September 4th. Monday, 2:08 PM.
All the students were in the hall for the second time today. Everyone was confused. They didn't know why they were being called upon.
Was this normal?
More than half the students were still in their uniforms as they didn't have time to change, while others who found time wore their own clothing. Conversations were flying around, each student questioning each other on what this assembly could be about. From a bird's eye view, it was a sea of navy blue from the uniforms and spots of different colours from the students not wearing the uniform. However, one person was sticking out like a sore thumb.
"I told you, you dressed up too nicely. There's no point". Benjamin said.
Lucas slumped slightly on his chair to decrease his height and attract less attention.
"I didn't know we were going to have another assembly", he said, slowly turning his head around like an owl. "And why is everyone still in their uniforms?"
"This is what you wanted, no? People looking at you. You're getting attention from girls", David mocked, resting his hand on Lucas's shoulder and shaking it.
"No. Everyone probably thinks I'm a doucebag. I don't want this type of attention. They probably think I'm an idiot like Mally", Lucas replied.
Malakai looked over at Lucas, "Who said I got bad attention?" he asked.
"It doesn't matter what type of attention you got. Everyone still thinks you're an idiot", William said to Malakai.
Malakai turned to William and stared at him, thinking before he said anything, "Don't get me started on you", he said, pointing at him, smiling mischievously.
Ray was sitting to William's left, and to the left of Ray was Maria. So Ray was a little nervous as he wasn't sure if he should talk to her or get involved with his friends. He was on the end, so getting involved in their conversation was tough.
After everyone got the notification for the assembly, Malakai invited Tanisha and Maria to go with them, as it started in thirty minutes, and it seemed like the right thing to do. So, the eight of them went to the assembly together.
Ray was awkwardly sitting silently. He didn't want to feel lame, so after a few seconds of deciding, Ray worked up the courage to ask,
"What do you think the assembly will be about?".
Maria looked at Ray. After seeing his face, she smiled and replied,
"I'm not sure. Maybe they forgot to tell us something in the introduction".
Ray nervously laughed, "Y-Yeah, maybe", he said, struggling to meet her eyes.
Out of nowhere, Mr White made his appearance from the double doors at the back of the hall. He walked down the aisle and onto the stage. The noise levels began to dim as they saw him. A lot of them were observing Mr White to figure out what this assembly could be about, but it was impossible as his body language and expression seemed casual.
Mr White stood on the podium at the centre of the stage and waited for the room to become completely silent. The final bits of conversations finished up, and,
"Good afternoon, everyone!" he announced, causing all the students to pay attention.
"I know this may be weird as this assembly was not scheduled on your timetables, but I need to address a problem that has caused some students to become upset".
He scanned the students from left to right, looking for a certain face.
"Earlier today in the introductory lecture, a joke was said about an AK-47".
As soon as Mr White said this, all of Malakai's friends turned their heads to him. Malakai's eyes widened and his body froze. Out of all the things he thought this assembly would be about, this wasn't one of them.
"Fuck sake, man", he thought.
"Mally, you fucked up", Benjamin said in a low voice, who was sitting on his right.
"This joke caused some students to become distressed and upset as this is a serious matter. These students know people who fell victim to school shootings, and some students have even been in a school shooting". Mr White looked down momentarily to let that sink in for some students. "Obviously, this is no laughing matter, as it has caused past traumas to come back to some students and bring back a pain I bet no one here wants to feel".
More eyes started to land on Malakai from the left, right, behind, and the front. Some students turned around to look at him. That's how much attention he got. Malakai felt all of the eyes, but he didn't meet one. He kept looking at Mr White on stage, biting his tongue so he didn't crack a smile.
"Firstly, I need to apologise before anything else. Instead of condemning the action, I called it 'different', disregarding the gravity of the situation and how detrimental this could be for some students".
Mr White tilted his head down and raised his hand, "I apologise, and I'm truly sorry that I did not act as a professional and not react in a way that some of you may have wanted. I hope you can forgive me and accept my apology".
He lifted his head and paused to let the moment breathe.
"Now I want to call up the student who said this joke, and I want them to apologise to everyone here", he said, pointing down to the stage.
Everyone seated in Malakai's row, and the row ahead looked at him. Malakai faced down towards his feet and smiled—his defence mechanism, which could cause the wrong impression in this scenario.
"How is he smiling?" Tanisha mumbled in disgust, seeing Malakai's smiling side profile.
"He's smiling?" Maria thought silently, watching, trying to make sense of his smile.
"Malakai Junior! Can you please come to the stage?" Mr White firmly announced, looking straight at Malakai. He knew exactly where he was seated.
Malakai closed his eyes and hung his head low.
"This is gonna be long", he thought before standing up from his seat.
Malakai stood up from his seat and walked past his friends, not looking at any of their faces. He was now in the aisle. All eyes were on him for the second time today. Malakai felt a little deja vu.
