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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Everything after Finn's speech seemed like a blur, including my own— which I was actually sort of grateful for. All I could remember was fumbling over my words and mixing up my flashcards, resulting in an awkward, ten-second-long pause where I struggled to figure out their correct order.
Normally, I would've been mortified. It wasn't like me to flub a public appearance at all, let alone that monumentally. But I was just too distracted to care. All I could seem to think about was what Finn said.
I was embarrassed, but not because of my speech. I was ashamed because Finn's words had summed up my high school experience in less than five minutes.
I'd spent so much time crafting the version of me that I wanted other people to see. Smart, studious, and popular, all with a holier-than-thou attitude to match. I made myself into a caricature in an attempt to match what I wanted. What I thought I wanted.
Isn't that the high school dream? To be popular, and liked and feared? We're supposed to want it— at one point, maybe I really did. But eventually, I became so busy trying to stay at the top of the food chain that I think I forgot to make sure I actually wanted to be there.
"Chloe, you okay?" Anita asked me, waving a mozzarella stick in front of my face to grab my attention.
I sighed, waving it away with a laugh. "I'm fine, just..." I looked down at my salad, mixing around the greens and stabbing at a sliced carrot. I didn't know if my friends would understand if I told them I wanted to talk to Finn. I'd been pretty secretive about the whole thing, which was weird— Anita and Karen knew everything about me.
"Is it about... your mom?" Karen asked, earning a wide-eyed, why-would-you-say-that look from Anita.
I shook my head, giving her a smile so she knew she didn't say something wrong. I looked between the two of them, thinking about how good they'd been to me this past year. I was sure it was a lot rougher being my friend when there were days I couldn't get out of bed, tests I didn't study for, and parties I just didn't feel like going to. But they'd been there for me every time, trading keggers for quiet sleepovers, catching me up on school work, and giving me a shoulder to lean on whenever I needed one.
They were friends I didn't want to lose— but something told me that they weren't about to leave over my little secret. They didn't even flinch when I told them Finn and I had teamed up, or when I pulled a one-eighty and let them know Preston was no longer an enemy.
"Finn and I kissed," I blurted, watching their eyes go wide. Anita's jaw dropped, and I hurried to explain. "It happened during detention— I wanted to tell you guys, I was just nervous what you would think. Plus, he and I got in this argument right after, and we haven't spoken since, so I didn't even know if it was worth mentioning."
"Worth mentioning?!" Karen dropped her pizza slice onto her tray, her outburst drawing a few looks from the other students at our table. I put a finger to my lips, urging her to lower her voice— the last thing I wanted was word getting around to Finn that I'd blabbed about our unexpected moment of passion.
