Chapter 294. End of the First Year. (3/3)
I scanned the gymnasium and quickly realized we were the only two oddballs not dressed for the occasion. Well, I wasn’t about to wear a suit for this. They’re freaking expensive after all.
“By the way, Ms. Gene, about the samples you took bef-”
“Inconclusive. I haven’t figured out anything at all about whatever your illness is.” She snapped back and interrupted me before I could finish my question.
“I see.”
Well, I wasn’t actually ill after all. I’d have been more surprised if she had actually found something. I was only asking about it because of the whole devil thing. Was there anything genetically different about a devil? That was what I was really curious about and why I didn’t make much of a fuss about her taking some samples despite it being such an unpleasant experience.
Even if she found nothing wrong, she’d simply attribute it to her being unable to figure out what was wrong rather than assuming I was perfectly healthy. It wasn’t uncommon for even doctors to be unable to figure out what was wrong with someone after extensive testing when they didn’t have any hints on where to look.
The human body was very complicated, no doctor would truly believe they knew everything there was to know about it. If they did truly know everything, there would be no illness they couldn’t cure. At least for the time being, there definitely was no such miracle doctor who’d reached that stage.
Pomp and Circumstance, the classic graduation piece suddenly started to play as the ceremony began and the graduating class made their entry into the gymnasium in boy-girl pairs down the red carpet toward the stage. After they entered, they walked to the center of the gymnasium then made a perpendicular left turn down the aisle between the rows of chairs. I was positioned so I could see their side profiles when they turned.
The seats off to the sides of the center stage were quickly filled up. The left side with girls, the right with boys. The student council president, Zale, and vice president, Izora, were the last pair to enter the gymnasium. They didn’t move to the sides of the center stage like everyone else. Rather, they ascended the stairs up the stage and took up a position beside the podium.
There was another pair of students who’d already taken up a position on the opposite side of the podium before the graduating class began entering.
They were likely second-year students. In terms of students required to attend convocation but weren’t graduating, well, I could only imagine it would be the incoming student council president and vice president.
The ceremony proceeded as one normally would. The master of ceremonies led off by giving a few words before the choir sang the national anthem. The student council members on the stage stepped off the stage and took a seat on the side after the national anthem finished. The principal was next to give his speech and the valedictorian for the graduating class followed soon after.
From what I’d seen of graduations at this school, somehow the valedictorian always ended up being a girl. Even when I graduated that was the case. What’s with that?
Since I was bored listening to the idealistic bullshit coming out of everyone’s mouth, I pulled out my phone and searched the percentage of female valedictorians in high school. It turned out to be over 70%. Damn, isn’t that pretty skewed? Well, I guess people would rather watch a girl give a boring idealistic bullshit speech than a guy give a boring idealistic bullshit speech. People’s ‘feelings’ and whatnot.
Honestly, there wasn’t even the slightest interesting thing coming out of her mouth.
“Put your phone away or I’ll confiscate it until the end. It’s rude to have it out,” Ms. Gene scolded. Well, she was still a teacher after all.
“Maybe if the speeches weren’t such a bore I wouldn’t be on my phone. I feel like I’m going to fall asleep at this rate.”
Ms. Gene snatched my phone out of my hand and stuffed it in the pocket of her lab coat.
“Give it back. I’ll put it away.”
“That’s what they all say. You can have it back after the ceremony is over.”
“You’re actually bored too and wanted to talk to someone to pass the time, didn’t you?”
“If I’m bored, everyone should die of boredom with me. There shouldn’t be anyone permitted to have fun if I’m bored out of my mind. But since I’m a teacher, I have to act like a role model or something. The principal scolded me about it before this and said he’d cut the budget for my classes if I didn’t at least act a bit more like a role model for students.”
“Then the only reason you’re not on your phone right now is because your budget might get cut?”
“Obviously. I’d rather spend this time reading research papers if I could.”
“Reading research papers? You sound like you’d be a lot of fun at parties.”
“You’re saying you would be fun at parties?”
“... good point. I’ll shut up now.”
I silently stared at her hand currently inside her pocket. There was no way I could secretly retrieve it without her notice since she was holding onto it inside her pocket still.
“Haaaaah.” With a resigned sigh, I gave up on the idea and returned my attention to the ceremony.
The valedictorian had just finished her speech and the incoming and outgoing student council presidents and vice presidents took the stage.
“We, the student council president and vice president of the student body and representatives of the graduating class…” Zale started off his speech with that standard line. He went on about passing on the torch, some symbol representing knowledge, stupid bullshit in general, and about the emblem of our school.
Blah, blah, blah. It went in one ear and out the other. I yawned without thinking much about it but noticed Zale momentarily paused mid-sentence as his lips twitched. I wasn’t trying to provoke him here, I just genuinely couldn’t give a shit about any of that symbolic rubbish.
Man, why was convocation such a boring unmemorable event? Literally, nobody would ever remember a single line from one of these mundane lifeless speeches.
