“Oh,” Val nodded, “Is there even anyone running against me?”
Alex laughed, “Yeah. Check out who finally started showing up again.” He pointed to Aiden, who was wearing an oversized suit that he had definitely not had on at lunch. “Fierce competition,” Alex smirked.
“I thought Jenny was gonna run too,” Val said. She glanced at the Trio; they surprised her by flashing small smiles.
“Nope. Can’t run if you’re suspended,” Alex smiled, “I think it’s safe to say you’ve got this in the bag. So why not have some fun with it?”
“Ok.” Avery had taken the stage; she stood motionless while everyone else stopped talking.
“Hello again,” Avery started once the cafeteria had fallen quiet, “I feel like I’ve seen more of you all in the past week and a half than I’ve seen of my own parents.” Everyone laughed. Avery shook her head and sighed, “The sacrifices I make for you people.” More laughter. “Anyway,” she continued, “It’s that time of year again—time to elect our officers. I’m sure by now we all know how it’s done—well, except for the freshmen, but you’ll catch on—so let’s get to it.” The following forty-five minutes were filled with speeches from the class president candidates, in descending order from seniors to juniors, and on down. Finally the final sophomore candidate—they’d had five—finished, and returned to her seat. “And who wants to represent the freshman class?” Avery asked.
Val and Aiden stood up. Val thought she saw Avery shoot an angry glare her way, but the look was gone before she could be sure that it wasn’t just a trick of the light. “You are--?” Avery pointed at Aiden.
“Aiden Clarke,” his voice was a little weak.
“And—?” Avery pointed to Val.
“Valentina Hunter,” Val was proud that her voice didn’t betray any of the nervousness that washed over her like a sudden tidal inrush.
“Did you get that?” Avery asked Raelyn; the other girl nodded. “Alrighty then, if you’d like to go first Aiden—“ Avery sat down next to Raelyn as Aiden delivered his ten-minute speech; it was nothing Val hadn’t heard before. Aiden promised every classic student government promise in the book, “And I’ll make sure our homecoming is great this year. And work to build a better relationship with our community.” Val had a hard time focusing on the specifics of how he planned to implement his promises; it didn’t help that Alex kept distracting her by whispering jokes.
Finally, it was Val’s turn to speak; she took a deep breath and walked to the head of the cafeteria, where the stage was. She’d decided to follow Alex’s advice and be honest; it’s not exactly like I’m going to lose the vote to Aiden.
“My fellow student government representatives,” she began, “I have to be honest: I didn’t prepare a speech.” Some students nodded, Val hoped in appreciation of her honesty; Alex grinned widely. “I don’t have any promises prepared. I won’t tell you that I’ll clean oil off baby seals or whatever else,” a few laughs; it was an awkward joke, but the laughter bolstered Val’s confidence. She smiled, “And I can’t promise that homecoming is gonna be the best dance ever,” she repeated Aiden’s excited claim. More laughter emanated from the crowd; even the upperclassmen seemed to be joining in, although Avery sat stone-faced in her chair. “So what does that leave me with?” Val realized as she said it that she didn’t have an answer. “Um, I’m easier to look at?” was the first thing that came to mind. The crowd was quiet; Alex’s call of “Damn right!” moved them to more laughter. Val could see Aiden gritting his teeth, and felt bad for a moment; she hadn’t meant to say something so mean; but it’s true. “And I’m really nice,” Val continued, “I mean, except for that thing that happened yesterday.”
There weren’t as many laughs—Val supposed that might be because not everyone knew what had happened yesterday—but the freshmen were clearly enjoying her speech. She decided to sum up, “So yeah, vote for me and I’ll be nice, even though I may not have a plan to cure cancer or save the world from laser-shooting sharks or whatever.” She rushed back to her spot next to Alex, glad that it was over; in a way, her speech had gone better than planned. At any rate, it was different enough that even Avery didn’t know how to respond.
