It's Only a Matter of Time

Chapter 16

President

Thomas' POV

During lunch we were painting murals on a wall. It was a blank wall that was very boring. I walked into the art room to clean my brushes, when a sign caught my eye. It was bright and I guess it was new because I hadn't seen it before. It said: "Are you a leader? For the first time ever, our school will be having a student government! See Mr. Washington to sign up"

Hm. It would be fun. I would love to boss Alexander around like he did when we were setting up the dance. I laughed at the idea. I think I will go to Mr. Washington and ask to sign up. Of course, I have to buy all my materials. Wait, doesn't Eliza like painting? I wonder if she will paint signs for me. Who am I kidding? Angelica hates me and she would never let her little sister come paint signs for me.

After I was done washing out my paint brushes, I went to Mr. Washington's classroom. He was sitting behind his desk grading papers. I thought about what I wanted to say.

"Hi. I was wondering if I could run for student president. How do I sign up?" I said.

Mr. Washington reached under a stack of notebooks and pulled out a sheet of paper. He gave me a pen and pointed to the bottom of the paper. It was like a Google Sheet but on paper. I put in my name and smiled. I'm on my way! I thanked Mr. Washington and left the room. I went to get my lunch and found James M. and Aaron. They were sitting in the gym foyer like always. But someone else was there. It was Theodosia. I groaned.

"Hi," I said as I tried to mask my disappointment.

"Hello," my friends replied.

I sat down with them. I told my friends and Theodosia about how I was going to run for president. James smiled. He had the nicest smile in the world. Aaron was talking to Theodosia and was unaware of his surroundings.

"Come on," I whispered to James.

We got up and went outside. I sat on one of the swings. I half heartedly swung. James had a concerned look on his face

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I..." I sighed, "I need to tell you something."

"Sure."

"I would like to...date you. I think you're awesome and cool and funny and-"

"Thomas. Stop."

"What?!"

"I think so too. I would love to."

I jumped off of the swing. I couldn't believe my luck. Did I just-? Am I-? Yes! I grinned. James hopped off the swing too. I grabbed his hand and we walked into the foyer. Aaron and Theodosia were kissing. I groaned and ignored them.

"Do you mind?" James snapped.

Theodosia and Aaron stopped kissing when they heard James. Theodosia's face got bright when she saw me and James holding hands. She rummaged in her backpack and got out a pencil and notebook. She tapped the pencil against her chin for a moment and then wrote something.

"Let's see....Ooh! Magenta, yellow, and gray. Actually...no gray," she said.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"I'm planning your wedding..." Theodosia answered.

Aaron stifled a laugh. My face got very hot. We all knew that Theodosia wanted to be a wedding planner when she grew up. I got a great idea. I hopped up and ran outside. I saw Alexander and his friends sitting in the field. I ran up to them

"I'm running for president so you have to respect me!" I boasted.

"Nobody cares!" Lafayette answered.

James ran up to me and seized my hand. He started dragging me back to the gym foyer. 

"Nooooo," I complained.

When we got back to the gym, the bell immediately rang. We grabbed our things and headed to class.

Time Skip!!!

Mr. Washington's POV

I hung up my coat in the mud room. Martha was not home yet. She was still grading papers. Martha taught Humanities for 6th and 8th grade. I teach 7th grade math. I love my class but sometimes...they can be a lot.

We had no children or pets. It was just me and Martha. I strolled into the kitchen and started making a sandwich. I sat down at the table. Ten minutes later, Martha came through the door. I smiled.

"I think you should run for president," she announced.

"Of the United States?" I asked.

"No! Of the school. You could totally do it," Martha answered.

I laughed a little. Martha put her hands on her hips. I knew she was serious now.

"Well...I already put your name on the sign up sheet."

"What? Martha...no!"

She shrugged and then went to put her shoes away. I knew that all the students at school loved me so I would probably win for president if Martha actually put my name up. I went to my desk to grade some papers. It'd be fun to be president.