......"Julia?"

Before I can answer a chaos breaks into the class.

"Julia Archer and speech can't be used in the same sentence. "

"I don't think Principal Ethans will allow a strip-tease show!"

"We need a speaker not a cheerleader."

"She can't speak a single sentence without swearing, she will burn our innocent ears!"

These are few of the shouts that I can hear amongst various other shouts of protest. But this is not sure what has me fuming, it is the last shout that irritates me the most.

"If she participates then she will seduce or bribe the judge into letting her win."

"Silence!"

Miss Locke growls.

Ignoring all of them I answer, "Count me in, Miss Locke."

A collective gasp arises from the class, but Miss Locke ignores them and grins at me. I smirk back and sit down.

Immediately a voice calls out, "Mam I wish to back out, I can't imagine myself competing with someone like her, I feel insulted!" All our heads whip to Charlotte's direction. I grit my teeth and bunch my palms in to fists. Standing up I growl, "What do you mean by 'someone like her' I think you have forgotten whom you are talking about. Julia Archer doesn't take insults kindly." She ignores me and continues to stare at Miss Locke. "Answer me Gray!" " I don't think I am bound to!" She replies glaring at me.

"Silence!"

Miss Locke's voice booms.

A hush falls, on the class and the murmuring that rose due to our banter stops abruptly. We all stare at Miss Locke.

"Out of my class. NOW."

I scrunch my eyebrows in confusion. She continues, "You both seem to have misinterpreted my teaching. I think I am incapable as a teacher, right? That is the reason why students feel free to bicker in my class? Why are you silent? Answer me, say yes! All of you are very daring. Especially Miss Gray and Miss Archer. I really did not realize my using your first names would be this disastrous that students stop considering me a teacher!"

Silence.

Pin-drop silence.

We all love Miss Locke too much to hurt her. Silently I leave my desk and start to exit my class. Charlotte begins,"But Mam....." "Shut up and leave. This time no joking no giving lessons. Just get out. If you do not leave I will resign!"

This time every one holds back their gasp and begin silently begging to Charlotte to leave. She sighs and packs her things up. "Drake! Tabitha! Take Julia and Charlotte and stay with them till the competition begins and make sure they do not get access to any source of information. They have a lot to say, let the speech competition be their chance!" "Mam, this is unfair! You cannot do this. You are being a hippocrate!" "Mind your tongue, Miss Gray. You really have the audacity to say that? You are the one who started a banter. I already ignored you when you decided to attack Miss Archer. So now.... Leave!"

No movement. Not an inch.

They stare each other down and Charlotte finally succumbs. All four of us, Charlotte, Drake , Tabitha and Me leave the class.

"You can speak on any topic just be within the time limit!" Miss Locke calls out.

Thud!

The door closes.

"Great! Now I have to be a guard. And all because of you girls!" Tabitha says angrily. Charlotte shrugs and I glare at Tabitha. "Think before you speak, Cook. Just because I wrote a poem and am competing in a speech competition doesn't mean I won't ruin your life!" I threaten. She nods and hides behind Drake who simply rolls his eyes. Not making eye contact with me.

As usual!

None of us say a word for some time. The period will end in the next 5 minutes.

Drake breaks the ice.

"Don't let my sister down, Julia."
I nod.

"Seriously Drake? Her? You are going to support her? You do realize why I complained about Emily, right?"

Drake glares at her and replies, "I don't care why! Francis can very well handle himself! They have grown up together!"
Charlotte bunches her fists and replies, "So that gives her the right to nearly kill him?"
Drake growls,"She didn't kill him. She wouldn't harm him ever, not unnecessarily!"
"Oh so that was necessary?"

"Please don't fight here! Calm down, Drake please!" Tabitha says as she hugs Drake to calm him down. My hands bunch into a fist.

The audacity of that girl!

Why do you care?

I don't!

Why do I have a doubt?

Because, you are horrible! Shut up now!

Drake gently but firmly grasps the girls wrists and pries them off himself.

Tabitha blushes bright red.

