—
14.0
—
Our stroll to the café was quiet but refreshing, providing respite from the intensity of the election events. After a few minutes, we arrived at the busy café. The uptick in the number of people made sense given the break, and as we entered, I felt eyes fall on us. The whispers around us were plainly about Hazel and me, but I didn't mind.
“The line is too long. I don't think we would be able to order anything before the break is over,” Hazel observed, her eyes scanning the crowded space.
“Want to try someplace else?” I suggested, already turning to leave.
“Wait,” a male voice called out, stopping us in our tracks. I turned to see a muscular figure that stood out even under his layered clothing—a shirt and sweater. His short, spiky hair and towering stature gave him an intimidating presence. “Marcus and Hazel, right?” he asked, his tone friendly but direct.
“Yes, that's us. Do you need something?” Hazel interjected swiftly.
“Just wanted to ask what drink you want,” the stranger said.
“What?” I expressed surprise at his offer.
“I want to get you guys a drink since I am next in line. Just think nothing of it,” the stranger explained, smiling.
Think nothing of it? That was quite the ask. The only thing I could do was wonder why he would do that, but I didn't know him or his intentions.
“Thank you for the offer, but I don't even know who you are,” I said cautiously.
“Is that truly important at the moment? I don't think so, but if you are so keen on knowing, just call me Robin. So what would you two like?” he remarked, introducing himself with a casual shrug.
I turned to Hazel to get her opinion on the situation.
“I will have a peach smoothie,” Hazel said, surprising me with her swift decision.
So that was how she opted to handle the situation. Alright then, I'll follow her lead.
“An espresso for me, thanks. And can they both be to-go?” I added.
“You got it,” Robin said, returning to the counter to place the order. Hazel and I locked eyes again and moved to find a place to sit. The atmosphere was buzzing with chatter, and we found a quiet corner to sit down.
It was quiet between us for a while, then Hazel broke the silence. “Aren’t you going to ask about him?”
“I was, but not right now. We still have the election to win. Or is he going to pose a problem to that?” I asked, leaning forward slightly.
“At this rate, most likely not, but I am not sure what to make of this encounter,” she answered, her brow furrowing slightly in concern.
I decided to whip out my phone and check on Kusumoto's post. “Do you think the school would get involved?” I asked as I looked at the trending post.
“You asked this question yesterday,” she noted.
“But you didn't give me an answer,” I reminded her.
“Oh? I didn't? Guess I might have been tired,” Hazel admitted, letting out a small laugh.
“Sorry about that,” I said, feeling guilty for causing her stress.
“No need to apologise. Well, about the question, I think the school might investigate, considering it has something to do with bullying. I don't see Cohen walking away from this clean,” Hazel explained.
Approaching footsteps made us pause our conversation, and we looked over to find Robin holding two drinks.
“Here you go,” he replied, placing the cups on the table for us.
“Thanks a lot for your help,” I said, showing appreciation.
“No big deal. Well, I got to go, take care,” he said, waving at us as he made his way to the other side of the café.
I looked at my cup and took a sip of the espresso, savouring its rich flavour before preparing to leave. “Come on, let's head back,” I said to Hazel, who nodded in agreement as we both stood up and started walking towards the exit.
The covert glances our way had not stopped, but I looked over to see where Robin had gone and found him seated at a booth with his back turned, speaking with a girl. A girl who had her eyes trained on me as we locked eyes for a moment. I immediately looked the other way and left the store with Hazel, but she looked familiar.
“Shayna, I think that’s her name,” I muttered under my breath as I thought out loud.
“What was that?” Hazel asked, having heard my muttering.
“Nothing to worry about. Anyways, I wanted to ask why you ordered a smoothie?” I asked, changing the subject.
“Is there anything wrong with doing that?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Not at all. Just curious,” I replied, shrugging.
“I hate the taste of beans, especially coffee beans,” she explained, wrinkling her nose at the thought.
“I see. So you usually order a smoothie from there?” I asked.
“Exactly,” she confirmed with a nod.
“Is it any good?” I asked, genuinely curious.
“Well, not as great as the one from that store in the mall, but it does have its perks,” she continued, her eyes lighting up.
“I see. Now I wish I could have tried it out,” I admitted, my voice tinged with regret.
“That’s a shame. I would have offered some of mine to you, but sharing isn't my strong suit,” she added with a cheeky look on her face.
“That was obvious,” I said with a chuckle.
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” she replied, taking a long sip of her smoothie and savouring the flavour.
The weather was cool, with a fine breeze sweeping through the area. Hazel had her hair tied up in advance, preventing it from flying around uncontrollably, but I couldn’t help but imagine how it would look if it did. Perhaps a bit of mischief was on the horizon, but I stopped myself as we neared the auditorium, focusing on the task ahead.
—
14.1
—
The audience had mostly reconvened in the auditorium, and I got ready to make my way back on stage. Hazel took a seat by the stairs leading to the stage.
