Page 44 of True to You

Chapter 19

Izzy

I feel a little better on Monday. Of course, it helped that both Cindy and Veronica watched my video and knew I looked upset, so they both came over Friday night and then we hung out over the weekend. I really don’t know what I’d do without those girls.

As I walk on to campus, I feel an abnormal number of stares locked on me. I’ve been recording on my channel for a couple years, so most of the looks about that have come and gone. These looks are something else. And they’re attached to whispers. About half-way through first period, I find out what all the looks and whispers are about.

Veronica turns around in here chair, as the prom court ballots are being dispensed out by student assistants. “You’re on the ballot. This is amazeballs!”

“What?” I nearly rip the paper in half, grabbing it out of her hand so fast. “Oh, my God. I’m on the ballot. Why am I on the ballot?”

“What are you talking about?” Veronica takes the paper back as I grab my own. “Izzy, you’re amazing. You totally deserve to be on the ballot.”

I try to ignore the whispers spreading in the class, keeping my eyes locked on the piece of paper.

“Seriously, V?” I scan the list of names. “Yvette Morales? Sarah Donovan? Bridgett Talbot? These girls practically run the school.”

“What about Jennifer Harris? I don’t know who that is?”

“Yes, you do,” I counter. “She sits with Emma and Carter Dixon. She’s just as pretty as any of these other girls. And she’s starred in the last three plays the drama department put on.”

“Izzy, you’re pretty.”

“Yes, but I’m not model-wannabe like these girls. Plus, Jen’s popular without trying to be popular. It makes sense she’d be on the list.” A knot of indignation forms in my stomach. “V, I’m on here for one reason and one reason only.”

“No. Don’t you even say it.” She’s still facing me, now pointing a finger in my face. “You’re not the joke vote.”

“Then what do you call this?” I wave the paper in her face.

She scans her sheet again. “Maybe they didn’t do joke votes this year.”

I guess anything is possible. I look over the list again and don’t see any obvious choices for the girls’ joke vote. Then I look over to the guys’ list. Matt’s name is there. And there’s Franco and Oscar. Jeremy McCormick’s name is on the list, who always gave me the creeps, but he is one of the most popular guys in school. Then, right between Matt’s name and the captain of our wrestling team, sits a name I recognize. Sam Patterson.

I joined the debate team last year, at the request of one of my teachers who thought I was an excellent speaker after she found out about my channel. It was fun enough but wasn’t really my thing, so I didn’t do it again this year. But Sam is captain of the debate team.

He’s really sweet, and he was so embarrassed last year when he had to get braces. But that didn’t deter him from doing what he wanted to do. He kept leading debate and even though the chess club had only a handful of people in it, he’s stuck with it all four years of school. He wears these incredibly thick glasses too, which only contributed to what everyone called a dorky look. To me, he just looked like an average high school student. Okay, maybe above average because he was always lugging around at least five books at a time, but still, he’s nice.

I asked him last year if he ever thought about getting contact lenses, but he said they bothered his eyes. So he was relegated to, as he put it, his ‘coke bottle glasses’.

“No, they still did them,” I tell Veronica.

“How do you know?”

“Look who’s on the guys’ side.”

“Mm-hmm.” She nods. “I see them, including Hottie McFanboy.” She starts giggling.

“Yeah, well look right under his name.”

“Sam Patterson. Who’s that?”

“That, my dear V, is the guys’ joke vote. He’s into chess and debate. I got to know him a bit last year.”

“Oh, you mean …” She makes circles out of her fingers and puts them to her eyes.

“V, that’s mean,” I say, but still have to chuckle a little. “But, yes, him.”

“Well, I don’t care.” She folds her arms. “Joke vote or not, you deserve to be on prom court. You’re awesome. So, if you are the joke vote, I say own it.”

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