Avery’s eyebrows were at least a half-inch higher on her head as she ascended the steps to the stage. When she reached the center, she spoke, “Thank you, Miss Hunter, for that—illuminating speech. Well, that concludes our meeting for the day. We’re casting ballots online this year, so think about who you want to vote for, and if you haven’t joined our group on Facebook yet talk to Raelyn or myself, and we can invite you.” She descended from the stage.
Val turned to her friends, “So, how’d I do?”
Grant grinned, “That was one for the ages. Best speech I’ve ever heard.”
“Agreed,” Alex said, “The honesty definitely worked.”
Val nodded, glad that at least Alex and his friends thought her speech had gone well. She turned to the Trio; to Ella, who was closest, she asked, “What did you think?”
Ella shrugged, “Not the most formal speech ever. But you made several good points.”
“Yeah,” Sophia agreed, “Plus, you win by virtue of being a girl. Like Aiden mentioned, helping with homecoming is one of the most important things our class president does—and I’d much rather have a girl in charge of that than a boy. Especially, if that boy is Aiden.” Ella and Zoey laughed.
“It’s cute how he thought he had a shot though,” Alex joked, “I bet he spent all night writing that speech.”
“I hope not,” Val grimaced, “I just spent my whole speech making fun of his.”
“So?” Grant said, “It’s not your fault he took this way too seriously.”
“Plus, you didn’t spend your whole speech talking about that,” Alex added. “You also made a couple of good points on why we should vote for you.”
“Yeah, I guess—“
Logan cracked his neck, “No, you definitely did. I mean, when it comes down to it, we have to listen to and watch the class president during a lot of the assemblies; I’d personally prefer you to the four-eye card shark.” Everyone but Val nodded in agreement.
“I still feel bad about tearing him down like that,” Val admitted.
“I’m sure he’s used to it by now,” Alex replied, “But if you’re really down about it, I can think of a way to cheer you up.”
“Oh, how would you do that?”
Alex grinned, “I’m thinking you and I getting wet and dirty, and taking all our clothes off because we’re definitely gonna need a shower after.”
Val threw the boy a look of disbelief, “Oh my gosh. No!”
“I was talking about playing a game of soccer,” Alex laughed, “I thought you were into that. What did you think I meant?” Logan, Steven, and Grant laughed too.
Val’s cheeks filled with color, “Nevermind. I should be getting home anyway. I’m grounded.”
“Alright.” As Val walked away from the table, he called after her, “That offer’s staying on the table, if you ever want to take me up on it!”
Chapter 12
“So Mom, I know you said that I’m not allowed to go to soccer tryouts—“ Val gave Mom her best pleading look, “But I would just die if I didn’t get to at least try out.”
Mom looked up from the kitchen counter, where she’d been cutting the crust off of a pair of sandwiches, “I understand darling.” She sighed, “I’ll talk to your father about that, and today you can go to the tryouts. I don’t think you should have to lose your chance to make the team because of one mistake.”
“Thank you!” Val beamed. She hugged Mom, who returned the gesture.
“You’re welcome. By the way, I called a car service to take you to school this morning.”
Val groaned, “Why can’t Dad take me?”
“He could. But we spoke last night, and decided that it would be easier to just save the time and hassle. It’s not like we don’t have enough money,” she laughed.
&nbs
p; Is this what normal rich people do? Joke about how much money they have? “Ok. When is the—person supposed to be here?”
“Six forty-five. So you have a few minutes.”
Val spent the time texting her friends who were already awake; she had discovered that Alex responded to texts at any time of day. Mom looked up when Val giggled a couple of times at his messages, but said nothing.
Six forty-five came; Mom handed Val a blue lunch bag, “Have a great day honey! Do well in tryouts!” She kissed Val on the cheek and checked to make sure the driver was there.
Val opened the front door; sure enough there was a black car parked in their driveway. “Thanks!” she waved goodbye and got in the backseat.
