63horses
03-11-2013, 09:35 PM
Here's a short piece I wrote recently, would appreciate any feedback.
He had finally done it, Michael thought with great satisfaction. He was to be President. The realization flooded over him yet again, as it had so many times over the last few hours. Though the knowledge was not new, it filled him with the same uplifting exuberance as it had when he had first heard the preliminary results. Here he was, his ultimate ambition finally achieved—how few people were so fortunate, he thought.
“You’re up in fifteen minutes Mike” said Kyle, jolting Michael out of his reverie as he hurried past. Michael smiled as he watched his campaign manager zigzag through the backstage throng, giving orders and providing direction to the seeming chaos around him without breaking stride. Kyle was not only his best friend, but also had done an excellent job running the campaign. He had the rare ability to keep track of minute details while remaining firmly in command of the big-picture situation, and was adeptly demonstrating his skill at that very moment. The outcome of the election was testament to the quality of Kyle’s handiwork. Had it not been for his best friend, Michael knew, he would now be preparing to give his concession speech.
It was during seventh grade, in Ms. Sylvia’s United States history classroom, when Michael first formed his presidential ambitions. He had been a socially awkward and inquisitive child, preferring to read ahead in his textbooks during his free time at school rather than face the daunting prospect of conversing or playing cards with his classmates. Ms. Sylvia, his history teacher, never failed to provide encouragement for his wide range of academic interests and always seemed to have a ready answer for his myriad of questions, which included everything from the technicalities of how airplane wings create lift to why the English had emerged victorious at Agincourt.
“So who’s allowed to be president?” he had asked her one afternoon after the other students had left for the day.
“Well it depends what you want to be president of” she replied with a laugh “anyone could be president of a company or charity for instance, but to be president of the United States you have to be a U.S. citizen and over age thirty-five.”
“Thirty-five? But that’s ancient!” Michael blurted out irreverently “I can’t wait that long!”
“It’ll come faster than you think, believe me” his teacher had replied with a smile.
Michael’s ambition stuck with him into his high school years as well, although for some time his appearance had been anything but presidential. Even now that he had filled out and the acne had cleared, Michael would still shudder at the memory of his former self on occasion. On the social side of things, however, Michael had made rapid progress. It was sophomore year when he first met Kyle Fredricks. Even to this day, years after the fact, Michael could still recall quite vividly how they had met. It was at tryouts for the high school volleyball team and they had been standing against the wall together in silence as the other boys warmed up while waiting for the coach to arrive. Michael, sensing that the other kid felt just as out of place as he did, had finally mustered up the courage to introduce himself and they had quickly discovered common ground in the fact that they both just wanted to be on the team to fit in.
Over the next few years Michael and Kyle became nearly inseparable. They took most of the same classes and would go over to one another’s houses after school to play video games and trading cards. One by one, other social outcasts-- although neither of the boys ever used that term--were added to the group, and by the end of junior year a tight-knit band of eight had formed. Michael smiled as he recalled the name they had chosen for themselves: “The Squad”. It seemed kind of childish to him now, but at the time it had been the coolest thing in the world. Being part of the squad, and one of its leaders no less, had finally given Michael some of the self-confidence he had been sorely lacking.
Michael’s trip down memory lane was abruptly ended by the placement of a gentle hand upon his shoulder. He turned around to see the beaming face of Megan Appleton, a new assistant whom Kyle had introduced to him last week. He had argued that it was too late in the campaign for a new assistant, but since he could see that Kyle—still a single man—was obviously taken with the girl, he hadn’t put up much of a fight. Looking her over, Michael was left with no doubts as to the cause of his friend’s infatuation. Megan was thin, with an hourglass figure and long straight brown hair. She had a pretty face too, its only distracting feature being a rather large birthmark just below her left eye. Despite her obvious charms, however, Michael couldn’t help but feel a festering dislike for his new assistant, for as nice as she was to him how, he couldn’t shake the feeling that she wouldn’t have given his former self a second thought.
“You’re not planning to go out and give your speech looking like that, are you?” she chided playfully, taking a comb in hand and going to work on the front of Michael’s hair.
“What’s wrong with what I had?” he asked with a chuckle as she continued working.
“You need to look more presidential, here like this” she said, showing him a mirror. The front of Michael’s hair was now sticking nearly straight up, a look Michael thought could hardly be considered presidential.
“Well ok, thank you” he said careful not to betray his true feelings towards the impromptu makeover “why don’t you see if Kyle needs any help? He’s been running around here like a madman for the last hour and a half.”
“Okay” she replied, feigning dejection “but let me just fix that tie real quick first”. She took hold of Michael’s tie and began rearranging the knot, pulling the tie longer until it seemed ridiculous.
“There you go” she said proudly “much better now”.
