It’s funny ’cos I was just thinking today about that “Increase the Peace” campaign and thinking, y’know maybe it was a big waste of time and maybe Josh was right, folks did do it just to put something good on their uni application forms after all. Because it’s been five months now since we did our assembly and gave the speeches and showed the videos and made all the posters and leaflets and set up the drop-in center where young kids could talk to older kids about school problems, but it doesn’t feel like anything really changed at all.
Mayflower Academy still has a bad name in the news for after-school fighting and some kids are still carrying knives and everyone still gets excited chatting about the time the gunshot went off at Clinton Brunton-Fletcher. And kids are still getting their phones and wallets jacked by other kids on the bus home and forming little gangs and going to get their own back—and still announcing that their street is a no-go area to kids from just two streets away then hitting each other with baseball bats and bike chains if they trespass.
And Delano’s big brother Janelle and his mates were eventually arrested for another different shooting and put in juvie so, yes, that meant they couldn’t come to Mayflower anymore looking for Clinton… But all that did was make Delano in Year Ten feel more like a one hundred percent rudeboy ’cos his brother was like a fallen soldier locked up for defending his endz, blah blah blah blah blah BLAH.
I said all this today to Ms. Bracket when she called me into her office and she listened really carefully to it all and then she said, “Are you a bit down, Shiraz? You’re very negative.”
So I says, “Well, no, not negative, Ms. B, more realistic.”
And she looked at me and nodded and said, “Well, we all have our own truth, I suppose.” Then she thought for a bit and said, “Are you not enjoying studying?”
And I sighed and said, “Well, yeah, I’m enjoying it… but it’s not like I’m enjoying it so much that I want to keep on doing it for another four whole years.”
Ms. Bracket nodded slowly and said, “So what would you rather be doing?”
So I said, “Following my dreams and being free!”
Ms. Bracket said she understood about that and that’s why she went on a gap year to Israel and worked picking grapes on a kibbutz before she went to uni, ’cos she wanted to get stuff out of her system and experience life. I stared at her for a bit then, sitting behind her desk in her smart suit with tons of files on her desk and her phone ringing off the hook, trying to imagine her seventeen years old and completely free. I couldn’t.
“Anyway,” said Ms. Bracket. “I disagree with you about the ‘Increase the Peace’ campaign. I think you did some brilliant work. The Year Sevens and Year Eights gave us some amazing feedback. They totally engaged with your message.”
“Mmm,” I said.
“So that’s why I want you to step it up a gear,” she said.
“What do you mean?” I said.
“Well, we’re having the official opening of the new Sixth Form block in April and all the national TV news crews will be there as we’re having a VIP guest to unveil the plaque. So Mr. Bamblebury and I thought you and your ‘Increase the Peace’ team could put together a few hours of entertainment. Maybe use the new music room equipment? Speeches? A little play?”
“Who is the VIP guest?!” I said.
“Oh, no one to really worry about,” she said.
“Who?” I said.
“It’s His Royal Highness, Prince Charles,” she said.
“Crapping hell,” I said.
“Pardon?” she said.
“Nothing,” I said.