Friendship And Family (Currently undergoing a rewrite. Do Not Read.)

CHAPTER 26. Unknown

Maria's POV

"See y'all after school," I excused myself from my squad after my quick lunch to meet up with my group members for a brief preview on our geography presentation that was coming up immediately after the break.

We ended up taking more time, and Miss Edna was never late. She made her way into the class as all five of us rushed in to catch up.

"Settle down, everyone!" Miss Edna yelled to silence the class that looked like a yard sale, and my classmates behaved, reducing the rush of their runny mouths and settling in their seats. "Is group four ready?"

"Present!" I raised a hand, playing my role as the group leader as I walked over to her table to submit a copy of our project.

"Thank you." She received it and sat down in her chair, and I walked back to join my team in front of the class.

Standing before my classmates shook my nervous system, but not as much as the shock I felt the second I noticed the strange faces that weren't a part of my class. Andrew, Agnes and Francis were occupying three of the few empty seats of my classmates that weren't offering the subject. Their presence was a grand surprise that steadied my shaky feet. Plus, Mathias was also in class, and I couldn't be more fulfilled as all four of them encouraged me with a smile.

"You may begin." Miss Edna motioned a hand at my group, and I stepped forward.

"Good day, class." I felt like a teacher with my glasses on, a good boost. "I'm Maria Benedict, and we're members of group four. Our topic for you today will be centered on lumbering." I almost laughed when I caught Andrew mimicking my hand gestures. Mathias and Agnes were attentive, and Francis threw me a thumbs up. They were the gas to the meal cooking in my pot.

"I know all of you are wondering what lumbering is," I continued, "which is why I'll be starting the presentation with the definition of lumbering-"

"Where else would you start?" a back seat voice that belonged to a male interrupted, and the class laughed. Agnes and Francis held back their laughter. Mathias head was down, probably laughing quietly, and Andrew didn't even try to hide his amusement.

"Behave yourselves," Miss Edna restored decorum with her warning. "Continue," she then said to me.

I loosened my frown. "Lumbering is a systematic process of cutting and felling down of trees for the utilisation of timber, and extraction of other forest produce for commercial gains. The major produce used in lumbering is timber, but as mentioned earlier, we're also told that there are other extractions, and we have leaves, bushes... so, I don't know. I guess this calls for a debate."

The class laughed at my attempt at being a joker.

"Quit joking with your grade, it's not a comedy show," Miss Edna said in her seat.

I cleared the unseriousness out of my throat and adjusted my glasses. "These timbers are used in making books, pencils, furnitures, amongst other things we use in our daily lives, and commercial gains are gotten off these products when we, the people, purchase them with money. Having said that, we'll now be showing you all a brief demonstration on the lumbering process."

Cynthia passed me the axe that she'd been holding, and the others took positions. Robert was the tree, and behind him were Michael and Prince.

"Well, this is old-fashioned," I referred to the axe in my hands. "In today's advanced society, machines are being used, enhancing task effectiveness and efficiency." I then faced Robert. "So, the logger climbs the tree to chop down branches, but since our tree here," I gestured at him, and the class laughed, "has no branches, or power to support my weight," I made them laugh again, and Robert shot me a mock glare of disapproval for downplaying his strength, causing a quiet snort to slip out of my mouth, "I'll just take it from the trunk." Miss Edna didn't seem to mind the fun I was having with the presentation, that was if she doesn't single me out of the group with an F after we were done.