Sing!

Chapter Four: School

MUSIC GIVES A SOUL TO THE UNIVERSE, WINGS TO THE MIND, FLIGHT TO THE IMAGINATION AND LIFE TO EVERYTHING

|Plato|

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The halls were crowded with people, and the chaos was so anarchy, like a movie. The wind howls as the students arrive through the gates, hustling and bustling down the corridors. Friends are greeting each other with a hug or a playful punch while newcomers stand looking scared. The seniors stand, tall and proud, a confidence born of experience.   

Calliope walked into the large building. The first thing she noticed was the two teachers who wear monitoring the kids. It appeared that they were doing a security check. One kid possessed a screwdriver which was swiftly confiscated.

Showing her badge, Calliope passed with no hassle. Calliope looked at her surroundings. 

Laughter sounds along the halls joined with excited conversations and shouts. Model worthy girls perch on the tables like exotic birds gossiping and giggling, a football fly's above their heads between two jocks in varsity jackets parading their toned muscles. Groups of high schoolers stood around the room laughing and causing all kinds of ruckus. A breath of airbrushes her ear; Calliope follow the breeze and watches a blue striped paper plane gracefully gliding through the air before sliding across the tiled hall to stop with its nose against the wall. 

Moving forward, Calliope observed a trophy case. Inside were various trophies, some being large cups, others being metal figures or boards. Alongside the trophies were a program containing the various versions of Sing. A lot of memories were within these trophies and programs.

"Bring back memories, Miss Muse?" Jimminy asked as he stood beside Calliope whole looking at the case.

Jimminy Cricket is somewhat too tall for his build; where he a few inches shorter he would be all the more handsome for it. Orange hair lay on his head that had a mind of its own. His eyes were the colour of soft brown sugar, which were unfortunately hidden by small round glasses. Dressed in a brown suit with a red jumper covering his white shirt. Jimminy was a very smart man. If you needed advice, you most certainly went to Jimminy. Being the principal of the high school, this talent helped many times with the kids.

"Oh my god, yes," Calliope answered with a smile, "what's Brooklyn without Sing?"

Jimminy chuckled at her joke, "tell me about it." Jimminy guided Calliope through the crowded hallways. Hands behind his back, Jimminy kept watch of his student, hoping they weren't getting themselves into any more trouble.

"You know we haven't talked about this yet," Jimminy spoke as they continued to walk, "but we are really understaffed, again, this semester, so I was just-oh no," Jimminy cut himself off as he saw a student getting searched again, "excuse me, Calliope."

Jimminy marched towards the student who was being searched by Jack Skellington. Calliope, due to curiosity, followed Jimminy towards the student.

"What've you got, Jack?" Jimminy asked as Jack handed over the expensive watch over to Jimminy. Jack turned Jack around so Jiminy could see his face.

"Oh, I nice, little, expensive Rolex. Now, where did you get this from Mr Frost?" Jimminy asked as he held the watch up, towards Jack.

"My brother gave me it for Christmas," Jack lied as he watched Jiminy, "you got a problem with that?"

"Where did you brother get it?" Jiminy asked, ignoring the attitude Jack was giving him. Calliope continued to watch the scene, waiting for Jimminy to instruct her with her job.

"Saved his box tops," Jack mused, but nobody laughed. Calliope struggled to contain the laughter but she managed, while the other teachers held straight faces.

"That's very funny, Jack. Here," Jimminy gave back the wrist watch to Jack, "now all you've got to do is learn to tell the time," Jimminy joked as Jack shrugged of Mr Skellington's grasp. 

Jack walked away, with Jack Skellington behind him. Witnessing his little flower, Jack yelled, "take a hike would ya."

Jiminy once again guided Calliope, but once again got intervened. Mrs Odie had interrupted the both of them, with a boy in her hand.

Odie's true name if Mama Odie, having a wicked mother or a mother with a sense of humour. Odie was a woman overweight but yet had curvy curves. Skin the colour of dark chocolate, with deep alluring eyes captivated with flecks of gold danced within the deep swirls of cocoa making them appear to have a mystery hidden inside waiting to be discovered. Black hair that curled in frizzy curls and could only resemble the could of squid ink. Odie was a sassy, wise woman, who knew how to keep an open mind.

"Hi, Jimminy," Odie said sweetly with a smile, "this one," Odie pointed to the boy she had hold of, "he says he ate his homework, all of it because Satan told him that eating the paper would make him sexually pulped," again Calliope contained her laughter as the boy have an amused smirk, "can you believe that?"

"Yeah, I can believe that," Jimminy mused as he glanced to Calliope, "Mama Odie, Calliope Muse," the two women greeted one another with smiles, "Calliope is going to be with us this semester. As a matter of fact, she's going to be our new senior Sing advisor," Jimminy announced which earned a smile from Calliope.

"I'm honoured," Calliope replied as she smiled brightly.

Miss Odie began to move, still the boy in her hands, "Oh, you'll get over it, honey."

"No, you don't understand," Calliope remarked as she grasped Miss Odie's arm gently, "I'm glad to have the chance to work with these kids and try and make a difference."

"Oh, a missionary," Miss Odie announced towards Jimminy who seemed preoccupied with something Else.

"Excuse me would you," Jimminy stated as he proceeded to a bunch of kids who seemed to be getting themselves into trouble, again.

"Sunshine, take my advice, the student's here tend to catch their fingers in these," Mama Odie gestures to Calliopedanagling earings, "so be careful, okay."

The bell rings, signalling for classes to begin. Students begin to move. All was changing within the hallway. Students began to disperse into different classrooms, leaving Calliope alone.

Sighing,  Calliope proceeded to her own classroom. It was going to be a long day.

•     •     •

Though the classroom walls are bare the windows are large. Everybody wanted a window seat, to sit in the unsubdued light of the morning. Outside the sky was blue except for a few strands of stratus that trail like aeroplane trails. Whoever painted the walls in there must have had an imagination bypass, but then isn't that the education system all over?

"Alright people, I need you to listen up," Calliope yelled over the chatter of the students who had no care for Calliope, "as you know Sing is the annual musical competition between the seniors and the underclassmen," no one listened to Calliope, "the sing leaders you elect today are responsible for creating and running the entire show," Calliope finally noticed how everyone was distracted. Observing a particular boy, whom she remembered his name as Jack, had his feet on the table, "excuse me can I get you to put both feet on the floor?"

Turning to Calliope, Jack looked at her like she was asking something crazy, "I don't do tricks," Jack mused, which earned the class to go up in an uproar. Calliope could see that Jack was going to be difficult.

"This afternoon, your last lesson will be cancelled," Calliope proclaimed to the students as she walked around the classroom. The entire class cheered and clapped, glad that they were to skip another tedious class.

Reaching, Jack's feet, Calliopelifted both feet of the table and let the fall to the floor, "you are all required," Jack glared towards her, "to be at the elections for your senior Sing leaders," a grumbled was heard as Jack turned in his seat. Complaints were heard but Calliope ignored them all.