A STORY THAT I LOVED READING...
I sat nervously in the air-conditioned room, conscious only of the ticking of the old, oak clock and the disapproving stare of the thin-lipped secretary that glared at me over her bifocals. The secretary to the Dean of Harvard University was a force to be reckoned with. School pride and history had been tattooed and imprinted into her very soul, and were reinforced by the collar pin she religiously wore and the long service trophies she had arrayed on her mahogany desk. With dirty-grey hair and a formidable bosom, she could not begin to comprehend my reason for seeing the Dean this chilly morning.
The air pressed down upon me and i could feel the cold permeate through my cheap polyester pants. I took a deep breath as i stared at the portraits of great academics that lined the walls, glaring down mockingly at me, daring me to follow with my mission.
"Zuckerberg? Mark Zuckerberg of Computer Programming?" She barked, making it seem more like a command than a question.
"Yes," I replied tonelessly, taking the opportunity to readjust my tie and clear my throat.
"The Dean will see you now," she replied. "Good luck on your ridiculous meeting," she muttered scathingly.
I nodded numbly as I followed her down the dark green hallway, nervously grasping my proposal in my nail bitten hands. I had always hated any type of authority figure, even though i realised that in a school as prestigious and exhalted as Harvard, I would have to toe the line. I knew that I would be harshly reprimanded gor hacking into the school's system; but i was convinced that the Dean would see my idea was a revolutionary one.
Facebook - I had already coined a name for my pet-project, my magnum opus - an online directory that would detail an individual's personal information much like an actual yearbook. I had also devised a variety of quirky applications that included online games and avatars. I felt that with ingenuity and perseverance, I could turn the impossible into an opportunity. Within a month, the whole college had signed up! Surely that was compelling enough evidence for the Dean to excuse my previous misdeeds?
I stared at the secretary's muscular calves and noticed that her varicose veins snaked across them like little green serpents, popping their heads through the hole in her panty-hose.
The walk down the hallway seemed endless. My tie seemed to tighten uncomfortably and my brow glistened with a sweat despite the frosty atmosphere. Was I doing the right thing? Did it make sense to drop out what was arguably the world's finest university? Was it possible to follow in the vaunted steps of alumnus Bill Gates? What would my parents say? As a barrage of questions rained fast and hard down upon me, i barely noticed that we had reached the solidly meancing door of the Dean's Office.
"Here you go," hissed Madam secretary.
I walked up to the thick door, wrought with indecision. Should i take a leap of faith? Would Facebook really change the world? It was at that precise moment that my eye caught the plaque above me, one that i had read the day i steeped into these hallowed halls. And now, the day of my possible withdrawal from college.
"The greatness of a man's power is the measure of his surrender. William Booth" With that, I knew what i had to do. I took a deep breath and stepped in.
-------------------------- END
