Member
SpicyMeatball
Dae
Moon Child
Melo
mickilennial
Neziul
Sleepy Tani
Mjolnir
Altered Tundra
Chai
The day was September 28, 2018: the Friday a week from King’s Academy’s Homecoming dance. On this morning, the school’s senior class was called to the auditorium for what was described to them as ‘ a special assembly’. No other details were given, and not even those students part of the school council had any idea what this meeting would even be about. When every member of the graduating class took their respective seats, they were greeted with a scene straight out of The Hunger Games. Two glass bowls were standing on each side of the wooden podium, each of them with a small stack of folded papers inside. As they realized this, the buzzing sound of whispers and mutters began to fill the room. The King’s Academy Seniors exchanged a variety of looks, ranging from surprise, curiosity, concern and even worry. But all of their questions would be answered with the arrival of a faculty member, who quickly took the podium to address the thirty teenagers in the audience.
“Hello Seniors!” the school’s theater teacher Mrs. Sanders exclaimed brightly, opening her hands in a welcoming motion towards the students. “As you all know, our school’s Homecoming dance is scheduled to take place next Saturday evening. I’m sure you all have your little outfits picked out and all of that, maybe even have an idea of who you’d like to attend with,” she said with a wink to the class before continuing. “But we’re actually changing things up a little this year.”
“See, we’ve noticed that even though most of you all have been with us here at King’s since preschool, there is a severe lack of group unity, particularly in this graduating class. It was especially put into perspective after the colorful incident in the parking lot last month -” At this, the older woman shot a stern look in the gum-chewing Marisol Castillo’s direction, who merely grinned and gave her a shameless thumbs up. “- And that is not what we want. King’s Academy is a prestigious school that prides itself upon its values, and some of the core values we attempt to ingrain in each of our students are friendship, empathy and, above all, respect.”
“So for this homecoming dance, I’ll be in charge of deciding who attends the dance with who, with a little help from these bowls here,” she explained, gesturing to the mysterious bowls on either side of her. “The left bowl has the names of every male student in this class, and the right bowl has the female names. I shall pick a name from each bowl and announce it until everybody has been partnered.”
Taking advantage of the sudden silence that fell upon the room, the woman continued. “And now, for the most exciting part: the pairings!” Mrs. Sanders said excitedly, clapping her hands together. Smiling wide, the older woman dipped her hand into the left bowl, twirled it around the small pool of names for a few seconds, then pulled out a small, folded piece of paper. She did the same with the right pool, announced the pairing, and then repeated the process with the right bowl a further fourteen times until no names remained on the bowl.
“Mr. De La Fuente, you shall be in Ms. Macmillan’s company for the night.”
“Mr. Varma, you shall attend with Ms. Endive.”
“Mr. Salvador, you are paired with Ms. Foster.”
“Mr. Grayson, you’ll be joining Ms. Lambert.”
“Mr. Diedrikson, you’ll be having Ms. Grey.”
“Mr. Wang, you shall be taking Ms. Bailey.”
“Mr. Reyes, your company shall be Ms. King.”
“Mr. Fernandez, you’re up with Ms. Lubisch.”
“Mr. Henderson, you are paired with Ms. Martin.”
“Mr. Baxter, you’ll be joined by Ms. Garcia.”
“Mr. Anderson, you shall attend with Ms. Radley.”
“Mr. Drake, you shall be taking Ms. Aurelios.”
“Mr. Rivera, you are partnered with Ms. Castillo.”
“Mr. Turei, you will be joining Ms. Richards.”
“Which means that Mr. Weber and Ms. Regan shall be in each other’s company for the night!” Mrs. Sanders finished with a smile, turning back to stare at each of her beloved students for a second. “Now remember: Homecoming is a week from now. Attendance to the dance is mandatory for each and every student that wishes to graduate, and there shall be no exceptions made for anybody, under any circumstances.”
Sensing the displeasure of the class, Mrs. Sanders clicked her tongue disapprovingly. “Now, now, guys, don’t see this in such a negative light! Use this opportunity to get to know your fellow classmate instead! Who knows? Maybe you’ll find friends in unlikely places… You are dismissed!” she told them, giving the students a parting wink before exiting the auditorium.
“Hello Seniors!” the school’s theater teacher Mrs. Sanders exclaimed brightly, opening her hands in a welcoming motion towards the students. “As you all know, our school’s Homecoming dance is scheduled to take place next Saturday evening. I’m sure you all have your little outfits picked out and all of that, maybe even have an idea of who you’d like to attend with,” she said with a wink to the class before continuing. “But we’re actually changing things up a little this year.”
“See, we’ve noticed that even though most of you all have been with us here at King’s since preschool, there is a severe lack of group unity, particularly in this graduating class. It was especially put into perspective after the colorful incident in the parking lot last month -” At this, the older woman shot a stern look in the gum-chewing Marisol Castillo’s direction, who merely grinned and gave her a shameless thumbs up. “- And that is not what we want. King’s Academy is a prestigious school that prides itself upon its values, and some of the core values we attempt to ingrain in each of our students are friendship, empathy and, above all, respect.”
“So for this homecoming dance, I’ll be in charge of deciding who attends the dance with who, with a little help from these bowls here,” she explained, gesturing to the mysterious bowls on either side of her. “The left bowl has the names of every male student in this class, and the right bowl has the female names. I shall pick a name from each bowl and announce it until everybody has been partnered.”
Taking advantage of the sudden silence that fell upon the room, the woman continued. “And now, for the most exciting part: the pairings!” Mrs. Sanders said excitedly, clapping her hands together. Smiling wide, the older woman dipped her hand into the left bowl, twirled it around the small pool of names for a few seconds, then pulled out a small, folded piece of paper. She did the same with the right pool, announced the pairing, and then repeated the process with the right bowl a further fourteen times until no names remained on the bowl.
“Mr. De La Fuente, you shall be in Ms. Macmillan’s company for the night.”
“Mr. Varma, you shall attend with Ms. Endive.”
“Mr. Salvador, you are paired with Ms. Foster.”
“Mr. Grayson, you’ll be joining Ms. Lambert.”
“Mr. Diedrikson, you’ll be having Ms. Grey.”
“Mr. Wang, you shall be taking Ms. Bailey.”
“Mr. Reyes, your company shall be Ms. King.”
“Mr. Fernandez, you’re up with Ms. Lubisch.”
“Mr. Henderson, you are paired with Ms. Martin.”
“Mr. Baxter, you’ll be joined by Ms. Garcia.”
“Mr. Anderson, you shall attend with Ms. Radley.”
“Mr. Drake, you shall be taking Ms. Aurelios.”
“Mr. Rivera, you are partnered with Ms. Castillo.”
“Mr. Turei, you will be joining Ms. Richards.”
“Which means that Mr. Weber and Ms. Regan shall be in each other’s company for the night!” Mrs. Sanders finished with a smile, turning back to stare at each of her beloved students for a second. “Now remember: Homecoming is a week from now. Attendance to the dance is mandatory for each and every student that wishes to graduate, and there shall be no exceptions made for anybody, under any circumstances.”
Sensing the displeasure of the class, Mrs. Sanders clicked her tongue disapprovingly. “Now, now, guys, don’t see this in such a negative light! Use this opportunity to get to know your fellow classmate instead! Who knows? Maybe you’ll find friends in unlikely places… You are dismissed!” she told them, giving the students a parting wink before exiting the auditorium.