Malakai walked up the aisle, looking down, not looking at any faces. His facial expression wasn't sad or embarrassed. It was just a straight face. That smile he had before helped him compose himself because now he could bite his tongue and keep a straight face. He walked up the steps towards the stage and lifted his head to look at Mr White, who looked disappointed. Mr White stepped away from the podium and gave Malakai space to stand.
Malakai gave a small smile and a little nod before standing on the podium. He faced the crowd for the first time. Everyone was looking at a 5'6 male in a grey tracksuit about to give an apology.
Was this really a prestigious academy?
He faced all the faces he avoided earlier, looking from right to left. He inhaled one more time and exhaled before,
"Uhhh. Hi, I'm Malakai Junior", he awkwardly said, trying his hardest not to smile. "Uuhh, first of all, I want to apologise for what I said earlier. Uhh, I'm realising now that it was insensitive of me to say that. I joke around and laugh all the time, I had no bad intention or intentionally cause a scene for a joke".
Malakai was talking slowly because he was running out of things to say. There were little pauses between words. In his head, he knew he had to waffle, which he is good at. However, he couldn't waffle for no reason. He had to waffle with reasoning. Malakai wasn't looking at any faces in particular. His eyes brushed around the room, not allowing them to stick to anyone. He was also trying his best to speak formally, which he wasn't the best at.
"Uuhh, I'm from the UK, so when it comes to jokes, anything goes. Taking the piss out of each other and everything is how we make everyone laugh, not normal jokes. Obviously, school shootings don't happen in the UK because of how strict they are with guns. Sooo, to us, school shootings are like a myth, like something you would see in a movie. It didn't feel real to me. I didn't realise how serious it was until now".
"BULLSHIT!"
Someone interrupted his apology. Malakai paused for a second and looked to the left, where the shout came from. He tried looking for the person who shouted, but it was impossible. Instead, he saw faces that didn't believe him. No one looked convinced.
"Shit, they look like they hate me".
Now, he knew he had to be sincere. He couldn't get away with this by making excuses and smiling, hoping people would forgive him.
Malakai looked down and scratched the back of his head.
"I know it might sound like an excuse, but I'm serious. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry", Malakai said, looking up. "I was ignorant and naive. It's a toxic trait of mine. I act like a kid most of the time and don't see the bigger picture sometimes. If what I said really affected and caused you pain, I'm sorry. You can hate me and say whatever you like to me. I don't mind", Malakai continued, looking back down and hiding his eyes.
Mr White watched on and gave a slight smile. He had already started to like Malakai. Students were whispering to each other, some forgiving while others did not believe him. His friends were surprised at how genuine his apology was, but they were smiling. They thought his apology would be half-hearted but saw a side they'd never seen from him.
"I've heard people have called me an idiot and other names. If you want to call me an idiot or whatever, that's fine, I understand", Malakai lifted his head.
"You don't have to forgive me if you don't want to, but I just want to let you all know. I'm sorry".
Silence. Everyone looked at each other, unsure of what to do.
CLAP! CLAP! CLAP!
David started clapping, and the rest of his friends quickly joined. Maria looked over and began to clap, leading Tanisha to join her. Soon after, most students applauded his apology speech. Whether or not they accepted it was unknown, but they applauded it nonetheless. Mr White put a hand on Malakai's shoulder. Malakai turned around and saw that Mr White wanted to talk. He got off the podium and let Mr White take centre stage.
"Thank you. I do hope you all eventually forgive Malakai", Mr White said. "Before I let you all go. The student president would like to speak with you. Give a round of applause for Johan".
Everyone applauded again as a tall boy with square glasses and jet-black hair slicked back entered. Behind him was a plain-looking girl with long black hair and square glasses. She waited on the side of the stage while Johan walked towards the centre.
Malakai was about to walk off the stage, but Mr White put his hand on his shoulder, signalling him to stay.
Johan was now on the podium with Malakai and Mr White standing to his right.
"Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to Astral Academy. I'm Johan, and I'm the student president. I wasn't here in the morning to see your introductory lecture, so I don't know what happened. But from what I have heard, it is not the standard that is expected at Astral Academy".
Students looked at each other. They expected to hear something positive, but they were getting scolded.
"At this Academy, a high standard needs to be maintained from day one. If you can't do that, you cannot succeed here and do not belong here".
Malakai glanced towards Mr White, who kept looking at Johan. Malakai didn't expect this type of speech. He thought this was going to be a little welcome speech. A wholesome speech about how the student president would support them. Not whatever this was.
"I know all of you aren't to blame for what happened. The genius behind me is. From what I've heard, you do not belong here", Johan arrogantly said without giving Malakai the respect to look at him.
"And from what I've heard from your apology, I don't think you were entirely sincere. Using the difference in culture to justify your actions. I don't think you're going to go very far. To all of you, let him be an example of what you don't want to be".
Johan turned around to look at Malakai, as he felt his eyes stabbing him. Malakai was looking at him with a look that said,
'Who do you think you are?'.
Johan felt his dislike and tension building. Seeing a face like that annoyed Johan,
"What's with that look? You've got something to say?".