Don't Scream (Complete)

Chapter 17

Cassidy Hoskins

Not making it into the cheerleading team was only a minor setback for Cassidy. She was still continuing her journey up the social ladder and just because Scott didn't seem to take any interest in her wasn't going to sidetrack Cassidy from her larger, more important goal. 

Cassidy decided she had to firstly expand her circle of friends. Sylvia was her pal, Cassidy knew for sure, but still, she was only acquaintances with most of her other classmates and Cassidy had to change that. So, she set to work. 

It was a subtle issue, but the job was tedious. Cassidy had to start up conversations during homeroom, class, recess and even after school itself, but by the end of the third week, Cassidy felt she was doing good for herself. Everyone knew her as the girl who'd roughed up Iona Fortuna, only to get pushed into her swimming pool. But any gossip was good enough for Cassidy to begin making a name for herself. Now, Cassidy, with her small-time fame, managed to establish positive relationships with the people in her class. 

Cassidy now knew Jenna, Vanessa and Melissa, three of Sylvia's old cheerleader colleagues who were part of their class. The trio got her and Sylvia tickets to become more well-recognized with the popular crowd, which consisted of about half the boys and three quarters of the girls. 

Everyone else, apart from the jocks, cheerleaders and preps, were mostly the nerds, hipsters and slackers. Cassidy saw no need to get buddy-buddy with the hipsters of slackers, but she saw potential in the nerd population. Someday, one of those scrawny, pip-squeaked students could be a valuable asset to high school politics or just be enough of a bootstrap for her to push around and force to do her homework. 

Next up on Cassidy's little list was to get into a extra-curricular club or activity. Becoming a cheerleader had been Cassidy's initial choice, but that idea was now ruled out because of Iona. Cassidy had to find something else, something equally helpful to her mission. 

These thoughts filled Cassidy's head on that cold, dreary morning in homeroom as she sat by her desk, staring off into space while the class waited for Mrs. Mackelroy to arrive. Her eyes roved blankly across the posters on the class notice board, not really taking anything in until one particular poster caught her eye. 

Want your voice heard? 

Join the Cliffton High Student Council! 

Interviews will be held today, in the library at 3:00. 

"Hey, Cass!" 

Cassidy turned to see Sylvia walking in, waving at her. 

"Tell me, honestly, do you think it'd be a good idea to join the Student Council?" Cassidy asked Sylvia, pulling her forward by the arm as she drew nearer. 

"What?" 

"The Student Council." 

"Are you thinking of joining?" 

The idea seemed good to Cassidy. First of all, yes, she admitted she definitely wanted her voice to be heard in this school. Secondly, Iona had boasted to Cassidy on the first day of school itself about how she was Vice-President of the Student Council; keyword being Vice. Cassidy knew how much it would spite Iona; the idea of being admitted into the Council with Iona not having the power to kick her out as she had done with her cheerleading tryouts because, as Cassidy knew, the Council consisted of more than just one person, her making it into the Council or not would be decided among the entire Council and Iona alone could not stop it. 

"Oh, Cass, but Iona-" 

"It'd be a great opportunity nonetheless. Think of all the perks! We'll literally be residing up there as the Head of the School. We'll be contributing to how we rule the school!" Cassidy exclaimed. 

Sylvia shrugged. "Well, why not? Do you want to go for the interviews?" 

"Absolutely." 

"How are you going to prepare?" Sylvia asked, sweeping some hair out of her face as she took the seat next to Cassidy. 

"Prepare?" The question hadn't yet struck Cassidy. How was she going to ace the interview and get into the Council? 

"What kind of questions do they ask? In the interview?" Cassidy asked Sylvia. 

She thought for a while, then turned round and scanned the classroom, pointing at a black girl seated at the back, dressed in an immaculate, symmetrical and yet simplistically fashionable set of clothing. "That girl over there's Valerie Smarts. She's a member of the Council and from what I've heard, she's also a fashion designer in the making. She was voted trendiest and most fashionable student thrice in a row and she's hosted her fair share of fashion shows in the day. She could help you with the interview. Maybe she'll even leak you some information." 

"I don't know about it though, she looks kind of...calculating," Cassidy murmured uncertainly, eyeing the mysterious girl. 

"Well, if you don't feel comfortable talking to Valerie, there's also Lionel Thomson." 

Sylvia pointed to a curly-haired, scruffy looking guy lurking by the side of the classroom and listening to music from his iPod. He seemed to have a lot of nervous energy as he was constantly shuffling his feet and tapping his fingers on the table. 

"I've spoken to Lionel once or twice and he's actually a really sweet guy. Just don't tell Jack that. Anyway, he might be worth asking. He's not in the Council, but from what I've heard when eavesdropping on other people's conversations, he was one of the best candidates that went for the interviews last year. Maybe he can help you out. He's known for being very reliable," Sylvia parroted to Cassidy. 

"Reliable? How so?" 

"This may sound shady, but any job you need done, he's your guy. In a sense, you could say he's out for hire." 

Cassidy didn't feel very fond of either Valerie or Lionel. Valerie looked too mature for Cassidy's taste, too high-class and sophisticated. Lionel looked too suspicious and mistrustful. She wanted nothing to do with either of them, but she knew if she really wanted to get into the Council, then her best chances of getting in would be to consult one of the two. But which one?