House of Wolves
First House Meeting
“All right everyone, House Assembly in 10 minutes! Common Room! Don’t be late!” Gerard said as he walked along the hallway. The time was 9 pm and the girls were already donned in their night dresses and pyjamas. Gerard heard some girls groaned while some others shrieked with joy.
After that, he walked to his room, the one and only room on the first floor, situated on the far end of the hallway. The House Master room is bigger… a lot bigger than the students‘. It was more like a studio suite- one bedroom, a living room, dining, kitchen and a bathroom, and like every part of King Edward School, it was decorated in Edwardian furnishings. But Gerard hated it so he tore everything off, repainted the walls and put in his own IKEA furniture and turned it into his first bachelor pad.
It had been a hectic day for Gerard. He slumped onto the blue couch and a few seconds later, his cell phone rang.
“Mr. Way? We‘re waiting for you for House Assembly” Came a girl’s voice from the phone.
“Okay. Tanii. I’ll be there,” Gerard said and the phone clicked off. He took his robe, put it over his clothes which he had been wearing all day- it was a black waistcoat over a black shirt, with black and white striped tie and a matching black pants. The school required every Masters to wear a slack pants, but considering that it didn’t fit with his fashion sense, he modified the uniform and changed the slack to a tight black jeans.
Gerard walked into the Common Room, a place where House boarders went to watch TV, play some indoor games or simply gathered around for a chat. The Common Room is more like a living room, with an antique 19th century fire place dominating the west wall and rows of tall windows decorated with thick curtain, a plasma screen TV and a few black leather couches. The walls were decorated with old paintings and one of the paintings on the wall was a majestic illustration of a wolf- taken straight from the cover of Jack London’s White Fang- which served as an allegorical image to the House Of Wolves.
Gerard sat on the chair facing the girls who sat on the thick carpet. He looked at them one by one and smiled.
“Welcome to the House Of Wolves, ladies. I’m Gerard Arthur Way, your House Master…”
The girls were silent. All eyes were on him, and Gerard, who had been dealing with one man- many ladies situation since the last one and a half years of his job as the House Master knew how to handle the situation perfectly.
“So, for the next few years, I will act as your parents- I will take care of your personal needs and all…”
An Irish girl named Sarah raised up her hand.
“What does personal needs mean sir?” she asked.
Gerard smiled at the girl. And before he could even open his mouth, a brown haired-blue eyed British girl named Sophie from the back cuts,
“Don’t tell me its ‘perrrrsonal needs’… you know…” She said while making a bracket-box gesture with her fingers. The ‘Mikey-sucks’ girl, Ean, who sat beside her gave her a high five. The other older girls giggled while the younger ones looked puzzled.
Gerard sighed.
“By personal needs, I mean, if you gets sick, or needs help in studies or you got into trouble or something…” he explained.
He looked at the girls at the back. Most of them were older and from their cold gaze, Gerard can tell that those girls had found their cliques.
Great, another rebellions.
But deep inside Gerard was lost in his own thoughts. Sophie was partly correct.
Gerard’s memories brought him back to last year’s Edwardian cotillion when the graduating senior girls came to his room and they talked about how much they gonna miss their lives in the House. The conversation continued and the last thing Gerard realized the girls were already all over him, making sweet and tender love while the other students and House Masters were enjoying themselves at Queen Victoria Hall.
But luckily no one said a word about that.
Plus, it’s not forced. It’s what the girls want and he was just doing his ‘job’…
Gerard was snapped back into reality when a Singaporean girl named Rebecca raised up her hand.
“I miss my family… “ she said. Tears started welling in her eyes.
Gerard smiled and say, “ All of us here miss our family… “
Rebecca started to sob. “ But my family is in Singapore! It’s halfway around the world!” she protested. Gerard smiled at her and say…
“It doesn’t matter where your homes are, here in England.. Or in America, or in Singapore… Asia or Africa… everyone will have the same chance of seeing their parents at the end of the semester. It’s not about the distance, it’s your relationship with your family, that’s what matters…”
Rebecca wiped her tears with her pyjama sleeves.
“And we’re your family now…” Gerard added.
The other girls looked at each other and smiled. But a girl from the ‘Rebellions‘ clique at the back raised her hand.
“All these geeks are gonna be my sisters?” she said, making an arrogant face. The girls grew silence.
