An ex-couples rivalry for the spot as student body president becomes even more convoluted when two new, unexpected candidates enter the race. Chloe and Preston team up, each vowing to get one member kicked from the competition-- but when they both e...
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I made it to school early the next day and rushed to find Mr. Elridge, begging him to oblige my request despite the signup period being over. He was clearly confused and taken aback by my desperation, but ultimately agreed. As of seven o'clock, I was no longer running for student body president, but for vice president instead.
My next step was to talk to Finn, which was easy enough since I knew he would be at school early. After initiating a food fight in the cafeteria on the first day of school that year, Principal Fulton had sentenced Finn to the job of mopping the cafeteria every Wednesday morning.
The cafeteria looked unfamiliar so early in the day. The large oak doors lacked their usual crowd pushing to get in, and there were no disorganized lines of teenagers waiting to get food. All the tables were folded and stood up, pushed to the edges of the large room.
Finn was alone, mopping in the center with his back turned towards me, donned in heavy-looking boots, tattered jeans, and a plain white thermal, a red flannel tied at his waist. He looked small in contrast to the high ceilings and tall windows, which let in sunlight that shone against the wet and streaky white floor. He didn't turn to look when I entered, and it wasn't hard to figure out why— I could hear the loud music emitting from his headphones even with all the space between us.
The wailing guitars and sharp cymbal hits grew clearer as I walked towards him, my shoes clicking against the floor, the sound reverberating in the giant room. His body swayed to the music, hips moving back and forth, head bobbing to the rhythm. I let out a breath as I neared, trying not to regret the choices that led me to this.
"Finn?" I spoke his name but he didn't respond, clearly unable to hear over the blaring music. I placed a hand on his shoulder and he jumped, letting out a loud curse, his movement causing me to jerk back as he turned with wide eyes.
He yanked the white cords from his ears, throwing the mop down. The wood rattled loudly against the floor, almost distracting me from his heavy breaths and furious expression. "Jesus Christ! What the hell are you trying to do, kill me?"
"I-"
"The hell is the matter with you? Talk about a way to give someone a heart attack," he spoke over me, running one hand through his hair, the other resting on his hip. He closed his eyes, breathing in deeply through his nose. He sure looked a lot less intimidating with a flushed face and obviously racing heart.
"I said your name," I justified. "You didn't hear me."
"Don't sneak up on people like that," he ignored my statement and pointed a finger at me, eyes snapping open to bore into mine.
"I didn't—" I sighed, swallowing my pride. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. But I—"
"Hey, uh-uh, no," he interrupted again, shaking his head and waving the finger back and forth. "I wasn't scared, you caught me off guard."
