Takin Over the Asylum once more!

Chapter 12

It was a funny sight, watching the brightly dressed professor strut into the classroom with a boombox in hand as it blared out Don't you need somebody by RedOne. Kris felt a smile creep onto her face, tapping her feet in time with the music as he danced with the heavy boombox before setting it down on the desk, leaning against the same as he grinned at his spellbound students.
"What's with im? Is he goin loony again?" his eyes darted on hearing a student whisper to a classmate. "Maybe he's experiencin yet another manic episode!" the classmate retorted, eliciting chuckles from the rest of the class. "Actually, I'm as sane as I can be! Nope, no episode either! In fact, now starts a new episode in all yer lives. An episode that'll make ya appreciate how important, nay, how relevant radio truly is even when the world's goin cuckoo o'er everythin digital." Campbell announced, jumping up from his perch and startling the students further. For the first time ever, their eyes were glued to him. "What if we don't wanna learn to appreciate it? What if we think it's pointless an' there's no hope for it? Or for jockeyin as a career?" a smart aleck asked, mockingly. "Then, I'll be happy to prove to ya that yer wrong, mister. Cuz radio's ere to stay an' it shall not be moved! So, move o'er, mp3!" Campbell declared, howling at the top of his voice and forcing the students to cover their ears with only Kris howling along with him!
"My question to y'all is dontcha need somebody...to dance with...to boogie with...! Cuz honestly, I've been tryin to share my knowledge o' music an' radio with ya an' ya seem uninterested. So, what's up? Why're ya guys so against learnin bout radio jockeyin?" he demanded to know, sitting cross legged atop the desk and peering at his class. "Cuz it's irrelevant. Radio is irrelevant. Radio jockeys are relics o' the past now. It's been replaced, mate! Everyone's into streamin music now. Am I right?" another young man replied on everyone's behalf, sounding older than his years as he spoke rather arrogantly. "Yer right. I do know that everyone's into streamin an' choosin what to listen to nowadays. Skippin the borin ads too, eh? Who wants ads to interrupt ya, eh?" Campbell agreed with a shrug, just to demonstrate that the young student wasn't wrong in his opinion, but at the same time not entirely right either.
"But what bout that human aspect, eh? Ya got to request yer favorite song from a real live human behind a mike, not some digital bot or android or whatever! An' that's what I love bout the good ol fashioned radio station. There's that personal relationship with the radio jockey, ya know? I called in every time I felt down due to my illness an' I got to hear my own voice o'er the radio.I mean how bloody brilliant is that?! That was magic to me, mate! That geeky, Scottish voice requestin Ere comes the Sun by The Beatles...I won't ever forget it! Ya can't get that anywhere else. That's what inspired me in the first place. Ya get to meet an' listen to all these wonderful people callin in, to chat with em an' raise their spirits an' feel good bout it yerself, to make their day... I'm just tryin to keep that alive. Keep the person behind the mike, the person who yaps just for the sake o' it long after ya request for that song an' then plays it for ya once ya hang up, keep the person who does all that for a livin alive. I grew up with that person on the radio, yer folks did too before ya....That person's never gonna be silenced even when ya go digital. I'd like to keep the legacy alive, an' I can't do that alone." Campbell made his case passionately, flapping his hands about too as he spoke before hopping off the desk at the end of his passionate speech. " Plus, ya get to dress the way ya like at yer workplace an' no-one mocks ya bout it, cuz well, it ain't telly an' no-one can see ya! That's a cool advantage o' bein an RJ. Plus, ya get paid to play music. Ain't that slammin?! Who wants to join my Radio Revolution, eh?" he continued, resting his case as he gestured to his clothes, spinning around like MJ so that they'd get a better view of his unique fashion sense!
He half-expected jeers as he paused for a sip of water, but Kris' claps and whistles from the back bench proved him wrong. And the standing ovation that followed was pure music to his ears. His eyes sparkled as he smiled in a satisfied manner, heaving a sigh of relief at their response. Radio wasn't dead, after all! Wow! -Kris, supportive as ever, mouthed before high-fiving him once the bell rang.