“Miss Britt, watch your word.” Gerard said firmly.
“What’s the matter? You girls had never been called geeks before? Take it, it’s a compliment!” She said again and the girls at the back looked up to her admiringly.
“Way to go, Britt!” Polly said. Her shoulder length brown hair sway from side to side as she said.
“Allright, that’s it! You. You. And You. This is my last warning. ” Gerard said, pointing to Sophie, Britt and Polly.
“What did I doooooo?” Sophie said, protesting.
Gerard ignored her and continued talking to the other girls.
“And as you know, I will be your best friend if you play your cards right… and if you go against my rule, I will not hesitate to punish you… remember, when you’re in this House, I am in charge,” he said, adding a firm tone in his voice so that his words sounded more like a warning.
“Mr. Way is just so emo…” A short haired-New York girl named Mariah whispered softly to a Danish girl,Christine who sat beside her. And since she sat on the front row, Gerard turned to her.
“I hear that, Mariah…”
Mariah cupped her mouth with her hand and Christine looked down to the floor, too scared to make any eye contact with Gerard.
“Okay, anymore question?” Gerard asked. Some of the girls shook their head while others just sat in silence.
“If that’s so then I’m gonna talk about House activities… Now take out your handbook and turned to page 6...”
Every girls did as he ordered. Gerard looked up from his own copy of the handbook and noticed that some girls didn’t brought theirs along. Gerard chose to overlook that.
“Okay, throughout your academic years here in King Edward School, you will participate in a lot of House activites,concerts, plays, musical, sports and debating competitions, etc…. And each time you participate, you will add more points to your House and by the end of the year during the annual cotilllion, the best House will be put in the Hall Of Fame, plus with some other honorarium from the school….” Gerard said, and paused to see the respond from his audience.
“House Of Wolves had been the winner for Best House for five years in a row and I hope we will continue our tradition again this year…” he continued and the girls cheered enthusiastically.
“Although I’ve only been here for only one and a half years, I am extremely proud of this House and I hope you will all feel the same…”
The cheering continued again.
Gerard looked at each of the girls and smiled. He had a feeling that this year means more glory for the House Of Wolves.
House Master Way in action: “If I hear any bullshit from any of you, I will not hesitate to give you a detention! Got it, Wolvers? "
After that, he walked to his room, the one and only room on the first floor, situated on the far end of the hallway. The House Master room is bigger… a lot bigger than the students‘. It was more like a studio suite- one bedroom, a living room, dining, kitchen and a bathroom, and like every part of King Edward School, it was decorated in Edwardian furnishings. But Gerard hated it so he tore everything off, repainted the walls and put in his own IKEA furniture and turned it into his first bachelor pad.
It had been a hectic day for Gerard. He slumped onto the blue couch and a few seconds later, his cell phone rang.
“Mr. Way? We‘re waiting for you for House Assembly” Came a girl’s voice from the phone.
“Okay. Tanii. I’ll be there,” Gerard said and the phone clicked off. He took his robe, put it over his clothes which he had been wearing all day- it was a black waistcoat over a black shirt, with black and white striped tie and a matching black pants. The school required every Masters to wear a slack pants, but considering that it didn’t fit with his fashion sense, he modified the uniform and changed the slack to a tight black jeans.
Gerard walked into the Common Room, a place where House boarders went to watch TV, play some indoor games or simply gathered around for a chat. The Common Room is more like a living room, with an antique 19th century fire place dominating the west wall and rows of tall windows decorated with thick curtain, a plasma screen TV and a few black leather couches. The walls were decorated with old paintings and one of the paintings on the wall was a majestic illustration of a wolf- taken straight from the cover of Jack London’s White Fang- which served as an allegorical image to the House Of Wolves.
Gerard sat on the chair facing the girls who sat on the thick carpet. He looked at them one by one and smiled.
“Welcome to the House Of Wolves, ladies. I’m Gerard Arthur Way, your House Master…”
The girls were silent. All eyes were on him, and Gerard, who had been dealing with one man- many ladies situation since the last one and a half years of his job as the House Master knew how to handle the situation perfectly.
“So, for the next few years, I will act as your parents- I will take care of your personal needs and all…”
An Irish girl named Sarah raised up her hand.
“What does personal needs mean sir?” she asked.