It was a strange experience riding to school in a car that wasn’t her father’s. Val was used to chatting with him the whole ride, but felt awkward trying to converse with a stranger. Instead, she focused on her phone.
Val was one of the first students to arrive at her first hour class. Alex was playing some game on his phone; he looked up when Val sat in her chair beside his, “Hello. You never replied to my last text.”
“It’s only been a couple minutes,” Val defended, “Plus, what was I supposed to respond to that?”
Alex shrugged, “I don’t know. You could have just said like ‘k’ or something.”
“Yeah, but that would have ended the conversation.”
“Fair enough.”
“It was a really strange text too,” Val laughed, “Like can you imagine what someone would think if they saw it out of context.”
Alex feigned fear, “They’d think I’d gone crazy. But at least it made you laugh.”
Val nodded, “True.”
Alex smirked, “Well, you know what they say. If you can make a girl laugh, you have a chance—“
Val cut him off, “Of getting her to do your homework. You already made that joke.”
“Oh yeah, I guess I forgot.” Alex smiled, “The good news is that I’ve got plenty more.”
Val was about to respond when Miss Stevens launched into the day’s lesson; she shifted her attention to the teacher. The lesson of the day was about something called ‘factoring’. Basically, it involved rewriting an equation in a certain way that didn’t actually make it easier to understand at all—Val didn’t get its purpose.
Miss Stevens handed out some in-class work with ten minutes to go. Alex ignored it completely, “So how’s it feel to be the freshman class president?” he asked.
“Huh?” Val looked up from the first problem; Carrie was working frantically, as if her life depended on finishing the worksheet before anyone else.
“Well I mean, you obviously have it in the bag,” Alex said, “So how’s it feel?”
“Uh, I dunno. Not really any different.”
“But aren’t you excited that you’ll get to work directly with the head bitch of the school?” Alex asked, smirking.
“Language!” Miss Stevens had moved closer while they were both talking; she closed the gap and leaned in to speak to their group. While looking directly at Val she said, “You guys should get to work on the in-class problems. Especially you, Miss Hunter. I’m worried about how you’re going to do on the first exam, looking at your homework.”
Val gulped; she hated being called out, and having a teacher do it in front of her friends made the situation even worse. She flushed and started working on the assigned problems. Miss Stevens nodded, apparently satisfied, and left to answer another student’s question.
“Yes Val, we really need to review your priorities,” Alex joked, “I mean, you’ve already missed this class once, and we’re not even through the first two weeks yet. You could probably use some extra time with our study group.”
Val shook her head without looking up, “My parents said I’m not allowed to study with our ‘study group’ until I apologize to Jenny—for what happened on Monday.”
“How long is that gonna be?”
“I don’t know. Miss Young didn’t mention when her suspension was over.”
“Oh, okay. But you can still hang out with friends, right?”
“I don’t think so—I think I’m pretty much grounded. I had to beg my mom just to let me try out for soccer today.”
“That sucks. So—“ he was cut off by Miss Stevens, who had retaken her position at the head of the classroom.
“There’s only about a minute left of class, so I suppose we don’t really have time to discuss these problems. We will tomorrow though. When the bell rings, you can go.”
Val said a quick goodbye to her tablemates, and put away her class materials. When the bell rang, she walked out into the hallway to head for Geography.
A boy she didn’t recognize nodded in greeting, “What’s up?”
“Um, hey,” Val replied awkwardly. Do I know you?
“Hey! I’m Colin—from Student Gov. I gave a speech yesterday; it wasn’t as memorable as yours though,” he smiled kindly.
Val laughed, “Yeah, one of my friends just told me to be honest, so that’s what I did.”
“Well, it worked. Funniest candidacy speech I’ve ever heard, and I’ve been in Student Gov for three years.”
“Thanks.”
“Sure thing. See you around.” Colin left, and Val walked to the end of the hall, where her Geography class was about to start. She walked in just as the bell rang; “You’re late,” Mr. Andrews announced.
“I am? But I got here before the bell,” Val argued.
