Reese
I make my way to my seat and flop down, before adjusting my posture. Father would not be forgiving if he saw me slouching in public. The auditorium continues to fill as the time for the ceremony to begin approaches. Eventually, Father joins me and my mood plummets farther.
“Try to at least look appreciative, son. Public opinion means more than you realize. We have a certain standard to uphold. I will not allow you to make me look bad. Do I make myself clear?” Father’s tone is icy, but his face remains frozen in his pleasant public figure mask. The duality never ceases to shock me.
“Yes sir,” I reply, lowering my eyes.
The ceremony begins, and I do my best not to let my boredom show.
It takes everything in me not to search the crowd for Evan.
The resulting punishment for my distraction would not be worth the two second glance of a cute boy that I can never have.
Mention of the scholarship pulls my attention back to the speaker on stage.
Chancellor Anderson waves an envelope with a flourish. “Now for the reason, you’ve all gathered here today. The winner of the Margaret Wells Scholarship is…” He fumbles with the envelope slightly before managing to get it open. “... Reese Kensington!”
Caught in my shock, I’m slow to respond.
My father’s elbow in my ribs gets me moving.
On my way up to the stage I catch sight of Evan.
The bright smile that was on his face is gone, replaced with growing storm clouds.
I have to break eye contact in order to climb the stairs up to the stage.
The Chancellor and I go through the necessary song and dance of handshakes and photographs before I can make my way off the stage.
On my way back to my seat I look for Evan, hoping that he’ll be able to read the apology in my eyes, but his seat is empty. Great.