Gerard smiled at the girl. And before he could even open his mouth, a brown haired-blue eyed British girl named Sophie from the back cuts,
“Don’t tell me its ‘perrrrsonal needs’… you know…” She said while making a bracket-box gesture with her fingers. The ‘Mikey-sucks’ girl, Ean, who sat beside her gave her a high five. The other older girls giggled while the younger ones looked puzzled.
Gerard sighed.
“By personal needs, I mean, if you gets sick, or needs help in studies or you got into trouble or something…” he explained.
He looked at the girls at the back. Most of them were older and from their cold gaze, Gerard can tell that those girls had found their cliques.
Great, another rebellions.
But deep inside Gerard was lost in his own thoughts. Sophie was partly correct.
Gerard’s memories brought him back to last year’s Edwardian cotillion when the graduating senior girls came to his room and they talked about how much they gonna miss their lives in the House. The conversation continued and the last thing Gerard realized the girls were already all over him, making sweet and tender love while the other students and House Masters were enjoying themselves at Queen Victoria Hall.
But luckily no one said a word about that.
Plus, it’s not forced. It’s what the girls want and he was just doing his ‘job’…
Gerard was snapped back into reality when a Singaporean girl named Rebecca raised up her hand.
“I miss my family… “ she said. Tears started welling in her eyes.
Gerard smiled and say, “ All of us here miss our family… “
Rebecca started to sob. “ But my family is in Singapore! It’s halfway around the world!” she protested. Gerard smiled at her and say…
“It doesn’t matter where your homes are, here in England.. Or in America, or in Singapore… Asia or Africa… everyone will have the same chance of seeing their parents at the end of the semester. It’s not about the distance, it’s your relationship with your family, that’s what matters…”
Rebecca wiped her tears with her pyjama sleeves.
“And we’re your family now…” Gerard added.
The other girls looked at each other and smiled. But a girl from the ‘Rebellions‘ clique at the back raised her hand.
“All these geeks are gonna be my sisters?” she said, making an arrogant face. The girls grew silence.
“Miss Britt, watch your word.” Gerard said firmly.
“What’s the matter? You girls had never been called geeks before? Take it, it’s a compliment!” She said again and the girls at the back looked up to her admiringly.
“Way to go, Britt!” Polly said. Her shoulder length brown hair sway from side to side as she said.
“Allright, that’s it! You. You. And You. This is my last warning. ” Gerard said, pointing to Sophie, Britt and Polly.
“What did I doooooo?” Sophie said, protesting.
Gerard ignored her and continued talking to the other girls.
“And as you know, I will be your best friend if you play your cards right… and if you go against my rule, I will not hesitate to punish you… remember, when you’re in this House, I am in charge,” he said, adding a firm tone in his voice so that his words sounded more like a warning.
“Mr. Way is just so emo…” A short haired-New York girl named Mariah whispered softly to a Danish girl,Christine who sat beside her. And since she sat on the front row, Gerard turned to her.
“I hear that, Mariah…”
Mariah cupped her mouth with her hand and Christine looked down to the floor, too scared to make any eye contact with Gerard.
“Okay, anymore question?” Gerard asked. Some of the girls shook their head while others just sat in silence.
“If that’s so then I’m gonna talk about House activities… Now take out your handbook and turned to page 6...”
Every girls did as he ordered. Gerard looked up from his own copy of the handbook and noticed that some girls didn’t brought theirs along. Gerard chose to overlook that.
“Okay, throughout your academic years here in King Edward School, you will participate in a lot of House activites,concerts, plays, musical, sports and debating competitions, etc…. And each time you participate, you will add more points to your House and by the end of the year during the annual cotilllion, the best House will be put in the Hall Of Fame, plus with some other honorarium from the school….” Gerard said, and paused to see the respond from his audience.
“House Of Wolves had been the winner for Best House for five years in a row and I hope we will continue our tradition again this year…” he continued and the girls cheered enthusiastically.
“Although I’ve only been here for only one and a half years, I am extremely proud of this House and I hope you will all feel the same…”
The cheering continued again.
Gerard looked at each of the girls and smiled. He had a feeling that this year means more glory for the House Of Wolves.
House Master Way in action: “If I hear any bullshit from any of you, I will not hesitate to give you a detention! Got it, Wolvers? "