Screenshots & Laughing Gas by Tim Harris

Author:Tim Harris [Harris, Tim]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781760898052
Publisher: Penguin Random House Australia

The students and teachers crammed the hall the following week. The final challenge was to be a public-speaking competition. Each of the candidates had to explain why they should be appointed school captain. There was only one catch: you were given just one minute to make your point.

The boys spoke first. Leon was amazing. His speech was flawless. Everybody loved what he had to say.

I took a deep breath. The girls were next. It was make-or-break time. I had one last chance to prove I was good enough to be captain.

Mr Bosworth asked Charlotte to speak first. I saw her rub something into her lips as she stepped up to the microphone.

Before I knew it, Charlotte’s mouth started moving in ways unknown to humankind. It opened and closed at lightning speed. It flashed and gnashed and spattered and chatted. Nobody could understand what she was saying. She sounded like a chipmunk in fast-forward mode. Her speech was over in seconds.

Mr Bosworth was rattled. ‘Thank you for that . . . attempt, Charlotte,’ he said. ‘Perhaps you could work at slowing down.’

Charlotte’s face fell. She knew she had blown it.

The word ‘slowing’ echoed in my anxious mind. It was as though Mr Bosworth had said it just for me. I rubbed a large dollop of Slow Lotion around my lips and stroked some into my temple for good measure. I felt calmer right away. Though my lips felt heavy.

Em spoke next and challenged the students to buy more chicken-flavoured chips. ‘They’re awesome!’ she concluded.

Everyone giggled, and Em walked back to her seat.

A few more girls spoke before Mr Bosworth invited me to the microphone. I was the last speaker. It was time to move out of Charlotte’s shadow and show the world who Ali truly was. It was time to be the more brilliant twin. This minute was mine to own.

‘Goooooooooood afternooooooooooon, Mr Boooooooswoooooooooorrth, staaaaaaaaaaff and stuuuuuuuuuuuuudents,’ I said. My lips flopped around in slow motion like a cow chewing grass. I couldn’t control their speed. ‘I wooooooooooooooould liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiike toooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo –’

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.