Chapter 32
The school alarm rang at exactly 7.00 a.m. By 7.15 a.m., Lela had not heard any movement from Tom’s room so she rang through. The phone rang and rang, no answer.
“TOM, WAKE UP!!!” she shouted as she banged on his door. Five minutes later, a ghostly figure opened the door, mumbled unintelligibly and turned tail.
“Tom, it’s 7.20, jump in the shower and get dressed. I’ll be in my room getting ready, come and get me when you’re done.”
He somehow managed to find his way to the shower and after running the building dry, he emerged and got dressed.
After dinner, they had had a two-hour video conference with his mother and father and Saki. They had filled them in on everything with the exception of the Yuri saga as there was no need to worry them. They told them about Mr Sakamoto and Tom’s father could not think of a better appointment. His mother asked for a detailed description of all the other students and for a detailed account of the restaurant, its menus and whether they were eating properly. Saki asked whether they felt safe and whether there was anything they needed. Tom and Lela confirmed that they didn’t need anything and that everything was fabulous. They all agreed that the video conference was brilliant and that they should do it at least once a week. In fact, they would do it on the same night the following week and every Monday night thereafter. Donald was made to swear that he would attend the video conference, no matter what.
“Lela?” Tom knocked on her door.
“Yes, come in, the door’s open.”
“Wow,” said Tom. “That’s some outfit! Amazing!”
“Thanks! I saved it for our first proper day.”
“What did your dad think of it?”
“I’m not sure he’s seen this one,” she said with a cheeky grin.
Tom smiled, Saki had definitely not seen that outfit. If he had, it would not be on the island nor anywhere near Lela’s wardrobe.
“Now, I, as the male representative of our family, should ask you to change but seeing that it’s our first day and you look amazing, I’ll overlook it on this occasion.”
“That’s very kind of you, thank-you. You look pretty hmm interesting in an un-matching, un-ironed ensemble kind of way.”
“Thanks, it took me hours to choose this lot,” he replied proudly and very firmly tongue in cheek.
They made their way down to the foyer of their block where they met their friends who were waiting impatiently to go to breakfast.
At 7.50 a.m., the first bell sounded. The group of eight looked at each other. They were about to find out who was in whose class. As instructed, they made their way to the Year One hall, where they would be given their timetables. As they approached the building, a large group of students had congregated outside, waiting for the doors to open.
The doors opened automatically at 7.58 precisely and the students made their way inside. The hall could seat around 300 students and was laid out like a cinema with large comfortable chairs. Instead of drinks holders between the seats, there were retractable desks and a small control panel for, amongst other things, a translation device with headphones. The room was noisy with the excited chatter of over 200 new Year 1 students. Tom, Lela and their friends found eight seats together near the front and waited for whatever was about to happen.
“Welcome to The Academy,” boomed a cheery voice. Silence descended on the hall as an enormous screen came to life and a very cheery Mr Sakamoto sat behind his desk. The picture then broke down into seven boxes showing seven different halls, each filled with excited students. The screen then switched back to Mr Sakamoto.
“My name is Mr Sakamoto and I am the Headmaster of this prestigious new institution. It is an institution founded to ensure the security of the world and its economies. Every country in the world is represented by you. You will form friendships and relationships with students whom your ancestors would have regarded as enemies. You will learn and understand how you, personally, can contribute to and improve the world we live in. We believe that this institution, through its curriculum, will inspire you, as a collective, to resolve many of the world’s biggest issues, in a way that had never been thought possible. This won’t happen overnight but in generations to come and surely in your own lifetimes. Today will be looked back on as the day which changed the course of world history. And every one of you is the key to that.” All seven halls exploded into rapturous applause.
“Sounds exciting, impressive and very scary all in one,” whispered Tom to Lela.
As the applause died down, Mr Sakamoto continued.
“Thank you. Soon, I will hand you over to your Year Heads who will let you know the format of your classes and take you through your timetable. But firstly, I believe there are a number of rumours regarding the exclusion of students from the school yesterday. To clarify the situation, I can confirm that one student was excluded for bullying. Nobody was seriously injured and I want to make it clear that the school rule will always be enforced rigorously. It is brief and overarching. There are no loopholes nor get-out clauses. You must behave like ladies and gentlemen or you will be asked to leave. There will be no exceptions and no second chances. And finally I want to wish you all well in your studies and most importantly, hope that you enjoy your time here. My door is always open and should you wish to see me, please do not hesitate as that’s what I’m here for. Now I’m pleased to introduce you to your Year Heads. Good-bye for now.” The screen went blank.
Mr Sakamoto looked over at his Deputy, Mr Weadle.
“How was that?” he asked.
Unlike Mr Sakamoto, Weadle was a lifelong educator, having been the Headmaster of many prestigious schools in his time. In order to get to know each other better, they had spent the previous week together at an elite training centre in Nottingham, England, with a specialist headmaster trainer, Mr Johnson. It was obvious that Weadle did not agree with Mr Sakamoto’s appointment above him. However, Mr Johnson had put Weadle firmly in his place and had warned Mr Sakamoto that he was going to have to watch Weadle like a hawk.
“Yes, not bad,” replied Weadle.
From Weadle that was as good a compliment as Mr Sakamoto could have expected.
A very chirpy and excited man bounced up onto the stage and introduced himself to his audience.
“Bonjour, my name is Monsieur Becherand and I am the Head of Year One.”
“Bonjour,” came the automatic response from the audience.
“Merci and welcome to l’Academie. Firstly, I’m sure you’re all very keen to know which classes you’re in, so let’s get that out of the way. Could everyone please stand up and look at the ten blocks of seats in the hall. Above each block is a letter from A to J and they each designate a class. OK, if you look at the screen, you’ll see that there are about twenty names under each letter. Once you’ve found your name on a list, please make your way to the corresponding block.”
Chaos descended on the hall as students fought past each other to find their block. Tom and Lela held each other’s hands tightly as they looked for their names. This was the moment they had been dreading. They could not bear the thought of being separated. Donald had insisted that they remain in the same year. Tom was not allowed directly into Year 2 as he was only thirteen so the only option was to hold Lela back a year which all agreed was better than separation. However, no guarantees were given that they would be in the same class.
Tom found his name. He was in class 1H.
“I’m in 1H,” said Lela.
“So am I!” said Tom, hugely relieved.
“So am I!” came another six responses from around them.
“What! We’re all in the same class?” Tom said.
“Looks like it,” responded Ahmad.
Tom thought back to the meeting with Mr Sakamoto. He had been interested in who they had made friends with and had obviously made a few last minute changes.
