We all were standing in the assembly line waiting for the results to be announced. We had just entered eleventh standard and this year we got to hold positions in the student council. I had applied for the sports captain position. I thought it was the easiest position requiring least amount of work and was still both prestigious and ambitious enough. I was still new to this school, didn't have many friends and was certainly not amongst the top performers of the class so, the chances of me not being selected for any of the positions were very strong. As the qualifying names started to roll in, I clapped loudly cheering for each one. The girl in front of me in the line turned back to me and said "stop clapping so loudly, not that you are going to make it anyway".
Next, all those who had qualified were invited for the final round; group interview with the principal. The principal had recently joined our school and had already earned quite a reputation. Soon after joining she fired (forced to leave) two of the senior most teachers, who were quite admired by the students and flunked several children who otherwise would have been passed onto the next standard. We all stood in a semi-circle facing her in her office; the atmosphere very tensed. I stood at one end of the semi circle and was often the last to get to answer the questions being asked.
The principal's questions were mostly revolving around leadership and then she threw at us the mother of all questions: "tell me one thing that you don't like in me". Faces turned pale, the smartest started stuttering, you could see a lot of twitching and turning. My best friend then had also made it to this round. Using the word "bitch" was the new fad at that time. When her turn came she got stuck at and kept repeating "Ma'am, I think you are a ... ". All of us held our breath and wondered if she would dare and say the word. She ended with "at times not a very nice person". It felt like it does after watching a two hour suspense movie, which gets us all on our nerves expecting a certain climax and in the end that climax never happens. Others responded with "I think you are a dictator" and some or the other faults.
I had been waiting for my turn eagerly as I knew the very moment I heard the question what I wanted to tell her. When my turn came I said "Ma'am, you don't smile enough". Suddenly the room was filled with an uproar of laughter. I remember that one of the teachers laughed so much that she had to wipe a tear off from her eye.
I was appointed as the vice captain of the entire student body.
Next, all those who had qualified were invited for the final round; group interview with the principal. The principal had recently joined our school and had already earned quite a reputation. Soon after joining she fired (forced to leave) two of the senior most teachers, who were quite admired by the students and flunked several children who otherwise would have been passed onto the next standard. We all stood in a semi-circle facing her in her office; the atmosphere very tensed. I stood at one end of the semi circle and was often the last to get to answer the questions being asked.
The principal's questions were mostly revolving around leadership and then she threw at us the mother of all questions: "tell me one thing that you don't like in me". Faces turned pale, the smartest started stuttering, you could see a lot of twitching and turning. My best friend then had also made it to this round. Using the word "bitch" was the new fad at that time. When her turn came she got stuck at and kept repeating "Ma'am, I think you are a ... ". All of us held our breath and wondered if she would dare and say the word. She ended with "at times not a very nice person". It felt like it does after watching a two hour suspense movie, which gets us all on our nerves expecting a certain climax and in the end that climax never happens. Others responded with "I think you are a dictator" and some or the other faults.
I had been waiting for my turn eagerly as I knew the very moment I heard the question what I wanted to tell her. When my turn came I said "Ma'am, you don't smile enough". Suddenly the room was filled with an uproar of laughter. I remember that one of the teachers laughed so much that she had to wipe a tear off from her eye.
I was appointed as the vice captain of the entire student body.
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