Morning all. We have managed to make it to mid week. Sometimes that feels like an accomplishment. This is one of those weeks. So we celebrate and then we do the morning prompt. Well actually we do the prompt and then we celebrate with coffee. But you get the idea To the prompt bat man!
I think I need to figure out what the project is before I push further. But I like the unfairness of the situation. i just need details about the unfairness before proceeding.
Wednesday, March 6th: I need to know why.
I need to know why. It would torment me if I didn’t know. “I need to know,” I told myself. I knew I had the best project. I knew it, everyone knew it. I spent months working on it and had details and footnotes and expansion points galore.
I also knew that those I was competing against slapped their projects together in a matter of days. In Evan’s case it was less than two hours and barely any thought. He was still running spell check ten minutes before the deadline. His project was also not original. It had been done. I could list at least five people who did the exact same project. In fact I was fairly certain that Evan cut and pasted sections of his proposal from at least two of those projects.
‘And yet his was chosen.’
I needed to know why. I liked to think that the topic was one that was just something so fascinating the committee couldn’t resist. I hoped that somehow in his mad dash to the deadline Evan managed to come up with some sort of new angle that justified the committee’s decision. Somehow, I didn’t think that was the case, even though I hoped for it. I needed to believe that was the case. I could not simply except the loss and think that it might be because of preferential treatment.
‘I need to know.’
So, I went to the office block where the consulting professor kept his space. I was there to drop things off but was unfamiliar with the building. The corridors took some unexpected turns and I managed to get turned around in the building, but finally I thought I was in the right spot. I saw the office door and saw that it was open. I saw the light was on. And I heard voices.
I did not want to interrupt so I waited. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop. I was in fact trying to be polite. And then I heard my name.
“It was a much better project,” One of the men said.
“And we will get to it,” the professor said. “Evan’s project will be announced as the winner and we will go through all of the publicity. His family will be happy and when it falls through we will roll in Denise’s project. She will no doubt be so flattered we chose it that she won’t mind missing out on the spotlight and the acclaim.”
I felt my face burn and my body go numb. I turned away from the door and silently slipped down the hall making for the exit. I made it out of the building and across campus before the numbness started to fade. I suspected preferential treatment for Evan. I knew my project was better. I somehow thought they would still go through with his project. I didn’t think they would give him the accolades and then just use my project. My project would go forward and there would be some merit to that, but I wouldn’t be listed as a winner. I would not be able to claim anything from the competition.
I made it back to my room and let myself in, locking the door behind me. ‘No,’ I decided. There were other competitions. Since I had officially lost this one, I would enter my project for consideration elsewhere. I wasn’t going to be the back up.
Ten til Midnight 