Semester Day in the Shoes of the Accomplished

There is no dream this time.
The alarm set for 05:55 greets the start of a new semester before I can even imagine the thought of doing so.
Just like any other day, I follow my routine perfectly.
Just like any other day, I leave my place at 08:00.

As I walk past the all-too-familiar scenery, a realization of grand scale becomes clear.
Just like last time, the day began with the rise of another cool and calm morning.
Just like last time, the streets remain empty.
Just like last time, a familiar black car passes by at a moderate speed, indicating it was stopped mere moments ago.
Just like last time-

    “It’s you again, isn’t it?”
    “Can’t even fool you once, can I?”

George Brillion approached me yet again, in the same spot, just like last time.
This is one same occurrence too many.
    “Why are we doing this again?”
    “This was just me entertaining a whim of mine. Pay it no mind”
    “Sure.”
I stopped and waited for him to catch up. He wore a business casual white shirt without a tie accompanied by an open blazer and straight trousers. At least his outfit changed. It would have been incredibly strange for him to wear the same suit from that day. Once he reached my side, I began to walk again.

A brief silence began to accompany our journey as we continued forward. While I was focusing on my ears feeling the light breeze blow by, they instead began to pick up George’s words.
    “Did you get the message from Amelia?”
This is a combination of words I did not expect George to voice.
    “What message?”
    “So you didn’t! That is not good, my dear John. You just lost the information war.”
He brought a hand to his face and nodded smugly, clearly disapproving of tutor Amelia’s occasional lack of information distribution. A quick glance through my phone's inbox did not list Amelia as a messenger. She really didn't message me.
    “Can you tell me what she sent?”
    “Why of course. She wants us to meet her in the business faculty room before the classes start for a quick debriefing.”
    “Right. Wait, us? And for what?”
    “Me, you, and Alice Bedwyn.”
Miss Bedwyn too? Why is she needed?

    “George, what is this meeting for?”
    “It’s about that letter we got from Amelia after our last semester ended.”
    “That letter? You say as if I know what letter you’re talking about.”
George stopped walking to strike a pose and shout out his response.
    “Haha! Guess you’ll find out at the meeting!”
All that exaggerated movement for such a simple statement.
   “So you won’t tell me.”
    “Not at all! That is your punishment for not paying attention!”
    “Some friend you are.”
    “Friend, you say? I thought we weren’t friends.”
    “You thought correctly.”
    “Harsh, Mister Smyth. Very harsh.”
    “That’s your punishment for not telling me.”

The streets remained empty on this clear morning as George and I continued our banter towards the university. A few cars passed by, which included one eye-catching red car that passed by us at the same speed as George's car. It had no roof, so I could get a clear view of the red dressed passengers eyeing us up. After the group staring session was finished, the driver looked back at the road, only to stop violently so as to not pass a red light. This was met with annoyance from the passengers, mild anger from a pedestrian crossing the road and slight laughter from George.
Other than this small event, the rest of the walk remained peaceful. We steadily made our way towards the business wing faculty office.

…

I sat amongst George and Miss Bedwyn at a meeting table. Across from me sat Amelia Finchely, Jacob Evans and Franklin Blake. At this moment in time, I do not know why the business tutor was sitting with the science and art tutors. It also doesn’t help that the purpose of this meeting has not yet been explained to me. Although, I have not yet asked, so this is partially a self created problem.
    “Thank you for coming, all of you.”
Amelia greeted us gently to ease us into the meeting. Jacob, wearing his signature lab coat over his green shirt, began to speak next.
     “We don’t want to take too long, so we’ll keep this brief. I assume you read the contents of the letter we handed you, correct?”
George and Miss Bedwyn nodded, so I copied their movement.
    “If you don’t have any objections, does this mean we have your cooperation with our plans?”
Again, the two nod along. As do I.
    “That’s great to hear.”
    “Welcome to The Changing Tide!”
Franklin jumped out of his chair as he exclaimed his sentence to us. 

The room stayed still for a few seconds as everyone processed the random burst of movement.

