Andy OâNeal
| The Historian | Roshon Fegan | #18D81E
| The Historian | Roshon Fegan | #18D81E
Andy watched the people coming in slowly. Of course, he had been the first one in there, together with Didi. She had repeated the speech to him so many times, he could have given it himself. Not in the same way though. He didnât have the same posture, nor the same gravitas that was needed right now. His eyes kept going from the door to Didi and back as if he was watching a tennis match. He made a point of not sitting in front, so he leaned against the window where the bright afternoon sun warmed his back. Although he looked calm enough, his heart was racing at twice the normal speed. He supported his friend, but he was well aware not everyone else did the same. The worst thing, and what he would never tell Di, is that he could see their point. It seemed too planned, too slick, too politically stimulated. Here she was, daughter of the mayor, looking more perfect than perfect, saying exactly the thing that needed to be said. Andy sighed.
He had arrived in the school bus like everyone else. On his way home he hadnât seen anything strange, but when the door unlocked the silence inside hit him. His dad was always working late and classical music usually filled the hallways of the OâNeal household. He walked to the study, where he found nothing and no one. The last thing he could think of was that his mom and dad would have gone on a romantic getaway. It never really happened before, but what other explanation could there be? And of course they didnât leave a note, Andy would be out until they got back. With a grimace on his face he went to bed that night.
Like most of his classmates he woke up to the sound of incoming messages on his phone. Seeing all messages were about missing people he concluded that if this still was a romantic getaway, it was a crowded one. He helped in the search for anyone that wasnât on the school trip, but after the first hour he kind of lost hope they would find someone. Andy had stayed out of the raids on the local stores. Not that it wasnât tempting. He wanted a new xbox controller for a while, and there it was. The glass door to the shop had already been smashed, so it wasnât really breaking and enteringâŠ, just entering. He grabbed the controller from the shelf, but a minute later he put it back. He walked out of the door with empty hands, but a good feeling. He wasnât sure how long this thing would go on, but he was sure he couldnât get away with stealing this easily.
Andy saw the doors close and a large part of what was left of the Oakville-population now seemed to be inside of the courthouse. He heard Di clearing her throat and starting the meeting. He had given his advise on the speech, but she hadnât heard it. Of course, with her dad being the mayor, she had more experience in these kind of things. At one moment he had decided to stay quiet. It also wasnât right to make her more nervous. The AV remark was meant for him. He had been working on preparing the phone lines, but he had run into some unforeseen issues. None of the systems he checked had actually been broken, they simply didnât work. He appreciated the comments he had received so far though, encouraging him and telling him he was doing important work. I will find something, I just need to try harder.
Then he heard it, the part of her speech he had been dreading the most. âsuch nonsense will not be tolerated.â He was waiting for the reactions. The questions of who would be the one deciding what nonsense was, and who made her the president of regulating this. Andy knew that he would not be able to defend Di much. They were too close, and most people were fully aware of that. Whenever he would back her up, it would be seen as biased.
Thankfully the first person to talk was the least biased person Andy could imagine. As the new kid she had no strong alliance to any single person. Taylor and Andy had spoken about the music hall the day before. Quite honestly, his biggest excuse was that he wanted to play music again. The mood in town was strange enough, now imagine a boy playing a trumpet in harmony with the chaos. When Taylor mentioned his name he raised his hand in an awkward waive to the rest of the people. Waive you stupid man, cause no one here knows who the F you are. Donât forget to smile, idiot⊠He stood up and explained further to what Taylor mentioned. âWe took the instruments from the school, so they are not in best shape, but theyâll surely do for beginners. Music is one of the oldest forms of entertainment, so even in this situation it could be a healthy way of dealing with our issues. You know⊠that and the religious guidance thing,â he mentioned while pointing in Aaronâs direction.
Next, Andy listened to what Alli had to say. In his opinion they should treat the medication in town the same way as the food. But he had a feeling all hell would break loose, or looser, if they started taking pills away.