listening. Just a few months ago, when she first announced 'pleasant news,' everyone looked at her hopefully for a special holiday, but unfortunately for her, she always seemed to fail their expectations. So in a way, everyone disliked her. But how could they blame her? She wasn't the principal. She wasn't the school activities head. She wasn't even president of the student government.

She became the freshman representative for the student government by default because she was the only one who wanted to run for office. The rest of the officers figured she was submissive and responsible so they took advantage of her kindness. They assigned her everything they were supposed to do and in the end, she was constantly blamed for all the school programs' flaws. Whenever she wanted to complain, they would threaten to drop her from the position. Of course, she didn't want that. It was unfair, but she wanted to be on the safe side. She valued all the extra credit she could get.

She went on. "There will be a lot going on in school tomorrow—a lot of surprises, yes." She thought she heard someone yell, "Tomorrow's a Saturday!" but she ignored it. "At ten, we will have the Heels-On-Wheels Showdowns. Please see flyers for details. At two, the theatre club will be presenting the musicals Newsies and West Side Story respectively. And as early as five o'clock, registration for the school fund-raising concert will begin. The concert will be featuring the glee club, Angeli Realstar, alumni Josh O'Dell and Kathy Walker. There will also be free photo booths, snack coupons, and more lunch options. All of this in honor of our principal, Mr. Eldon Concierge's fiftieth birthday. Again, for all events, please see flyers for details. Thank you and have a nice day!"

Now, everyone was listening to her. A lot of the students were asking the others to repeat the announcements for them. Sunnyvan smiled as she walked back to the assembly. Everything was going to be fine. She felt it. Things were more organized as planned. She had worked on the flyers herself. They contained every necessary little detail about the programs.

Her free period would finally be free. She could finally sit with her best friend Emily at lunchtime again after months of meeting over lunch with the student government (which was mostly being reminded of all the things she needed to do). She could finally comfort Emily personally about her brother's death.

"Emily." Sunnyvan had said it for the hundredth time. When will her best friend ever learn to speak again?

Emily continued forking around her plate. She had lost her appetite long ago, and it seemed that it was not coming back anytime soon.

"Emily," Sunnyvan said again. "I want to help you." She flinched at her own words. Were they the right words? Did she say it right? Oh boy, she thought. This is going to be a long day.

Emily looked up after an eternity. She spoke, but the words awkwardly came out, "Thank you, Sunnyvan." She hesitated, then took a bite of mac-and-cheese.