Page 25 of It's in the Contract
“I do know it.” Suzy looks straight at my eyes with that intense dark stare of hers. “Because this is exactly what happened with me and Brielle in middle school. Well.” She rolls her eyes. “Not exactly. There wasn’t Homecoming crown on the line back then. I saw Brielle cheating for real, and I told the teacher. I even snapped a pic of it with my phone so I could have proof. I was just trying to do the right thing, I wasn’t trying to be a snitch.”
“I know,” I say. “I remember when that happened. Brielle was pissed.”
The hallway is emptying as more students head to class, and the late bell dings overhead.
Suzy nods. “Somehow Brielle found out that it was me who told.”
“Suzy, I’m so sorry. She shouldn’t have . . . she had no right . . .” My fists clench at my sides. “We’ll tell Principal Melrose the truth. They have to let you run!”
Suzy sighs. “We can try. But I think it’s already too late. My name is already off the website.” Suzy taps away on her phoneand pulls up the site where the voting is being recorded. Not many people have put in their votes yet, but Brielle’s already up to fifty. I am at a bare dozen. And now Suzy’s name is gone.
Anger burns in my chest. “I hate that girl. I hate her so much.”
“Who are we talking about?” Brielle’s sugary sweet voice floats down the rapidly emptying hallway. I look up to see her waltzing toward us, Katrina close behind. No sign of Noah, so at least there’s that.
I glare at her. “You lied.”
Brielle only smiles. “All’s fair in love and Homecoming.” She winks, and my anger morphs into rage.
“I’m going to run for Queen,” I say. “And I’m going to win. There is nothing you can do to take my name out of the running.”
Brielle only smiles and looks me up and down. “Good luck with that.” Katrina laughs and follows Brielle down the now deserted hallway.
I glare after her, seething. Suzy shuts her locker, and we start our walk down the hallway, me to calculus and Suzy to art.
“Did you mean that?” Suzy asks.
“What?”
“You’re going to keep your name in the running?”
I look back at Suzy, and her eyes are full of hope. “I am. You’re going to help me run, and when I win, it will be like both of us are winning.” I stare after Brielle, sauntering down the hallway, acting like the win is already in the bag. “We are going to take her down, and I know exactly how we’re going to do it.” I think back on the words I said to Zeke during tutoring.
At our school, the nerds outnumber the popular kids.
Nine
That new kid is so weird. Have you seen the shirts he wears? Star Lord or something?
Text from Estebaliz Perez to Katie Stein.
Zeke’squiet in the car on the way home, and I stare at the rain dripping down the window. He tutored me at his house again, which has been saving my butt in my classes. So far GPA is in the safe zone.
Zeke’s phone tells us the way to get to my house—I’m not often in Zeke’s neighborhood, and I’m unsure where to go without directions—and plays soft music through the car speakers. He’s updated the lemon air freshener with a purple lilac one, and the smell pleasantly wafts through my nose.
I haven’t asked him the question that’s eating me up inside. I’m nervous, trying to find the exact right words. This is not going to be an easy request.
“Hey, this is my and Suzy’s favorite band,” I exclaim, turning up the volume on the car stereo. “You like BTS?”
Zeke shrugs. “They’re pretty good.”
“Pretty good?!” I sing along and dance to “Dynamite,” wishing that Suzy was here. Zeke glances at me and smiles. Suddenly I feel a little self-conscious of my voice and my awkward car dance moves. Where did that come from? I would never do that in front of anyone else except maybe Suzy. I make myself be still.
“You can sing and dance,” Zeke says. “I don’t mind.”
“No one should have to see that,” I joke. I turn the music volume back down. We ride for a while, soft pop playing through the speakers and the rain drumming a beat on the windshield.
Ask him, