[i]"The life of the dead is placed on the memories of the living." -Cicero[/i]

[u]Henry Olin[/u]

[hider=Explosions In The Sky - Home & Your Hand In Mine][youtube]34p4D6tB9oo[/youtube][/hider]

Henry's eyes watched the headmaster. His every movement was noticed and every small detail was analyzed. He was bullshitting it. He knew it. So did the headmaster, and he was willing to bet that most of the students thought so as well. Henry shook his head as the Headmaster exited the stage. That wasn't enough. Not for him, not for the students, not for Vera. His respect for the headmaster fell even farther. He could've spoken about Vera, he could've told everyone what happened, he could've been a bit more meaningful to those who knew her and acted as if he cared. It was... disheartening to hear what he said. And a few seconds after the headmaster left the stage a few students began to gather their things and leave.

No. He wouldn't let that happen.

He pushed his way through the stream of students, and up onto the stage. Each foot he placed had a purpose, and he seemed to be moving faster than normal despite walking the same pace. As if he was floating. He had tunnel vision and forgot everything that was around him, save for his goal. The microphone. As he approached he swiped it off of it's stand and spoke into it. "Students, may I have your attention." Henry began. Many of the students who had been leaving stopped and turned to look at him. With so many faces Henry's resolve began to falter. "I, uh, I have something to say." he said, a small amount of fear in his voice. Their attention didn't dwindle, but a look of apprehensive distrust crossed some of their faces. Henry took a deep breath, which could be heard through the microphone, and steeled himself for what he was going to say. "My name is Professor Henry J. Olin," he began. He took another deep breath. "I've lived on the Academy for well over a decade now. I've lived here longer than some students have been alive, and I've witnessed my fair share of accidents." Henry slowed to a stop for a moment, to let the students gather their thoughts for a few moments. "I came to the academy when I was thirteen years old. One of the students who had come to the academy for the first time with me on that fateful trip was Vera. She wasn't a full student like me, but ever summer for twelve more years she'd come to the academy and every one of those twelve years we would meet. In 2002, twelve years ago for those of you who aren't math majors, there was an incident at the shipwreck," he scanned the crowd, meeting eyes with several students as he did so. Ben, Deborah, Jago, the kid with unnaturally colored hair, and more. "One of the ships collapsed on itself, resulting on eleven deaths, and well over a dozen injuries." he said.

"What you don't know, is that if it weren't for Vera, I, and many other long time students, would probably not be here right now." He said. "Vera was one of my best friends. She saved [i]my life[/i] and many others, and became a nurse at the school after that night. She wasn't even a teenager yet and she had done more for other people than most people ever do in their lives." he said. "Everything she did was to help other people. I don't remember one day that went by that she didn't place another person above herself at least ten times." He said. "There would be times I'd go visit her in the hospital and ask her how long she had been working, and she'd have forgotten to eat and sleep. She'd have been working for three days straight one time! She had a purpose, she had a drive for helping others I don't think I've ever seen in any other human before. I hate to admit this to myself but I don't think I'll meet a person with her drive to aid others ever again." he said, his voice catching in his throat for a moment. He had a ragged breath for a moment, before he recomposed himself. "I'd ask her why she worked so hard and she'd tell me 'If I sleep I might miss the opportunity to help someone'. She was one of those people who user her power to help every person she met. She was a [i]hero[/i]." He said. His eyes met Nicholas' for a moment, before moving back to the crowd. "I found her in the cafeteria on Tuesday night the way she was and I broke," He said, letting the whole room fall silent for a moment. His eyes met Jago's again, and he spoke. "Sorry for the outburst toward you by the way, Javuant." he said, causing a few students to lightly chuckle. Henry, not wanting to loose momentum, continued. "I don't think I'll ever fix that part of me again. There's no way TO fix it," he said, shaking his head. "There are some things that I can't let go." he stated.

He lifted his arm and pointed in the direction that the Headmaster had gone off to. "Headmaster Dellamorte had some good ideas. Travel in groups, act smart, don't go anywhere without telling anyone." he said. "That's smart." He pointed in the direction Dellamorte had walked off to again. "But there are things he said that I. Can. Not. Let. Go." he said, his voice had an edge to it by now. He had momentum. "I'm not going to pretend that nothing happened, and that the school's the same, because it's not!" he yelled. "There's no Vera in this school anymore, this ain't the school I grew up in any longer," and said, taking a breath again. "So I'm not just going to play pretend. I'm a an adult. Pretending is for children." he said. "Adults fix the problem and I'm willing to bet some of you had a hard time sleeping the last few nights. I don't blame you. I woke up three times last night." he said, trying to make the point that even he, one of the most powerful people on campus, with his size and practice with his power, was scared. "Blackmore's in the crowd here. I know it, and he's probably going to come after me when I finish. Fine, he can do that all he wants, but right now I'm going to use Dellamorte's own words against him." he said. He hit his chest with his free hand, which had previously been pointing. "I am a Professor here at the academy. I am a member of the staff." he said. "So what I am about to say is within my authority. I'm going to be doing my own investigation to find who did this to my friend. I don't know about you, but I don't trust anyone the Headmaster hires to investigate it because I don't want this being pushed under the rug. I wont settle for my friend being forgotten." he said. "So I'm asking you, the students, to tell me if you [i]happen across anything that could interest me[/i]. I'm not telling you to investigate anything. If you do, I don't [i]condone[/i] it, but please do it safely and in groups." he said. He hoped that they would realize that he wasn't telling them not to either. He was finding a loophole in Dellamorte's words. "If not for Vera, do it for yourselves. Do it so you can put someone to rest, and allow yourself and everyone else on the island to rest more peacefully."

He placed the microphone back into it's stand, and looked into the crowd for a few moments longer, before leaning down his neck to speak again. "We will find this person. Whomever they are. That, I promise." With those last few words spoken, Henry walked off stage and out the doors. He had a feeling he would hear from someone for that, but he didn't care. If they didn't care for Vera, he wouldn't care for them. Simple as that.

He was Henry Olin. He didn't let anyone be left behind.