Page 59 of It's in the Contract
“I have to go, you little pill.” But I bend down to give her a scratch. She pants, her droopy cheeks in a smile.
I have to stay focused. I’m ahead for now, but a lot can change in three weeks. And losing is definitely not an option. That level of humiliation? There’s no way I could withstand it.
Zeke buckles Miainto her car seat in the back and then walks around the car to sit next to her. He immediately reaches forward for the radio and plugs in his phone, turning on the playlist called “Mia’s Mix”.
A song that repeats the words “Unicorns I love them” over and over bombards my speakers.
Suzy makes a face from where she sits in the passenger seat, looking sharp in high-waisted jeans and a red-striped top. Her long black hair is in a French braid tied with a red ribbon.
Zeke grins, a half-smile that brings out a dimple in his cheek. “You don’t mind, do you? She does a lot better in the car if she has some music to distract her.”
“Unicorns I LOVE THEM!” Mia screams at the top of her lungs.
I cringe. “Of course. This song is a classic.”
Zeke’s smile makes the music and backseat shrieking worth it.
After the car ride from hell, we arrive at the overlook that lets you look at the top of the museum. I park the car and shut off the music so we can take in the view of the museum from above.
“I’ve never seen the museum from the top,” Suzy says.
Zeke leans forward so his head is in the space between me and Suzy. “It looks like someone melted a technicolor guitar.”
I laugh. The roof of the museum is a mishmash of bright colors—scarlet red, cotton candy blue, and emerald green. There are sections that look like the broken neck of a guitar and another portion that could be the center hole thing where peoplestrum. “Cool, right? And look right there on the left. I always thought it looked like someone fanned out the skirt of a princess’ gold dress and froze it.”
Mia perks up. “Princess dress?”
“See?” Zeke says, pointing.
“That’s not a princess dress.” Mia frowns. “Silly Callie.”
I drive around to the front of the museum, where we pay a small fortune for parking and exit the car. Zeke holds Mia’s hand across the parking lot, and she skips along in leopard print pants and a hot pink dress.
Zeke gets the door, and we enter the building. The MoPop is even better than I remember with its high ceilings and weirdly unique exhibits. After paying for tickets (I practically have to shove Zeke out of the way so I can pay for my own), we stand before an enormous inverted pyramid of guitars. I’m flooded by memories. Dad and I used to come here all the time. We’d get season passes and explore every weekend, and the museum is so big that I never got bored.
The cone is a mishmash of guitars standing every which way, some acoustic, some electric, some bright pink and some neon blue. They’re stacked clear to the ceiling, where they fan out. I inhale the scent of old wood. Suzy glances at the sculpture before looking back down at her phone, where she’s tapping away. Zeke stares, open-mouthed, but Mia pulls on his hand, wanting to keep moving. I could’ve appreciated the sculpture longer, too, but we move on.
We enter an enormous room that I loved as a kid. The lighting is dim and hazy, with purple and red and blue all around. Crowds of people take pictures and laugh, appreciating the exhibits. An image of Seattle’s nightscape lights up the whole back wall, and it moves, making you feel like you’re really in the city.
Suzy stands off to the side, texting furiously. “I think we should go back to the idea of making a video. Your votes so far are looking great, but the momentum is waning. If we can get a video persuading people to vote for you in front of the student body, it will hopefully give us the final push we need.”
I nod, but my mind drifts as we continue to walk through the museum. This morning Brielle posted an Instagram story promising a kiss for anyone who could prove they’d voted for her. Ewww. I wonder how Noah feels about that strategy.
“That could work,” I say.
We walk forward, staying within distance of Zeke and Mia without getting too close. I’m sure he doesn’t care about what we’re planning.
“What if . . .” I pause. “Maybe instead of getting on the school news system and making an announcement, we could make a music video?”
“Yes!” Suzy types more notes into her phone. “I love it. That would be way more dynamic and interactive, and we’d hold people’s attention a lot more. What song should we use?”
We look at each other. “BTS, of course!” I say.
“But is everyone as obsessed with them as we are?” she asks. “Will everyone else like it?”
I think for a moment. What would other people think? I can’t help that my thoughts go to Caroline. She would do what she wanted, not caring about other’s opinions. But I don’t have that luxury.
“Let’s think about it,” I say. “Maybe we can ask Cassidy and Brian to run a poll to get people’s favorite bands?”
