April 11
Hallways at Meadows View had been notorious for members of the senior class to find their way to the school’s indoor pool by seventh period. Seventh period had been designated the senior study hall, technically for the students to focus their attention on higher education perspectives, meetings with counselors, applications, and homework if nothing else. Oliver Cunningham wasn’t making any attempt to join the rest of his senior class at the pool. He’d been once or twice before when boredom struck; and could never understand why the dudes at the all-male school made it a huge urgency to jump in a pool with three more periods left in the school day. He actually was applying to schools; his position had given him some boost in ambition that he didn’t had before.
Oliver had tried to follow his mother’s advice as trying to find a place in this school for himself. He had tried to play the role of the good active student. He was a member of the chess club his first year at Meadow View after his transfer from Lakeland High, the public school for his district. He didn’t go back his sophomore year since the kids in chess club were all socially awkwardly and entirely too smart to be taken seriously as potential friends.
So he tried his hand, rather his life, at rugby. They weren’t as popularized as the elite football team and all they really wanted and needed was bodies to keep the activity active. Tryouts were a breeze since running back and forth up and down the field was the only actual requirement. He referred the entire experience as God’s little joke, but his mother had been too excited at the news. So he had endured the rough practices for a few months to put a smile on her face. The first few games he played here and there, only getting ownership of the ball for a maximum of a few moments each game. Until he was tackled by a mammoth when the team played Acworth. Injured and out for two weeks from school, Oliver had been given a warrior’s treatment from his teachers, he was shocked, and figured it was the life a jock, not of his own.
Thankfully his mother forbid him from playing ever again the woman almost had a stroke when she saw the mammoth plus three other larger scaled dudes jump on top of her hundred forty-pound son. Oliver had no intention of returning to practice anyway. His junior year had been more pleasant, he had acknowledged that he was socially obstinate and utterly oblivious to the other males in his school, yet he had successfully intercepted his way into student government. He had attended one meeting about his former high school Lakeland’s proposal to do a joint venture in the arts program and by the end of the winter he had firmly established himself as a prime contributor in the meetings. Oliver had a brain and a sense for politics. He achieved to galvanize the school to participate in a junior class trip; not extensive or expansive as the senior trip but every junior had him to thank for the little camping trip with Lakeland’s junior class. There were girls, so for any Meadow View junior classmen it was a nothing short of a miracle.
Oliver technically didn’t even run for senior class president, he didn’t have the chops for actually running for anything, let alone speaking to people in public at the level he had now been propelled to. Oliver had been elected, which meant his class chose him to represent them. He didn’t know how to feel about it but he couldn’t escape being proud of the moment. He never desired to be popular, maybe because he felt as though the popular kids at Meadow View were all rich, and charming, and attractive, and had something going for them that Oliver just didn’t. Oliver came to Meadow View from a hookup his mother had managed through one of her friends at her job. Oliver’s mother was a single mother with two kids that made her best to do right by her kids. Oliver and his younger sister Octavia was his mother Olivia’s pride and joy. Oliver’s father had been a sergeant in the army and had been killed during a deployment when he was about six years old. His mother was still pregnant at the time and after that his mother had decided to get their family away from the military post and military lifestyle.
Oliver and his mother had a solid relationship and at times she felt like his very best friend in the world. She was a nurse and worked unbelievable hours at the hospital.
Oliver’s phone had vibrated,
Debs: What’s going on?
Oliver texted back his longtime friend Debbie pausing from his extra circular activity.
Shit, what y’all got goin on tonight?
Debs: Thinking about doing this poetry slam thing in Mr. Davison’s class tonight after school. I have one to spit.
“Aye, Mr. Prez,” spat Clifford Neil, one of the football team goofballs as he entered into the library and took a seat adjacent to Oliver. Any other year Oliver would have just ignored the tall muscular joke but this year he had a sense of obligation to make nice-nice and be seemingly happy go lucky all the time due to the fact that he was technically leader of the senior class and by right and high school law the representative of his entire class.
“You’re doing homework Clifford?” Oliver asked.
“Hell to the naw, dude I’m about to see if anyone hit me up for a summer job, my folks trying to cut me off this summer.”
“Well good luck man.”
“Thanks Prez.”
That sounds cool, I’ll meet up with you there, Jess coming too? Oliver texted back.
Debs: She supposed, goodie I’m excited now. Get you some of this public school experience Olly. Plus we can go to Waffle House after.
That sounds good. I just have like two meetings and then I’ll be there. Try to go last.
Debs: Mr. Busy Body, I’m trying to tell you. Oh I was going to go last anyway, I be nervous.
No need, you’re the next Maya Angelo.
Debs: Oh you tried it.