Why can’t there be a speech like the one Charlie Chaplin gave in the movie, The Great Dictator? Now that was a speech to remember. It was decades old dating back to the second world war, but even now, it’s forever ingrained as one of the most memorable speeches in my mind.
I'm sorry but I don't want to be an emperor.
That was the very first line in that speech, even now, I still remember that line vividly as he solemnly declared. I first came across that speech in my third-year English class when trying to write a speech of my own for a public speaking assignment.
Well, not like a speech like that would ever be given at some random high school convocation. Expecting a speech of that level to come from high school brats was an unreasonable demand.
But the third-year English teacher sure had it tough though. He’d gone to a world-renown university but ended up teaching high school English in this dead city. He didn’t write the speeches or anything, he was just responsible for giving some pointers and direction. In the end, the words in the speech and message conveyed were limited by the writer’s ability, not his.
I scanned through the audience to gauge everyone’s reactions to the student council president’s words when my eyes abruptly stopped on someone.
Who caught my attention? It was Jass. He was looking up at the stage, but when I traced his eyes back to the stage I noticed something. Unlike everyone else who had their gazes locked onto Zale, his eyes were focused on someone else.
When I looked at Izora on the stage, she’d already switched places with Zale behind the podium. With her eyes directed down at her own short speech on the podium, she took in a deep breath and opened her mouth to speak.
“This emblem and everything it signifies has now been placed into your care. May this torch carry your way through the future…”
When I looked back to Jass’s seat, he was… gone? My eyes darted around the room to find him. When I finally located him, he was in front of the center stage.
“... and may this emblem inspire you through every end-”
Endeavor was supposed to be the final word in her sentence, but it was cut short.
It happened before anyone could say or do anything. Nobody reacted or saw it coming. How could they expect it?
Someone stood on stage in front of the podium facing the speaker. His hand was above her head, raised up in the air. In it… hair. No, a wig. Beneath the blond wig that person had in his hand was... dyed blue hair.
“I knew it. I wasn’t wrong. My gamble paid off. It was you after all. I… finally found you.” I only made out what was said from the stage because the microphone just barely picked it up. Izora stood there frozen in place with eyes wide open in disbelief.
If I hadn’t been shocked enough by this sudden development, the absentminded lackluster response that came from my side next was more than enough to do the job.
“Ah. So my little sister got exposed at the very end, huh?”
The elder sister was you?! Damn it, sound more concerned if she’s your little sister!
Chapter 294. End of the First Year. (3/3)
I scanned the gymnasium and quickly realized we were the only two oddballs not dressed for the occasion. Well, I wasn’t about to wear a suit for this. They’re freaking expensive after all.
“By the way, Ms. Gene, about the samples you took bef-”
“Inconclusive. I haven’t figured out anything at all about whatever your illness is.” She snapped back and interrupted me before I could finish my question.
“I see.”
Well, I wasn’t actually ill after all. I’d have been more surprised if she had actually found something. I was only asking about it because of the whole devil thing. Was there anything genetically different about a devil? That was what I was really curious about and why I didn’t make much of a fuss about her taking some samples despite it being such an unpleasant experience.
Even if she found nothing wrong, she’d simply attribute it to her being unable to figure out what was wrong rather than assuming I was perfectly healthy. It wasn’t uncommon for even doctors to be unable to figure out what was wrong with someone after extensive testing when they didn’t have any hints on where to look.
The human body was very complicated, no doctor would truly believe they knew everything there was to know about it. If they did truly know everything, there would be no illness they couldn’t cure. At least for the time being, there definitely was no such miracle doctor who’d reached that stage.
Pomp and Circumstance, the classic graduation piece suddenly started to play as the ceremony began and the graduating class made their entry into the gymnasium in boy-girl pairs down the red carpet toward the stage. After they entered, they walked to the center of the gymnasium then made a perpendicular left turn down the aisle between the rows of chairs. I was positioned so I could see their side profiles when they turned.
The seats off to the sides of the center stage were quickly filled up. The left side with girls, the right with boys. The student council president, Zale, and vice president, Izora, were the last pair to enter the gymnasium. They didn’t move to the sides of the center stage like everyone else. Rather, they ascended the stairs up the stage and took up a position beside the podium.
There was another pair of students who’d already taken up a position on the opposite side of the podium before the graduating class began entering.
They were likely second-year students. In terms of students required to attend convocation but weren’t graduating, well, I could only imagine it would be the incoming student council president and vice president.
The ceremony proceeded as one normally would. The master of ceremonies led off by giving a few words before the choir sang the national anthem. The student council members on the stage stepped off the stage and took a seat on the side after the national anthem finished. The principal was next to give his speech and the valedictorian for the graduating class followed soon after.
From what I’d seen of graduations at this school, somehow the valedictorian always ended up being a girl. Even when I graduated that was the case. What’s with that?