Amelia led the conversation again.
    “We’re almost done. Do any of you have suggestions about the matter? We’ll be sending it out to the board in the near future, so the sooner you let us know the better.”
Miss Bedwyn began to speak on behalf of us.
    “We don’t have any at this moment in time, Miss- I mean, Amelia.”
Incorrectly, might I add. What if we did have something to say? Well, we’d butt in. However, since Geroge is not saying anything, that means it’s all okay. That’s an odd detail, now that I thought of it. Why hasn’t he spoken yet? All he does is glance at Miss Bedwyn occasionally with a stare of death.
    “Well, you don’t need to come to us immediately. Sit on it for now and ideas will come to you.”
Franklin commented on the lack of feedback without any harsh judgement. The other tutors seemed to be fine with this outcome too.
    “Right. Thank you for your time. You may now go to class.”
    “Thank you.”
Just like that, the meeting is over. George left first, so I made my way out the door second.

Miss Bedwyn was the last one to leave the room. I could see that she was speaking with Amelia. Unfortunately, I could not decipher their words from this distance. Once the faint voices stopped, she spun around, noticed I was looking at her, and quickly walked into me.
    “John Smyth. I challenge you to another exam.”
I had to take a step back due to her sudden confrontation. However-
    “That’s good to hear, Miss Bedwyn.”
-I accepted it with grace.
    “You may now call me by my first name! Consider it an honor.”
    “Thank you, Alice. I humbly accept your challenge. Shall we meet up after class in the same room?”
    “We shall. I will see you then.”
Just like that, she walked off with echoing footsteps bouncing off the white polished floors and walls. George finished leaning on the wall and spoke to me.
    “She’s an eger one, isn’t she?”
    “She’s just like you, George.”
    “Haha, you’re funny John. I’m nothing like her.”
George turned towards the now faint sounds of footsteps coming from the direction Alice left.
    “Nothing like her.”

The day went by normally, filled with normal class activities. Nothing of note. Therefore, the sudden arrival of post-class activities was unsurprising.
As the two of us agreed earlier, we met in the same abandoned classroom. I was the first one there, so I chose to sit at a random desk, which just so happened to be the closest desk to the door. This silent moment would serve as a good opportunity to review today’s notes, if Alice did not rip the door open immediately after I sat down.
She entered the room with a noticeable rage spilling around her, slapped the exam papers onto my desk, sat near the windows and began aggressively scribbling away at her copy of the papers.

I assume that it means it’s showtime.

...

We both finished after an hour. Again.
There was a noticeable shift in Alice’s attitude during the exam. She finished the paper in forty minutes, but spent another twenty checking over her answers. My attitude changed too. This time I gave it my all. No risking a loss. The opponent she faced today was the real deal.
She looked over at me, noticed that I was sitting doing nothing, and stood up fiercely. The chair made a split-second deafening squeak, which for sure made a mark on the already worn-out flooring. Alice then matched with loud footsteps towards my desk, snatched my completed exam papers, and spoke.
    “Amelia wants to see you. Come. Now.”
She then stormed out of the classroom.
Without even giving me a second to process the moment, George poked his head past the door.
    “Hey!”
    “Hi.”
    “Alice is in a foul mood already? Just what did the two of you get up to in this secluded classroom?”
    “Another exam. She’s off to Amelia to get it corrected.”
    “I’d hope so. Will you follow her?”
    “I’d rather not, but I have been called by Amelia, so I don’t have much of a choice.”
    “Well then, I won’t keep you. Good luck!”
He then replaced his head with a hand, waved, and left. 

...

    “So, what do you want to be, John?”
Amelia immediately bombarded me with the question as soon as I entered the business faculty room for the second time today. Alice was nowhere to be seen. She must have only gave the papers to Amelia and left immediately.
    “What do you mean by that?”
    “The question is stupidly simple. Sit down.”
She patted the seat beside her. I followed to sit down as instructed.
Her choice of clothing for today looked taken from the simple wardrobe. A plain green t-shirt accompanied by blue denim trousers. It does not scream professionalism. She expects me to take this conversation seriously?

Yes. She does. Her expression leaves no room for debate.
    “I will repeat myself. What do you want to be, John?”
The air around us froze. She will not let me get out of this without answering.
    “Accomplished.”
She shot me a blank look.
  “You want to be accomplished?”
    “Yes. That is why I’m here.”
A large sigh left her as she leaned back.
    “John. Please. This is a serious matter and you’re not treating it as such.”
I know.
This isn’t a serious matter.

That’s why I’m tuning it out.