Pomp And Circumstance [COMPLETE]

Chapter Sixteen

Gina Wickham couldn't have timed her break-in, and subsequent destruction, of the Bingley summer house better. Meriton Charter's prom was in a week. Finals began the following Monday. All classes were doubling down on review as those dreaded tests approached. And so Darcy didn't have to pay much attention the next day at school. Which helped, because she was barely conscious, to begin with.

Darcy hadn't been aware of laying down in her own bed the night before but she had been keenly aware of her alarm going off five minutes later. She let Charlie drive to school and she spent her classes trying to keep her eyes open. Or at least, make it seem like her eyes were open.

Darcy didn't need to review. Everything her classmates were reviewing Darcy had already reviewed and reviewed again during her long hours of free period.

Darcy only really became aware of the world around her when an office aide interrupted her economics class twenty minutes before the bell was due to ring for lunch and summoned Darcy to the office. Slip in hand, avoiding her economics teacher's death glare, Darcy grabbed her things and headed for the office.

The hallways were empty, her shoes echoing off the cool tile floors underfoot. And then suddenly, there was the sound of someone else was also making the trek to the office.

Eli and Darcy met at the glass doors leading into the office and Darcy entered first, Eli holding the door open for her.

Darcy paused in front of the wall of college slips, reading out every corner of the country Meriton's graduating class was headed. Her name wasn't going up there. And that thought made her smile.

Principal Longbourne was reading over a report and didn't bother to look up when he called out "Come in" to Eli's tentative knock on his door.

He greeted them with a "Miss Williams, Mr. Bennett, take a seat" while still perusing whatever fascinating information his paper in hand held. Eli and Darcy shared a glance after they had been sitting for a long drawn-out moment of silence. Longbourne cleared his throat and then finally set the papers aside.

"Thank you for coming. Let's make this short, shall we? No fighting words this time, if that's alright with you, Mr. Bennett."

Eli didn't respond and so forced Principal Longbourne to get to the point.

"I wanted to give the two of you an update on the status of your salutatorian positions. The two of you are still neck and neck and it seems it comes down to your term papers due in Miss Austin's literature class that will decide who will take the spot. Miss Austin has made it very clear-"

"I would like to remove my name from consideration for the position, Principal. If you don't mind."

Longbourne's small beady eyes stared at her from behind his even smaller round glasses. Darcy's declaration had stunned him into silence. She could even feel that Eli had temporarily stopped breathing.

"You wish to remove, your name...." Principal Longbourne tested each word as they came out.

"From consideration," Darcy finished for him.

"But, I, you, I don't... I don't understand. You have earned the right just as much as Mr. Bennett. Your grades as excellent."

"Thank you, sir. But Eli was right. The position is not mine to have."

"Miss Williams, is this some kind of joke?"

Longbourne was turning slightly red in the face. Darcy shook her head but it did nothing to help Longbourne's confusion.

"Colleges care about this kind of-"

"What colleges think about the salutatorianship has no effect on me. But it does for Eli. Besides, he's been here longer. He's grown up with these students. This is his community. I've merely had the pleasure of being a small part of it for a very short period of time."