A Day in a Student Government

         



         I hurried down the narrow staircase on just another Thursday at school. As usual, the student government, the president, me and the other members, will meet after school in a small room with small chairs at a small table, lit with a single lightbulb. Everything was so small that it made me felt like I was a giant. I continued down the staircase with no idea that I would be the most important member today’s discussion.



         Today’s discussion would be on vending-machines. The school couldn’t decide if to trash the vending-machines or to raise money to help maintain them so we, the student government, would to take a vote. I bursted into the small meeting room filled with old, dried-up paint in cans and bent wooden brooms for it was also a supply closet.



         A crumbled piece of paper was passed to me with a stubby pencil. Soon after, the voting was over and the results were out: a tie. That meant we would draw straws to find a tiebreaker. I didn’t believe it but I had the longest one. A rushing feeling came to me whether if it was fickleness or nervousness. Throw the vending machines away! No, keep them! Throw them away! Keep them! A battle raged on inside my head.



         Finally, without meeting eyes with the president, I made my decision. The vending-machines would stay. I felt more important than ever being that I had just made a decision the principal would care about. For the first time, I represented all 1100 kids in the school.



         I had made a decision no other student had ever made. Now, I’m sticking a dollar bill into vending-machine to buy some LAYS chips, being reminded of those few minutes in that small, dim room in which I felt the most important during that year.