“The rule is you have to be in your seat by the bell, not just in the room. I’ll let it slide this time.”
“Oh, uh, thank you.” Val fell into her seat.
“You’re welcome.”
The next few hours were somewhat uneventful; a couple more upperclassmen greeted Val on her way from Geography to Italian, praising her candidacy speech. As the final bell rang, Val was amazed at how quickly the day had rushed by.
It was the last day of Student Gov before the clubs would resume their normal schedule; once officers were announced, Val gathered that they would return to more mundane tasks.
Avery wasted no time in hushing everyone, once the majority of them had found their usual seats. Val looked over at Aiden and gave him a thumbs up, feeling bad about the day before; he didn’t respond.
“Since we gave speeches from oldest to youngest, it’s only fitting that I announce winners in the reverse order. Let’s start with the freshmen: class president—“ Val’s heart pounded in her chest, “—Valentina Hunter.”
There was polite applause, as well as a wolf-whistle from Alex; Val beamed.
“If you would please stand up,” Avery prompted. Val stood, and there were a couple of cheers as people recognized her.
Declaring the other officers took about a half hour; Val barely paid attention, excited as she was by her victory. Avery announced that she had won the school presidency position (which didn’t seem to surprise anyone), and that Colin would be the Junior class president. “Now, those of you who didn’t get a position, there’s no need to worry; you still have a role to fill. We’ll talk more about that next time, though. For now, if I could have the other class presidents meet me out in the hall for a brief moment. Everyone else is dismissed.” She stepped out of sight.
Val moved to follow, and she was joined by Colin and a sophomore she didn’t recognize. The girl was pretty, even if she did wear too much makeup; she went on ahead of Val and Colin, as the two matched pace to talk.
Colin clapped Val on the back, “So how’s it feel?”
Val shrugged, “I could ask you the same question.”
“Yeah, but I’ve been class president before. This is your first time.”
“I was president of my entire middle school,” Val bragged, “But still, it was nice. Believe it or not, I was still worried I might lose, even though Aiden was the only one opposing me.”
Colin smiled, “I believe it. Heck, I could run unopposed and I’d be worried I might lose—the politics in
this school can be crazy.” They cut off their conversation as they reached the alcove where Avery and the other girl were waiting.
“Colin, freshman,” Avery greeted. Val almost protested the epithet, but thought better of it—probably best not to annoy the soccer captain right before I try out for her team. Avery continued, “As class leaders, you exemplify the very best Palm Lake has to offer. Throughout the year, you’ll be responsible for various duties. In addition to any classwork and other extracurricular activities, you each must complete no fewer than thirty hours of community service. You will also be responsible for leading your class in any assemblies.”
They all nodded. Yeah, I get it, I read the flyer, Val thought. Avery looked at her and scowled before resuming her speech, “As long as you all understand what your duties are, we’ll be just fine. Don’t hesitate to come to me if you need anything; I’ll be happy to hear suggestions or offer advice,” the way she said it made it clear that nothing would make her less happy. “Anyway, that’s all I have prepared. Allow me to just ask for your phone numbers—and if you’d be so kind as to exchange them amongst yourselves too—and then we can all be done for the day.”
They did, and Avery headed to the girls’ locker room while Colin, Val and the sophomore class president—she entered herself into Val’s phone as Savannah Fox—shared their numbers with each other.
“Wow, three beautiful girls’ number at once,” Colin joked, “Must be my lucky day.”
Val laughed, but Savannah seemed to take offense; “You’d better not use that for anything other than Student Gov business,” the sophomore warned.
“Oh don’t worry,” Colin shot back, “You’re not my type anyway.”
Savannah huffed and stormed off. Val frowned at Colin, “That was mean.”
The junior shrugged, “Yeah, but she was mean first. It’s not like I’m so desperate I need to use Student Gov as an alley to meet girls.”
Val shook her head, “You still shouldn’t have been mean back. Just because someone’s mean to you doesn’t give you an excuse—“