Page 10 of Wicked Scandal

“Yeah.” He nods, lips pressed tightly. “Yeah. I get it. It was dumb of me to even ask.” He gives me a low wave and a crescent-moon smile. “See ya tomorrow, Mrs. Jenkins.”

I watch as he walks away, shoulders slumped in defeat. I wish like hell I could help him. I care about Wilder. I care about all my students. There’s just no way I can do what he’s asked. Troy would blow a gasket if he knew I was helping his opponent with his speeches.

Then again, what he doesn’t know won’t kill him. Not that I would care if it did.

No. I can’t, and I won’t. It’s too risky.

CHAPTER 3

WILDER

Pushing my feet on the floor in my bedroom, I propel my desk chair backward. My head falls back, the cool leather of the cushion feeling nice against my skin. I shouldn’t have even asked Mrs. Jenkins for help. Of course it’s a conflict of interest, and of course she’d say no.

The thing is, I’m not confident enough to do this on my own. I know this probably comes as a shock to people, but there are very few things I am confident in. Even posting on social media is hard for me. I tend to focus too much on how people might react instead of just releasing the content and letting them decide.

I want more than anything to prove to my dad that I can handle the tasks he throws at me—at CB and for his campaign. I don’t wanna let him down, but this is hard. It’s heavy shit knowing what I put in this document will be read by every voting resident of Willow Creek.

I suppose there are other teachers who could help me. I was just hoping she’d be the one. I think a lot about the time we spent working on that essay. How we got closer, became friends, even. Up until that last night when her husband showed up and acted like a fucking psycho. She was embarrassed, naturally so, and I’ve been just another face in her class ever since.

Moving back toward my desk, I open my search engine on my desktop and type in our school’s web address.

After scrolling through the staff directory, I decide to email Mr. Chen, my old government teacher. He and I got along well and he was always good at looking at both sides of history, not just one. I liked that. It made me feel like I had to actually learn something in order to decide which side I agreed with instead of being fed bias.

I get stuck on what to put as the subject but finally decide on something I think will get his attention. If I want to be taken seriously, I need to come across as such.

To: Mr. Chen

Subject: Request to Discuss an Important Matter

Hello Mr. Chen,

I am not sure you remember me from our class last semester but I was inspired by your teaching methods and would like to discuss something with you if you have the time.

Recently my father announced he would be running for mayor. This came as a shock to me, however, not as much of a shock as when he requested my assistance with his campaign. In short, he would like me to be his speech writer as well as assist in writing news articles.

Having been inspired by you to really look into politics and form my own opinions, I thought maybe you could help me. If you’re interested I would love to meet with you. I know this would take place over the summer and I would be willing to take any sort of help even if it was via email.

Thank you for your consideration.

Respectfully,

Wilder Cromwell

I ponder for a minute, rereading it a few times, all the while reviving my suspicion that my words are not eloquent.

After staring at the screen for fifteen minutes and running the email through an editing software to make sure I didn’t make any dumb mistakes, I hit send and roll my chair backward.

I can’t help the disappointment that sits in my gut as I stare at the unopened email from Jillian. For some reason I was dead set on Mrs. Jenkins helping me and now that the plan has changed, I feel less motivated.

Fuck it. I’ll just try to attempt this shit on my own.

I move forward in my seat and open the email to read the cliff notes for the article.

Should be easy enough. Mention his background as a member of the city council, the history of Cromwell Banks, a few words from him that Jillian added, his upcoming appearance on Channel 6 News next week, and the election date.

I’ve got this.

I start with the headline: Grant Cromwell Declares Candidacy in Willow Creek’s Mayoral Election.

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