I see red.

Drake replies, "I don't need hugs to calm down. I do appreciate your effort but I will appreciate it better if you could maintain a respective distance." That's Drake for you. He even rejects politely. He is kind towards every one.

Except you.

True, except me.

"I don't understand why did you butt into our conversation, Gray?" I ask calmly. She doesn't reply and stares at Drake, silently pleading him to understand her plight. Drake refuses to do so by turning his head away.

Tring! Trinnggg! Triinnngggg!Trriiinnnnggggg!

The bell goes off loudly signaling the end of the period and start of our lunch hour.

"Attention students and teachers. The 'RiverDale's Orator' competition will start in five minutes. Participants are expected to gather in the auditorium. Thank you."

Gggrrroowwwllll.

I try to locate the sound and find Charlotte blushing, "Sorry, I am just a little hungry!" Tabitha bursts into laughter. I snicker. Drake doesn't react. He coldly says,"To the auditorium, I believe."

We follow him.

We, the participants, all line up. There are about 15 participants. The teachers volunteering line us up alphabetically, Z-A. I am right in the middle. Charlotte is three people after me. We all rearrange ourselves as per our own wish.

The competition begins. I try to think about what to say.

Participants present their speeches one by one.

Edwin Montgomery.

Aurea Davidson.

Tia Sharma.

Henry Oswald.

Sabrina Onus.

Tobias Alders.

Simon Gregger.

Me.

Erica Hudson.

Arianna Mason

Lillian George.

Charlotte Gray.

Ferany Jacobs.

Rudy Panther.

Alysia Ethers.

The ones before me are from 'SpringFire High', Firecity. Firecity is Riverdale's neighboring city.

Tia Sharma, Tobias Alders and Sabrina Onus are the feared trio when it comes to oration competition.

I guess that is why I see so less participants when practically half the class of Miss Locke participated earlier.

One by one all present their speeches. I tune most of them out except for Tia. She gives a speech on stereotypes. Especially the Asian stereotypes and Indian stereotypes. She keeps to regional stereotyping.

Sabrina makes some fantastic speech on patriotism.

Tobias speaks about Poverty in the underdeveloped countries.

Simon speaks about Art.

Shit! Did I say Simon? As in Simon Gregger? Oh, no that means........

"And this is why I love Art."

"Let's give Simon a thunderous applause. And now next comes Julia Tentatrice A. Archer."

Urgh! Now I have to speak.

I get up on the stage.

Students start whistling.

"Strip-tease!"

"Our innocent eyes!"

"Leave the stage!"

"Yes, leave."

"Leave. Leave. Leave. Leave."

"Strip. Strip. Strip. Strip."

"Strip. Leave. Strip. Leave. Strip..."

"Shut up. Let her speak!" A loud female voice growls. I recognize it at Tia's. She winks at me and gives a thumbs up. I raise my eyebrow and scowl. She sighs and rolls her eyes.

The students begin chanting the same thing again and again.

"Strip. Leave. Strip. Leave. Strip..."

"Enough! Who said I can't deliver a speech?" I growl angrily and stomp on the floor. The floor shakes and a loud thunder resonates outside.

Julia! Keep your calm! What are you doing?

I am trying, but these students are so infuriating....

Everyone shuts up, apparently scared of my outburst.

"So today I am here to talk to you about highschool and its stereotypes. Yes, you heard me right I am here to talk to you not present a speech or my opinion. No, I won't contradict our friend Tia over there. I will speak about personal stereotypes and not regional ones. We all know how school-pass-outs say that school days were the best days of their life. Well this school days can be divided into three phases - Elementary, Middle and High school....."

"Thanks for telling us something we already know."

"Welcome Austin. Now please am I allowed to continue?"
I ask raising my foot. He looks at me skeptically.

