The time had come to Monday.
Every Monday morning was the flag-raising ceremony, while Tuesday through Friday were reserved for morning exercises.
The neatly arranged students—more than a thousand from various grades and classes—packed the playground near the green field to the brim. It was a sea of people as far as the eye could see.
On the platform not far away, the red flag fluttered proudly. Several school leaders stood by it, with the members of the Flag Guard Team standing in a serious row below them. And at the center of the platform, facing the microphone, was a boy whose slightly nervous voice echoed above the crowd.
Xu Xiangyang stood in the queue for Class One and quickly became bored, his gaze wandering left and right.
Looking behind him, he noticed that his good friend, standing at the end of the girls' line, also seemed utterly bored.
