The groups were made relatively quickly since people were already sitting in their friend groups, so they didn't need to get up to make any hefty decisions as Madeline had done with Sophie who was sitting beside her along with some other girls nearby.
There were no assigned seats in homeroom, so everyone kind of sat wherever depending on the day and mood. Alice normally sat off the corner next to the window as she found that to be a prime seating spot in the classroom since it gave enough natural lighting to keep from getting tired and gave an excuse to look out the window when things were getting slow.
She came to homeroom at a later time today with Claudia hot on her heels, so they were stuck with the somewhat ambiguous seating that was left in the center of the classroom which was neither a good nor bad spot only to scan the people who were present on the way to finding her seat when looking for Noah.
"Make sure to grab equipment that we have ready for everyone!" Mr. Baird reminded with a flash of irritation that flew on his face when people continued to ignore his words. "You can choose what you would like to use as a group, but it is encouraged to grab a camera and microphone. Please return everything in perfect condition."
Turning around and inspecting what everyone else was doing, Alice realized that everyone had already started to pair up where there were no more people left, and people were going up to Mr. Baird to record their groups in the spreadsheet that he had projected on the screen.
Alice leaned back in her seat to debate what she and Claudia should do, and Claudia was about to stand up when Alice motioned for her to sit back down. Alice leaned over the aisle to whisper in Claudia's ear, "Let's just hope that we can be a group of two."
Claudia nodded. "Let's just hope."
Alice laughed lightly. "Our odds aren't likely with how Mr. Baird is in general."
Noah came back over to where they were, and Alice looked up at him. "Did you find a group?"
He hitched a finger over his shoulder. "Odd number. I volunteered out."
She patted the end of her desk. "Come sit."
Claudia tapped her nails on the desk in a rhythmic beat. "Well, we need one more person. Anyone should do."
The last of the students started going up to the teacher to put in their groups, and Claudia tilted her head over at Alice to ask what their next move should be. Alice lifted her shoulder to signify that she didn't care and hoped that she, Claudia, and Noah could be one group if it ended up being an odd number.
Claudia shook her head knowing that Alice was once again conveying the idea of 'let's hope!' with skeptically.
Everyone had finally made their rounds to the front to let Mr. Baird know about the groups leaving Alice, Claudia, and Noah at the end. Noah didn't seem bothered at all since when the boys waved him over, he shook his head.
Alice realized that he wanted to be in a group with her, so she might as well not make it hard on him by acting as if she didn't care. It didn't take long for the other groups to start departing from the homeroom, and Mr. Baird gave them some voice recorders and microphones which showed how eager and important the school board saw how this project would be.
She smiled at the thought of bringing a microphone around since that was what she wanted to be. A reporter on television asked all the important questions, so she needed to learn and do well on her side of things since she would actually use these skills in the future rather than random knowledge that was beaten into the brain from the classroom.
Mr. Baird gave them an angry glance since they didn't bother to get up, but the phone rang just at the moment making him breathe out an angry sigh as if he was a large dog panting for breath in the hot summertime weather. Bringing the classroom phone up to his ear, he mumbled out some words to let the receiver know that he was alive.
He frowned when he heard some words before he nodded slowly. "Well, I have some students here for that job."
Alice's ears perked up at that, and she glanced up at him when the teacher slammed the phone down. "Why are you all dilly-dallying? You all have lots to do today."
"Ah, yes, about that," Alice said slowly as she got up. "The group will be Alice, Claudia, and Noah."
"I can see that," Mr. Baird muttered. "And one more."
Alice looked around the room for more effect. "I don't see anyone here, Mr. Baird."
Mr. Baird sniffed. "But I do."
Alice's brows came together at the comical statement as the door to the homeroom slid open, and everyone swung her eyes over to the person at the door.