“Hey,” a voice called out. I turned to see Sullivan approaching us.
“Took you quite a while,” I said, watching him walk up next to me. He waved to Hazel, who waved back.
“Yep, had a quick class meeting,” Sullivan explained.
“Tomiko. She needs to stop taking my teammates' time,” I joked.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Sullivan laughed a little. “I guess you could have a word with her after this.”
“I probably might,” I responded with a smile.
“Welcome back, everyone. Without wasting any time, let us now begin the Audience Question Round,” the announcer said loudly over the speakers.
“So is she not going to show up?” Sullivan asked, referring to our absent teammate.
“She will. Don’t worry about it,” Hazel reassured him, remaining seated.
“May the teams please come on stage,” the announcer called.
Harley approached us as if on cue. Her look was difficult to decipher, but it was evident that whatever had occurred during her absence had caused her immense distress.
“Let’s go,” Hazel remarked, standing up and leading the way. We followed behind in stride, even Harley.
We stood together, joined by the other teams. A glance at Cohen's team told me he knew he had no chance. Moreover, he was likely aware that he could face serious consequences for what he had done.
“Let us begin the Audience Question Round. Every representative is to listen for their name, as this is the signal for them to ask their question. Hayden Underwood,” the announcer said. I watched as a boy stood up, three rows away from the front.
“Hello everyone. I have a question for Class 2. I want to know if your plan to reduce the cost of living would also take into account our tuition fees as well,” he asked his question and promptly returned to his seat. Tomiko stepped forward to the podium as she elected herself to answer the question.
“Hello, everyone. I have a question for Class 2,” he began. “Does your plan to reduce the cost of living also include addressing tuition fees?” With his query posed, he gave a slight nod and returned to his seat. Tomiko stepped up to the podium and adjusted the microphone slightly before speaking.
“I understand your concern, and to tell you the absolute truth, I am unable to give a suitable answer to that question. My current knowledge on the matter is that the school already has a high tuition fee as well as a high upkeep fee. However, the school is fully funded by the government, and not just one but three nations' governments. This should mean that the school should be able to easily cut down on the tuition fee, but it still remains high for some reason. You could chalk it up to making some profit or maintaining exclusivity for only those who can afford it, despite awarding scholarships to those who can’t. With that being said, I would look into the issue concerning the high tuition fees,” she said, giving the best answer she could in the situation before returning to her team.
“Kailey Luna,” the announcer said, and a strange wave of anxiety swept through me. My sister was now under the spotlight, and I worried she might make a mistake under the pressure. Whatever the case, she had volunteered and persuaded her classmates to let her be their representative. I wasn't sure what effect this would have, as many might feel biassed since she is my sister. However, that was dependent on people's ability to connect the dots. Many might assume it was just a coincidence, and it might fly over the heads of others.
“Hello everyone, I have a question for Class 3. As the thing on many of our minds, I am just going to come out and say it. Bullying is a serious offence, and there is substantial evidence that you engaged in it to try and crush the competition and win by any means possible. Now tell me, why should we vote for someone who can do something as vile as this?” Kailey said.
With the question leaving her mouth and her goal complete, she sat down. A soft smile formed across my face as I felt somewhat prideful about how she had handled the situation. As I expected, Cohen was not the one to answer. Instead, Amelie took to the podium, and despite the difficult situation she and her group were in, she did not look the least bit fazed as she still wore the same calm expression she had on.
“The accusations made against my team and class are serious, and the evidence does seem conclusive enough. But I will tell you that we would be willing to work with the school to bring the truth to light. Whether you can trust us until then, I won't force you nor pressure you to do so, as you have the freedom to form your own opinion on the matter. I just hope that it is not made in haste and is the right one,” she said, then stepped back.
Denial without explicitly stating it. The technique was intriguing, and I believed it was the only one they could employ to try to mitigate the effect of the accusations. Despite this, though, I could see it doing very little to sway audience perception. It was smooth sailing from here.
The round went rather swiftly because the questions were primarily re-explaining what had been expressed in the Presidents' Question Round. Apart from Class 3 being constantly asked about the bullying and Amelie stepping in to answer, the rest went pretty well.
“With that, we have come to the end of the debate. I hope all the candidates have been able to properly leave a positive impression on the audience as they make their way to the voting booths. Candidates can now leave the stage,” the announcer stated.
This cue made us walk off into the backstage area.
“You guys are free to roam around. They will be voting for a while, so we have some time,” I said to my team as my gaze landed on Harley, who had been utterly silent since the start of the last round. She then turned around and left as soon as I said so.
“What are we going to do about her?” Sullivan asked.
“No idea, but we will figure something out later. First, let's see if we can clear this hurdle,” I remarked as I reclined in my chair and closed my eyes. The sound of shuffling feet informed me of their departure. I'm not sure how long I stayed in this state, but I eventually got up and went for a walk. I needed a drink.