With a smile plastered on I continue, "So as I was saying. School can be divided into three phases out of which High School is the most exciting. This is the time when we feel a gamut of emotions. Love, pain, friendship, betrayal, hatred, heartbreak, etc. I am not saying we don't face these before or after High school, its just that it hurts the most during that time. This is the time when we face a lot of expectations too. Expectations from our parents, our friends, our partners, from life. Also others expect us to be more serious and responsible. But there is one expectation that we never realize we have towards each other, expectations that the others follow a stereotype and expectations from others that we follow a stereotype. Stereotypes have different categories, I am here to talk a about personal stereotypes. Okay so let's start with the most common stereotype story. The Bad boy loves the Good Girl story.
Let's meet the good girl, she is supposed to hate parties, be a loner or have only one friend, get straight A's in everything, have a thorough understanding of sports, be polite and yet sarcastic and a tad bit sassy. Also she should be understanding towards all, but the bad boy and his who.....ummm, bad girl. She should stay away from boys who aren't her brother or her gay best friend. Then the bad boy. He is supposed to be the most handsome,very rich or very intelligent, at times even both. He should be mostly aloof save for his best friends and the ones he has fun with. Not to forget the Good girl. Other than his various female friends, he is supposed to have one special who...bad girl. To him she isn't special, but to her he is. He is supposed to chase the good girl while the bad girl tries to drive her away. And as we all know, Good defeats the bad. Then comes the bad girl. This is the most hated character of every story. What most don't realize is that she is expected to do what she does. She is expected to wear very small clothes, to bully others, to fail in all the classes or at least most of the classes, to hurt the good girl, to love the bad boy..."

A lump of emotion forms near my throat I swallow it.

My eyes involuntarily dart towards Francis.

Our eyes connect.

He grits his teeth and immediately leaves. I mentally shake my head to try to swallow the concern and pain on seeing him all-bandaged up, and continue.

"....to be the head cheerleader, to be dumb, to be blond, to be troubled. She is expected to do all this. She is also expected to backstab her near ones, her friends, her best friend also her sister..... And do you know what is the worst thing? They are considered to be fake. Their physical attributes, their voice, their smiles, their te..tears! And they are! They are fake!...."

A tear rolls down my eyes.

I rub it off angrily.
".......Because like the others she lives up to the expectations. She is fake like a porcelain doll. She does all she is expected to. Even backstabs her sister, as expected!"

Hush. Haunted silence!

All eyes at me.

All ears for me.

I smile a watery smile as the first drop falls on the stage.

Tup.

I take in a deep breath.

"....No those expectations cannot be used as an excuse but they definitely are the reason they do so. I know many of you will be thinking I am trying to justify myself but I am not. I am not talking about any particular person, but in general. The most disappointing thing is not all have weirdos to support them. Not all have friends. Some loose themselves completely as their only thing that keeps them going, their heart and strength, shatters. They leave the world. They leave those who only fake cries and sympathy at their funerals. And those that one day stereotyped her as the bad girl, as the fake one themselves plaster fake smiles."

I end as another drop falls from my eye.

Tup!

"Thank you. I don't think I can speak anymore can I please leave , Principal Ethans?"

He nods and I saunter away to girls washroom and break down once I reach it.

The dam breaks.

I try to hold them back but a familiar face disturbs my concentration. That face keeps coming to my mind even after me trying to not see it.

Then.

Get up, you are an Aigle. Aigles don't cry.

My conscience?

Suddenly another familiar face invades my memory.

Blond hair. Hazel eyes. Bright smile. Emily.

You are a lioness let no one else make you feel otherwise.

I am a lioness by strength, and am also an Aigle.

Julia Tentratice Aigle Archer never cries.

************************************

Hey buttercups, another chapter is up, finally! I am sorry for the delay but balancing school and the story is kinda tough. But no worries I will not abandon this story. Please answer at least one question (better if you can answer all,😊)

1- Amongst all the characters introduced till now, who do you think are important?

2- Do you want Miss Locke to resign?See her pic in previous chap.

3- How was Julia's speech?

4-Do you know who were the characters Julia was talking about?😂

5-Who do you think won the competition after Julia ran away?

Until next time,

Comment. Vote. Share.

💞💋💞 Reina!