Running for the Impossible

"Thankfully, Only Small Waves"

My alarm clock didn't go off, probably because I had forgotten to set it last night, so I forced myself out of bed, dragged myself across the room, and looked at the time: 8:40.

***

I was late, I was late, I was very late. And no, this was not good. I didn't even bother to stop at my locker on my my way to the auditorium, though it would have been very convenient to drop off all of my stuff. 

Nor did I bother to get a late pass from the main office, which I reminded myself would be a problem later. I also reminded myself to remember to set my alarm clock next time to avoid problems like these in the future.

With my backpack on my shoulders, I half ran, half speed-walked down the hallway of the school. It was the combination of staying up too late last night and a serious case of drowsiness that made me late to school a good hour or so, just when the assembly where Icana was supposed to present her speech should have started. 

My shoes rapped rhythmically on the floor tiles as I hurried passed as classrooms. Not many looked at me from inside the classroom, and I was glad for it. My hair was a complete mess, since I hadn't had time to fix it up this morning, and my clothes were all crumpled up, probably because I just picked out the first things I found. All in all, it wasn't going so well.

Patting my hair in place, I pushed in through the auditorium doors and the lights above blinded me. I tried to blink through it, and finally, I focused back at the stage, just as I heard a voice say, "Thank you, and please consider voting for me this year as student council president." 

A few waves of scattered applause sounded throughout the crowd. Thankfully, only small waves, the kind that you see encounter at the beach on a calm day. Minuscule waves. Medium waves at the most. Mira bowed, walked out from behind the podium, and back to her seat in the audience.

I was still standing, looking much like a hobo, in front of the door. Some people were looking at me in surprise, so I decided to drop my bag next to a wall, and plopped myself down into an unoccupied chair. I had stationed myself in the back row, but it was still an okay spot to watch. Besides, the less people that see how big of a mess I am today, the better.

Looking on the bright side, however, it was likely that Icana hasn't gone yet, since Mira usually liked going first. It was sort of a tradition, you could say. 

Some of the students were already getting up and stretching, most likely because they weren't expecting anyone else to give a speech. However, instead of pacing back and forth in front of the crowd like he in previous years, the principal stood at the front, with a small smile on his face. I couldn't tell whether he felt accomplished or just glad that this assembly wouldn't be as awkward as it was in previous years.

"Get ready..." I told myself silently. I took a deep breath, even though it was Icana who really should be taking one.

Principal Sunny cleared his throat. "Attention students," he announced, "Next, our other candidate will come up and give her speech." 

He paused. It was stupid if the principal was trying to build up suspense, but on the other hand, if he was trying to, he was doing quite a good job. Both the students and some of the teachers in the audience stirred, conversing with each other.

"I wonder who they tricked into giving a speech this year," someone from behind me muttered.

"...and how bad they'll fail this year," I heard someone else muse.

I craned my neck and did a 360 around the gym. In the second row, I spotted Icana, who looked confident, but nervous at the same time. I don't know how she managed that look, but it suited both her, and the situation well. 

I was surprised that nobody knew Icana was running yet, since she was giving signs that made it quite obvious that was. She sat on a pile of papers, which looked like her speech, and was biting her nails fiercely. I really wished that I could get up and walk to the other side of the room, because this would be a great time to tell Icana to break a leg, but the principal cleared his throat and started talking again, this time much louder.

"Please welcome to the podium... Icana Livingston!" The auditorium went dead silent, so silent you could hear a pin drop. The only movement in the room were the movement of necks and heads trying to figure out where the unlucky victim was.

Icana got up, and slowly walked to the front of the room. I could see her shaking. We had never practiced reciting the speech together because I had assumed that Icana knew what she was doing. But now, I was having second thoughts, as a list of the thousand ways Icana could screw up ran through my mind again.

Icana took the microphone from the principal and nodded. She moved to the center of the room, looked at the audience, and began. "Good afternoon staff and students," she began in a clear, "Today I will not be using the podium, and though it may seem like I have a very small, if no chance of winning..."

The crowd, which had began talking again, turned quite once more, this time as if someone had hit the mute button. However, this silence was a good one. I could feel it.

The second I heard Icana start talking, my worries about her messing up vanished, and I felt the list of all the ways Icana could screw up go through the paper shredder. In an instant, it was all gone. 

Smoothly and fluently, with no stutters or stumbles, Icana went through the speech we had written out with perfection, putting accents in and pausing at just the right moments. 

Her own copy of the speech was still sitting at her seat...