I was not willing to walk over to a store to buy any, and there were no vending machines close by. Luckily, there was a water dispenser with plastic cups that I could use. I took one of these disposable cups and filled it with cold water, taking several gulps from it. This has been stressful.
The brief walk helped a lot in relieving the stress I felt. As I was walking back to the backstage area, I noticed two figures in the distance. As I got closer, I recognised Tomiko and her vice president, Daichi.
From the looks of it, Daichi was very animated as he told her something, but I couldn't hear them as they cut their conversation short as soon as they saw me. I didn't mind this at all, respecting their privacy, and decided to walk past. However, I could feel Tomiko's eyes on me as she watched me pass. I half-expected her to say something, but she didn't at that moment.
I returned to my seat and saw Hazel on her phone.
“Anything new?” I questioned her about the stunt we pulled.
“Well, apart from the post still trending, there is nothing new,” she answered without looking away from her screen. “They are done voting, by the way,” she added nonchalantly, much to my surprise.
“Are you serious?” The surprise in my voice was evident.
“Well, the voting process is fully electronic. Guess you didn't know about that,” she remarked with a mischievous look on her face. Its purpose was unknown, but I assumed it was due to the fact that she got one over on me, despite how small this win was. My mind wandered back to the election. Since it was an electronic election, I prepared myself, as the results would be announced soon enough.
“May the candidates please make their way to the stage,” the announcer said.
I sighed a little, then stretched as I waited a short while for both Sullivan and Harley to arrive. The other candidates were present as well, and together we all went onto the stage.
We stood in our respective teams and awaited the result.
“Thank you all for your votes and for participating in this year’s student council election. Not to waste any time, let us announce the final result for the votes cast,” the announcer added, pulling a piece of paper from his back pocket. “A total of 615 individuals voted, with 529 representing the student body and 86 representing the teaching and academic boards. Each of those votes is properly represented in this result in my hand. I will now begin the announcement.”
He read through the contents of the paper briefly before returning his focus to the audience.
“Coming in third with a total vote of 7% is…” The announcer held off on the revelation a little to try and build suspense, but it was quite obvious what the outcome was. “Cohen and Class 3.”
With this came some claps, but it was easy to see they were done out of courtesy. A quick glance at Cohen revealed that he was probably thinking about the predicament he'd gotten himself into. However, someone had a smile on their face. It was something I expected to see on Cane, but this didn't originate from him. Instead, it came from the vice president representative, Amelie. My mind bolted as I tried to find the meaning behind the smile. Was it self-deprecation? No, this was simply one of pleasure and joy. Why, though?
“Coming in at second with a total of 44% is…”
This statement made me snap out of my thoughts as I realised how close the votes between Tomiko and me were. I did accomplish my goal of making sure Cohen did not win this election, but how about the secondary objective? I eagerly anticipated the results.
“Tomiko and Class 2.”
My tightened chest relaxed, and a sigh of relief escaped my lips.
“That means with 49% of the total votes, Marcus and Class 1 are the winners of the student council election,” the announcer said. As he did so, the audience erupted in cheers, and I wasn't sure what to make of it.
“YEAH!” Sullivan yelled directly next to me, almost making me jump. He thrust his fists into the air, overcome by the excitement of triumph.
Should I join in as well? Would this be received negatively? Lingering doubts clouded my mind, even in the moment of triumph. My eyes landed on Hazel, and I felt entranced by her at that moment. She was trying to hold in a large smile but was actively failing; her eyes were squinted a little as it seemed she was trying to hold back tears. I didn't know what it was or why I felt this way, but I could only think of one thing.
“You look cute,” I said under my breath.
“What?” she said, and I realised what I'd just said to her. I tried not to panic, hoping she hadn't heard me over the noise around us.
“Did you say something?” she asked, avoiding eye contact. I felt she didn't want me to fully see her face in its emotional state. Due to the noise, I decided to lean in a bit so she could hear me.
“I only said thank you for this,” I said softly.
She seemed to freeze up briefly after hearing me. To respond, she stretched a little, her mouth reaching the tip of my ear.
“I am not the only one you should thank,” she whispered, her breath sending shivers down my spine. “So you should save that for the celebratory meeting later, alright?” she added, then pulled away from me. All I could do was nod in agreement. I took deep breaths, slowly soaking in the cheers and relishing our victorious outcome.
I could see Tomiko clapping as well; her expression was one of gracious defeat. Cohen, on the other hand, looked like he was trying to melt into the floor, his face a mask of frustration and resignation. Amelie, though, still wore that enigmatic smile, and I couldn’t help but wonder what she was thinking.
“Congratulations to all the candidates for a well-fought election. Marcus and Class 1, as the new student council leaders, you have the opportunity to make a real difference. We look forward to seeing what you accomplish,” the announcer said.