Her Safe Haven

Chapter 35 - The Chase

They looked at each other and smirked. "Criminal as always."

The list was long — containing who got in and who did not — along with the new council positions and the number of votes. Seth and Helena were in again, Rose was Vice President again, Riley decided to step down this year so her name was not here... Scroll, scroll, scroll, Jonah was of course president again with almost eighty-percent of the total vote...

"Well, with that kind of popularity, he'd obviously be in."

Seth sighed at Tria's comment. "And with the entire school knowing he likes Winter, obviously Winter will get targeted..."

And there.

Winter McHalen, ELECTED, Secretary, 57%

Seth and Tria looked at each other again, and after a while they simultaneously grinned.

"That's our girl. So she's still in after all."

+++

The next day, Seth was interrupted from his afternoon's nap in Mr Hills' class when he, Jonah, and Rose were called out of the class by the principal.

He thought this was the usual to-be-councillors briefing, but it must be something else because Winter was not called from the class. Rose tapped Winter's shoulder briefly in parting before she walked ahead of him towards the principal's office.

Inside, seven other people were already there — a weird combination Seth must say, with Helena and Dean Barley, Leah Stewart, and three other random juniors he had seen around school — and after brief chatters among everyone, the principal cleared his throat and finally made his announcement:

"Congratulations, everyone! All of you have been voted as this year's Lakeside High's Student Council!"

Wait, what?

In midst of the cheers and hugs and high-fives from everyone, as Jonah the president  was being congratulated by the principal, Rose stepped back and furrowed her brows in thought as she whispered to him. "Winter lost?"

Seth gritted his teeth. Something was not right.

"No," he said, his fists clenching, "no, she didn't."

+++

"This was the old list we saw, and this is the new one."

Emergency meeting was in order, and right after dismissal, Seth, Jonah, Tria, Rose, and Riley gathered around a table at the canteen where Tria had printed the list of councillors that she and Seth saw as they hacked into the system yesterday, compared to the new one that Seth had asked from the principal "for filing".

"I don't understand. Winter didn't get in?" Riley asked, still not believing the final result.

"She did— look. This was in the system yesterday after the vote. It doesn't make sense, the only difference is—"

"Leah Stewart."

Rose, her eyes widening, finally pointed out the difference. Seth turned his attention from her back to the paper and true enough, there it was.

Leah and Winter's votes had been exchanged.

Seth gritted his teeth and hissed. "Leah Stewart. Of course it's her, now I know for sure. It's her— she's the one that's been trying to attack Winter."

"What?!" Jonah shrieked almost disbelievingly, "Seth, Leah has been nothing but nice to—"

"Think, Jonah, think! She fits all the criteria. She's in Winter's arts class, she takes biology, she's even in her PE class for goodness' sake—" Seth slammed the suspects list he had mustered a week ago; on it now were just six other names crossed out and the name Leah Stewart in a big bold circle.