On Stage
Lower Secondary
HIGHLY
COMMENDED
‘The structure of the story cleverly lays clues, slowly revealing the situation. The narrator’s voice superbly builds a sense of anxiety through an
excellent choice of language. It effortlessly toys with the reader’s emotions, making you feel as if you are standing shoulder-to-shoulder with
our protagonist and sharing their woes.’
The feeling of anxiousness crept inside of me. A slow, acidic tingling started in the base of my stomach but it slowly made its way upwards. It was a wraith, slowly, but surely
reaping my confidence. I fiddled with my pen, I rolled it over in my fingers, probing the smooth texture, contaminated with scratches and marks. It was a bird, fluttering
between the gaps in my fingers, too nimble for my clumsy hand to grasp at it.
Observing my team discreetly, I reminded myself that I never expected to be sitting here. The three older students in my team sat around me. The look of knowledge in their
eyes constantly made me feel inadequate. Without rest, I assured by myself that the elder students in my team had a colossal amount more experience and wisdom. Facing
my paper, I attempted to start scribbling some notes. A dark haired girl from our table stood up then; with an aura of confidence that was intimidating, she strolled towards
the podium. I again focused back on my paper, with the knowledge that I was going to be where she was soon. The fear that I would not meet expectations, that I would not
be a help but a burden, was overwhelming.
I snapped out of the trance that I had been sitting in, with a sense of increasing urgency. The girl from our table sat down, a smile beamed on her face from the adrenaline of
speaking in front of a crowd. She apologised for any mistakes she made and started working on a rebuttal. Everyone sat to alert as the first gentleman from the opposition
made his way to the podium. I looked back at the sea of people, flooding the theatre. One of them waved to another from across the venue. A storm of clapping was heard
as the speaker made a point. The audience formed a single being, each time one of them reacted, they all reacted as a whole. Each pair of eyes was constantly judging the
speaker.
My paper was tattooed with ink. Each scribbled letter and word danced drunkenly along my page. My creation of a debate speech again taunted me, and I had the urge to
start anew, however I knew, by looking at the bronze clock that took residence upon the wall, that it was far too late to do so. Noticing everyone’s attention was directed
away from me, I took the opportunity to pop a stick of gum into my mouth. The blast of mint that surged into my mouth calmed and refreshed me, holding the feelings of
anxiousness at bay.
Suddenly there was a round of thunderous clapping, and a voice from the front beckoned me forward. I looked around, as if I was in a dream. Standing
up, I glanced back at my team, and the people who once seemed intimidating now smiled with assurance. I took several steps towards the podium,
clapping filled the theatre, filling my chest with a new feeling, a surge of adrenaline. I stood on the podium, looked at my audience, breathed in deeply,
and started my speech.
Written by Tomas McKee, Year 9, The English International School Prague
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Czech, Krumlov
Global Classroom Creative Writing Anthology 2015
‘My ‘Somewhere unforgettable’ is the beautiful city of Krumlov in the Czech Republic that I visited with my mum and dad in the summer holidays. This intriguing
city has been around since the 13th century, and was listed in the world cultural heritage in 1992. Luckily it has stayed peaceful for 5 centuries
while war raged on, so it has never lost its fascinating original gothic architecture. In my drawing I wanted to show how beautiful Krumlov is.
I loved the sight of the meandering river surrounded by the terracotta-tiled roofs of the houses. The temperature was moderate and I highly
recommend friends to go. ’
Illustration by Terry Chan, Year 6, The British School of Guangzhou
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