Awards Night

Thursday was my school's Awards Night.

Basically, all the students who are getting any kind of academic award get an invitation, and then we show up and they give us the award out on the lawn. We're in lawn chairs and the Head of School goes by department and calls names and whoever gets called up goes and gets their award.

I got an invitation. I had no idea what it was for, since they don't tell you beforehand. My friends Sally, Merula and Felix also got invitations.

Sally is a straight-A student. Last year she got an award from just about every department except Fitness & Wellness. Seriously, she and her sister are probably the smartest people in the school. Her older sister is like the Hermione of the seniors.

So we're all sitting in a row as the HoS calls out names and stuff. They start with the Individual Subject awards: math and science, social studies and English, foreign language and theology, fine arts and fitness and wellness.

Sally got an award in everything except for fitness and wellness, I think. She went up every few seconds and wound up with NINE awards. Wow.

Merula kept getting called up too, eventually collecting six awards. Wow.

And I just sat there, waiting for my name to be called....

Eventually, when they were giving out the English awards, I glanced down the row. Everyone had at least one award certificate except for me. Okay, Rowan, be mature. You must be getting something, or you wouldn't have gotten an invitation. 

They put Creative Writing with English, so I was really hoping...but no, no award. That's when I started wondering: Did they call me here just to humiliate me?

Then the Foreign Language awards came up, and it turns out I did really well on the National Latin Exam. So THAT'S why I'm here, I thought, satisfied. (Felix got an award for that too, as well as one for theatre.)

Then after all the Individual Subject awards, they started on the National and Regional Language Awards and the various other awards. Almost everything National and Regional goes to seniors, so I figured that was it for us. Some of the really fancy awards' winners get their names engraved into silver plates and cups and stuff, which remain at the school for posterity.

So I was watching as various seniors and a few juniors go up and get their awards, when something called the J. J. C. Award for Creative Writing comes up. Oh, it'll be one of the seniors, I thought as the HoS told everyone that this person would have their name engraved on a silver cup for posterity, and would get a wooden plaque. And then she said, "The winner is...Rowan Procter."

I was stunned.

I truly had NO IDEA that was coming. My mouth was hanging open, and as people started clapping I managed to say, "They're kidding, right?"

People kept telling me that I walked all the way up to the front with my mouth hanging open. I was in total shock.

So yep, my name is now engraved on a silver cup in a cabinet at the school. I'm the 8th person to win that award.

I also got a big wooden plaque that Mom's going to hang in the hall.

So...wow! Yeah, that was Awards Night. I was very, VERY surprised. And proud. And...wow.

See you soon!