Gloryhounds

30. Shedding

Shedding: Ecdysis and Dysecdysis. All reptiles shed their skins, referred to as ecdysis, in a manner that differs from species to species.

Snakes shed their skin to allow for further growth and to remove parasites that may have attached to their old skin.

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There has been a lot of activity in the social conundrum of things which I have not noticed until Friday's launch at the cafeteria. I was drunk on the whole episodic invention of my inner, unexplored traits with Ms. Eden so much that the school's large Burgundy colored notice board caught me off guard whilst I was on the prowl for Kenny.

He had been reluctant once again, for some reason or the other and disappeared from class just before Advanced Math.

But I stopped looking for that big, fat lard of math fearing, fleshy body when the flickering achievements of yesterday flagged me down.

It has been a long driven tradition of Seine High to participate in the county debate tournaments and West Debate Competition. The history of this events can be tracked back to 20 years before when a group of snotty nosed, acne stroke and heavy rim glass wearing nerds somehow managed to get into the Quarter Final of the Summertown County Debate.

Even though they had been obliterated in the Semi to a Christian Missionary Education Institute, on a misunderstood topic of 'Scientific Breakthroughs in the upcoming millennium', they were received like heroes of a new age when the Cream colored rented van finally brought them back home.

Mr. Marsh, the school's veteran debater and quite possibly the next Gandalf for his abundance of white hair still has that photograph hung over his head. If you stare at the frame picture for long, you can even hear the disbelief and the sense of sudden accomplishment tearing out of the colored paper picture.

At first, I was feeling the shimmering excitement of seeing Clay, wearing the official Navy Blue Jacket with his hair parted in a 7 year old who has just gotten back from Church. Then I saw Rommery as she stood beside him in the photograph where the zoomed picture has unfortunately cut the image of their secretive hand holding.

The sourness in the mouth tipped to the highest when the titled headline was in sight.

'Seine's Primary Selective of The Prime Directive'.

The Selective list just made the mood worse as the names were printed out in a mediocre sized front.

"Ingram Holland, Clearance Burton, Rommery Holloway, Yolanda Emile and Noah Nash."

Excess of the white paper was tagged with a bolted suggestions as an invite for the Editorial, research, drafting and Substitute for the Primary Selective.

The warming sensation of self discovery was already being transferred to the past from the present to make room for the new emotions.

Betrayal often tastes like cold choc muffins.

"Eh, Frey."
"What now, Noah?"
"'ave you finished . . . the essay's for Monday?"
"Um . . no. Didn't even start."
"Shit, man! I thought I was gonna copy off from you."

I know it is a one kind of unfair judgment to publish someone's characteristic from one of their faults but I am feeling extra pessimistic during lunch, especially to a quad of names that appeared on the board.

I give a meaningless nod before Noah shakes off his shortcomings on 'Environment Pollution Report' due on Monday.

I smear the creamy crumbs on the border of the oily packet, trying to put Mr. Marsh's upset and toiled face on the canvas of my imagination when his glorious Primary Selective come back to Seine after their well deserved beating on Summertown.