“Okay then, thank you” replied Michael, eager to right his appearance once more. “Kyle needs you, you know, I saw him head over to the lighting section”
“Okay, okay” said, smiling at him “if that’s really where you want me”
Michael fidgeted uncomfortably for a moment as Megan turned and headed off towards the lighting section. He frowned as he looked in the mirror again and began fixing his tie for the sixth time that hour. Though Kyle fancied Megan, she didn’t seem like the type of girl for him, Michael thought. He made a mental note to talk to his friend about the matter soon. Now, however, was not the right time.
After fixing the tie, he pulled a folded piece of paper out of his jacket pocket and began to peruse the penciled lines casually. Michael could already recite his speech word-for-word from memory, and it was mostly to calm his nerves that he was now considering it again. He and Kyle had spent days on this speech, the most important of his political career by far, and he was proud of the result. Not only was Kyle an excellent campaign manager, but he also had a knack that Michael envied of succinctly putting into words complex ideations and plans. It was this familiarity and skill with language and rhetoric that had been of the utmost utility in writing his acceptance speech, and the end result was surely a much more refined product than Michael was capable of creating on his own.
“You’re not going out there looking like that are you?” Kyle said as he came up and pushed down the front of Michael’s hair, which was still as Megan had left it. “That’s better” he continued “you looked ridiculous before”
“Thanks buddy” Michael said with laugh and holding his tongue regarding the original source of his “presidential” hairstyle.
“No problem” said Kyle dismissively, his mind clearly on other matters “so I was thinking about the speech and I’m just not sure that…”
Michael cut him off quickly “It’s perfect, don’t worry about it anymore. Besides, it’s too late for that, listen.” The crowd had begun cheering more loudly as a voice boomed out over the loudspeaker.
“True” Kyle said with a smile “you’re up now. Just try to stay calm and don’t screw up. This is a big day for “The Squad”, you know” he joked.
“Yes it is” replied Michael “we’ve sure come a long way from that day in the gym all those years ago, haven’t we?”
“Well you have anyway, I’m not the one whose gonna be president”
“Hey, I couldn’t have done it without you and you know that” Michael clapped his friend on the shoulder “this is as much your accomplishment as it is mine.”
“I wouldn’t go that far” laughed Kyle, clearly grateful for his friend’s praise “now get out there, Megan is waving you on!”
Michael’s heart was racing as he stepped out onto the stage and saw the cheering crowd of his compatriots, both those who had voted for him and those who had not. Regardless of whether they had supported him, it was now his duty to lead them into the future. Michael was resolute that the future would be a brilliant one under his watch, as brilliant as this moment was for him.
As Michael walked across to the podium, the booming voice rang out once again from the speakers with his introduction:
“And now for a few remarks from Michael Kingsley, your newly elected Cedar Lakes High School senior class president!”
He had finally done it, Michael thought with great satisfaction. He was to be President. The realization flooded over him yet again, as it had so many times over the last few hours. Though the knowledge was not new, it filled him with the same uplifting exuberance as it had when he had first heard the preliminary results. Here he was, his ultimate ambition finally achieved—how few people were so fortunate, he thought.
“You’re up in fifteen minutes Mike” said Kyle, jolting Michael out of his reverie as he hurried past. Michael smiled as he watched his campaign manager zigzag through the backstage throng, giving orders and providing direction to the seeming chaos around him without breaking stride. Kyle was not only his best friend, but also had done an excellent job running the campaign. He had the rare ability to keep track of minute details while remaining firmly in command of the big-picture situation, and was adeptly demonstrating his skill at that very moment. The outcome of the election was testament to the quality of Kyle’s handiwork. Had it not been for his best friend, Michael knew, he would now be preparing to give his concession speech.
It was during seventh grade, in Ms. Sylvia’s United States history classroom, when Michael first formed his presidential ambitions. He had been a socially awkward and inquisitive child, preferring to read ahead in his textbooks during his free time at school rather than face the daunting prospect of conversing or playing cards with his classmates. Ms. Sylvia, his history teacher, never failed to provide encouragement for his wide range of academic interests and always seemed to have a ready answer for his myriad of questions, which included everything from the technicalities of how airplane wings create lift to why the English had emerged victorious at Agincourt.
“So who’s allowed to be president?” he had asked her one afternoon after the other students had left for the day.
“Well it depends what you want to be president of” she replied with a laugh “anyone could be president of a company or charity for instance, but to be president of the United States you have to be a U.S. citizen and over age thirty-five.”
“Thirty-five? But that’s ancient!” Michael blurted out irreverently “I can’t wait that long!”
“It’ll come faster than you think, believe me” his teacher had replied with a smile.
Michael’s ambition stuck with him into his high school years as well, although for some time his appearance had been anything but presidential. Even now that he had filled out and the acne had cleared, Michael would still shudder at the memory of his former self on occasion. On the social side of things, however, Michael had made rapid progress. It was sophomore year when he first met Kyle Fredricks. Even to this day, years after the fact, Michael could still recall quite vividly how they had met. It was at tryouts for the high school volleyball team and they had been standing against the wall together in silence as the other boys warmed up while waiting for the coach to arrive. Michael, sensing that the other kid felt just as out of place as he did, had finally mustered up the courage to introduce himself and they had quickly discovered common ground in the fact that they both just wanted to be on the team to fit in.
