‘One. Two. Three’

Joseph tried to do his best to keep his attention on the professor, for surely he has something important to say. However, no matter how hard he tries, the words that enter through his ears, bounces around his head and exits through the other, instead of getting absorbed by his brain as intended. He has opted to stare at the clock, and timed the tapping of his fingers with each tick, creating a boring, yet consistent rhythm on the laminated wood.

“Any questions?” The professor said, raising his hand.

‘None of you better raise your hand’ Joseph thought, making it sound threatening with his inner voice.

“Alright then, class dismissed.”

Joseph stood from his seat, his tied-back hair bouncing a bit, and in one swift motion, left the class. His shoulders slacked, making the strap of his bag slip out a little bit, letting loose the tension he did not know he was holding in. His eyes widened, dropping off any sign of boredom, with his steps following suit.

“Time for another cup of coffee!” He said to himself, “After all, it’s been a week since I went to Miguel’s place!”

Taking a step out of the school gates, waving at the security guard as he passed by, he heard quick footsteps coming from behind.

“Joseph, wait!” A low voice echoed.

‘Or not,’ Joseph sighed.

Joseph turned around and saw a familiar face from school, a tall, rugged-looking man wearing a hoodie.

“Oh, hey prez! Need me for anything?” Joseph asked.

“Hey,” the man put his hands on his knees, panting, “Did you forget something?”

"I don't think so?"

"Check your phone," the man said, still catching his breath.

Joseph whipped out his phone, and sure enough, there was a notification for a message.

“URGENT:

To all student council members and volunteers, we will be having an emergency meeting at 6PM in the office. I have all your schedules, so no flaking! Agenda will mainly be about the student fair. An issue has risen regarding our sponsorship.”

“Ah damn,” Joseph put away his phone, “I was in class so I left it on silent. Almost missed the GA.”

“How?!” The president questioned, “You were the one who told us we should have one.”

Joseph could only laugh.

“It’s a good thing I saw you then. Our external head is needed after all.” The man sighed. “Anyway, we better head to the office, maybe everyone is already there.”

The president led the way, with Joseph following reluctantly, staring at the exit.

***

“…and so, we arrive at the main problem,” the president pointed at the writing made by the secretary which read SPONSORSHIP, “One of our sponsors backed out.”

“What? Which one?” A member of the council followed up.

“The one who was supposed to provide our food.” Joseph replied, nodding at the president.

“No.” The member said, almost offended.

“Yes. Without them we might have to settle for plain sandwiches and bottled drinks.” Joseph shook his head, “And that’ll be terrible!”

“We can make our own food.” Another member suggested.

“I don’t think that’ll work,” the secretary criticized, “Our schedules are packed ‘til the evening with classes, so time will be an issue. We won’t be able to make food for the majority of the student population.”

“Plus, I’ll be working on my thesis in the following weeks!” One of the members raised.

Joseph listened intently on the back-and-forth between the members, trying to find something that’ll work. Every option that was suggested has been turned down, due to the prison cell that was a college student’s schedule.

“Didn’t they just agree a few days ago?” A member questioned, as if to keep the brainstorming session from petering out.

“They did, but they told me they were withdrawing last night.” Joseph said.

“What about finding another sponsor?”, a member from the back of the room suggested.

“That could’ve been our first suggestion, yes,” Joseph stood up, “But they were the only one that agreed, out of several other restaurants and cafes we tried.”

“Why is that again?”

“Previous student fairs’ were handled horribly. Eventually, everyone heard of how the payoffs were not really worth it, either through first-hand experience or word-of-mouth.”

"How about we keep trying then? The deadline's still far away, yeah?" a man from the front asked.

"Actually," Joseph replied, "The papers are due tomorrow before lunch. Maybe we could split up and try out any potential places?"

"No," The secretary checked her papers, "says here that you're the only one free tomorrow before lunch."  

“Damn.”

“Yeah.”

The whole room stayed quiet after that exchange, all of them trying to rack their brains for answers.

“Looks like our only chance is to find someone who just opened.” The president tried to break the silence, but it only made the atmosphere heavier.

‘Wait’ Joseph thought, with a certain large man in mind. ‘How could I forget.’

“Reid,” Joseph beamed, putting both of his hands on the president’s shoulders, “You are a genius.”

“I am?”

“Everyone,” Joseph faced his fellow council members, “I think I might know someone.”