AN AVERAGE BOY BECOMES A POPULAR CHEERLEADER

Chapter 2

Lucy had been strutting the halls of the school for weeks. She was constantly reveling in her popularity. All around her were envious, jealous, lustful eyes. Men and women who flocked to her for fashion advice, workout routines, or to join their lousy associations... Boys lined up to wash or drive her car, and girls kept copying her own style of dress.

And she could choose to scorn them, mock them or smile at them: the result was always the same: they were delighted by the attention she gave them. Just talking to Lucy the cheerleader was an honor in itself. She was the center of attention.

Even everyone who came to the high school team's games looked less at the players than at Lucy herself as she performed her acrobatics and graceful movements. Of course, she had to deal with endless requests for dates from horny teenagers who were excited by her presence. Fortunately, she could count on her usual crowd of followers to fend off the undesirables and losers she now deemed unworthy of her.

And for the few who had the audacity to take offense at her refusal, and who dared to insult or disrespect her, the school bullies took care of punishing them as they should...

But Lucy had gradually grown tired of this popularity. Strange as it may seem to her, she who had only known indifference and mediocrity, being constantly in the center of attention and adored for no other reason than her looks and personality did not satisfy her anymore. Of course, she could get anything she wanted from anyone, and could say or do anything without risking reprisals, consequences or disapproval. She felt more empowered and in control of her life and destiny than ever before.

Yet, the more she thought about her situation, the more she wondered where all this could lead. It was as if, despite her popularity, she was missing something to complete a kind of puzzle...

So Lucy quickly concluded something very simple: Popularity alone was not enough.

No, popularity was a resource. It was a means, not an end. And like any resource, it had to be spent to get something else of equal value. To her it was obvious: Lucy was going to use her popularity to gain something she had only virtually: power.

Of course, Lucy had power. She could determine who was popular and who was not, choose to humiliate whoever she wanted, favor or discriminate against a social group according to her own desires and interests... With her popularity on social networks, she could even tell people what to buy and consume.

Yes, she had become the master of her destiny and her life... But in the end, all this was only an illusion.

But in the end, it was all an illusion. Because she wanted to have real power: the power to directly change the daily life of everyone and to enforce her will by force and legitimacy and not by simple voluntary submission or irrational admiration.

For this, she had to become the next President of the Student Council.

The role of the Student Council was to set the rules for community life in the school. It was made up of students elected from each class and led by a President elected for one year. Outside the classroom, even the teachers had to abide by the rules imposed by the Council. These elected officials had the heavy responsibility of managing several thousand students, and their decisions weighed on the eight hours each of them spent in the school each day.

As the school year had just begun, the renewal of the terms of the President and the members of the Board was at hand. Naturally, Lucy had been elected and re-elected to the board. In fact, she sat on the board with half the cheerleading squad.

So far, the Student Council had never been very ambitious, merely making safety regulations, proposing accommodations or help for students in academic difficulty... Nothing revolutionary. But Lucy wanted to change all that.