Over the next few years Michael and Kyle became nearly inseparable. They took most of the same classes and would go over to one another’s houses after school to play video games and trading cards. One by one, other social outcasts-- although neither of the boys ever used that term--were added to the group, and by the end of junior year a tight-knit band of eight had formed. Michael smiled as he recalled the name they had chosen for themselves: “The Squad”. It seemed kind of childish to him now, but at the time it had been the coolest thing in the world. Being part of the squad, and one of its leaders no less, had finally given Michael some of the self-confidence he had been sorely lacking.
Michael’s trip down memory lane was abruptly ended by the placement of a gentle hand upon his shoulder. He turned around to see the beaming face of Megan Appleton, a new assistant whom Kyle had introduced to him last week. He had argued that it was too late in the campaign for a new assistant, but since he could see that Kyle—still a single man—was obviously taken with the girl, he hadn’t put up much of a fight. Looking her over, Michael was left with no doubts as to the cause of his friend’s infatuation. Megan was thin, with an hourglass figure and long straight brown hair. She had a pretty face too, its only distracting feature being a rather large birthmark just below her left eye. Despite her obvious charms, however, Michael couldn’t help but feel a festering dislike for his new assistant, for as nice as she was to him how, he couldn’t shake the feeling that she wouldn’t have given his former self a second thought.
“You’re not planning to go out and give your speech looking like that, are you?” she chided playfully, taking a comb in hand and going to work on the front of Michael’s hair.
“What’s wrong with what I had?” he asked with a chuckle as she continued working.
“You need to look more presidential, here like this” she said, showing him a mirror. The front of Michael’s hair was now sticking nearly straight up, a look Michael thought could hardly be considered presidential.
“Well ok, thank you” he said careful not to betray his true feelings towards the impromptu makeover “why don’t you see if Kyle needs any help? He’s been running around here like a madman for the last hour and a half.”
“Okay” she replied, feigning dejection “but let me just fix that tie real quick first”. She took hold of Michael’s tie and began rearranging the knot, pulling the tie longer until it seemed ridiculous.
“There you go” she said proudly “much better now”.
“Okay then, thank you” replied Michael, eager to right his appearance once more. “Kyle needs you, you know, I saw him head over to the lighting section”
“Okay, okay” said, smiling at him “if that’s really where you want me”
Michael fidgeted uncomfortably for a moment as Megan turned and headed off towards the lighting section. He frowned as he looked in the mirror again and began fixing his tie for the sixth time that hour. Though Kyle fancied Megan, she didn’t seem like the type of girl for him, Michael thought. He made a mental note to talk to his friend about the matter soon. Now, however, was not the right time.
After fixing the tie, he pulled a folded piece of paper out of his jacket pocket and began to peruse the penciled lines casually. Michael could already recite his speech word-for-word from memory, and it was mostly to calm his nerves that he was now considering it again. He and Kyle had spent days on this speech, the most important of his political career by far, and he was proud of the result. Not only was Kyle an excellent campaign manager, but he also had a knack that Michael envied of succinctly putting into words complex ideations and plans. It was this familiarity and skill with language and rhetoric that had been of the utmost utility in writing his acceptance speech, and the end result was surely a much more refined product than Michael was capable of creating on his own.
“You’re not going out there looking like that are you?” Kyle said as he came up and pushed down the front of Michael’s hair, which was still as Megan had left it. “That’s better” he continued “you looked ridiculous before”
“Thanks buddy” Michael said with laugh and holding his tongue regarding the original source of his “presidential” hairstyle.
“No problem” said Kyle dismissively, his mind clearly on other matters “so I was thinking about the speech and I’m just not sure that…”
Michael cut him off quickly “It’s perfect, don’t worry about it anymore. Besides, it’s too late for that, listen.” The crowd had begun cheering more loudly as a voice boomed out over the loudspeaker.
“True” Kyle said with a smile “you’re up now. Just try to stay calm and don’t screw up. This is a big day for “The Squad”, you know” he joked.
“Yes it is” replied Michael “we’ve sure come a long way from that day in the gym all those years ago, haven’t we?”
“Well you have anyway, I’m not the one whose gonna be president”
“Hey, I couldn’t have done it without you and you know that” Michael clapped his friend on the shoulder “this is as much your accomplishment as it is mine.”
“I wouldn’t go that far” laughed Kyle, clearly grateful for his friend’s praise “now get out there, Megan is waving you on!”
Michael’s heart was racing as he stepped out onto the stage and saw the cheering crowd of his compatriots, both those who had voted for him and those who had not. Regardless of whether they had supported him, it was now his duty to lead them into the future. Michael was resolute that the future would be a brilliant one under his watch, as brilliant as this moment was for him.
As Michael walked across to the podium, the booming voice rang out once again from the speakers with his introduction:
“And now for a few remarks from Michael Kingsley, your newly elected Cedar Lakes High School senior class president!”