Since I was bored listening to the idealistic bullshit coming out of everyone’s mouth, I pulled out my phone and searched the percentage of female valedictorians in high school. It turned out to be over 70%. Damn, isn’t that pretty skewed? Well, I guess people would rather watch a girl give a boring idealistic bullshit speech than a guy give a boring idealistic bullshit speech. People’s ‘feelings’ and whatnot.
Honestly, there wasn’t even the slightest interesting thing coming out of her mouth.
“Put your phone away or I’ll confiscate it until the end. It’s rude to have it out,” Ms. Gene scolded. Well, she was still a teacher after all.
“Maybe if the speeches weren’t such a bore I wouldn’t be on my phone. I feel like I’m going to fall asleep at this rate.”
Ms. Gene snatched my phone out of my hand and stuffed it in the pocket of her lab coat.
“Give it back. I’ll put it away.”
“That’s what they all say. You can have it back after the ceremony is over.”
“You’re actually bored too and wanted to talk to someone to pass the time, didn’t you?”
“If I’m bored, everyone should die of boredom with me. There shouldn’t be anyone permitted to have fun if I’m bored out of my mind. But since I’m a teacher, I have to act like a role model or something. The principal scolded me about it before this and said he’d cut the budget for my classes if I didn’t at least act a bit more like a role model for students.”
“Then the only reason you’re not on your phone right now is because your budget might get cut?”
“Obviously. I’d rather spend this time reading research papers if I could.”
“Reading research papers? You sound like you’d be a lot of fun at parties.”
“You’re saying you would be fun at parties?”
“... good point. I’ll shut up now.”
I silently stared at her hand currently inside her pocket. There was no way I could secretly retrieve it without her notice since she was holding onto it inside her pocket still.
“Haaaaah.” With a resigned sigh, I gave up on the idea and returned my attention to the ceremony.
The valedictorian had just finished her speech and the incoming and outgoing student council presidents and vice presidents took the stage.
“We, the student council president and vice president of the student body and representatives of the graduating class…” Zale started off his speech with that standard line. He went on about passing on the torch, some symbol representing knowledge, stupid bullshit in general, and about the emblem of our school.
Blah, blah, blah. It went in one ear and out the other. I yawned without thinking much about it but noticed Zale momentarily paused mid-sentence as his lips twitched. I wasn’t trying to provoke him here, I just genuinely couldn’t give a shit about any of that symbolic rubbish.
Man, why was convocation such a boring unmemorable event? Literally, nobody would ever remember a single line from one of these mundane lifeless speeches.
Why can’t there be a speech like the one Charlie Chaplin gave in the movie, The Great Dictator? Now that was a speech to remember. It was decades old dating back to the second world war, but even now, it’s forever ingrained as one of the most memorable speeches in my mind.
I'm sorry but I don't want to be an emperor.
That was the very first line in that speech, even now, I still remember that line vividly as he solemnly declared. I first came across that speech in my third-year English class when trying to write a speech of my own for a public speaking assignment.
Well, not like a speech like that would ever be given at some random high school convocation. Expecting a speech of that level to come from high school brats was an unreasonable demand.
But the third-year English teacher sure had it tough though. He’d gone to a world-renown university but ended up teaching high school English in this dead city. He didn’t write the speeches or anything, he was just responsible for giving some pointers and direction. In the end, the words in the speech and message conveyed were limited by the writer’s ability, not his.
I scanned through the audience to gauge everyone’s reactions to the student council president’s words when my eyes abruptly stopped on someone.
Who caught my attention? It was Jass. He was looking up at the stage, but when I traced his eyes back to the stage I noticed something. Unlike everyone else who had their gazes locked onto Zale, his eyes were focused on someone else.
When I looked at Izora on the stage, she’d already switched places with Zale behind the podium. With her eyes directed down at her own short speech on the podium, she took in a deep breath and opened her mouth to speak.
“This emblem and everything it signifies has now been placed into your care. May this torch carry your way through the future…”
When I looked back to Jass’s seat, he was… gone? My eyes darted around the room to find him. When I finally located him, he was in front of the center stage.
“... and may this emblem inspire you through every end-”
Endeavor was supposed to be the final word in her sentence, but it was cut short.
It happened before anyone could say or do anything. Nobody reacted or saw it coming. How could they expect it?
Someone stood on stage in front of the podium facing the speaker. His hand was above her head, raised up in the air. In it… hair. No, a wig. Beneath the blond wig that person had in his hand was... dyed blue hair.
“I knew it. I wasn’t wrong. My gamble paid off. It was you after all. I… finally found you.” I only made out what was said from the stage because the microphone just barely picked it up. Izora stood there frozen in place with eyes wide open in disbelief.
If I hadn’t been shocked enough by this sudden development, the absentminded lackluster response that came from my side next was more than enough to do the job.
“Ah. So my little sister got exposed at the very end, huh?”
The elder sister was you?! Damn it, sound more concerned if she’s your little sister!
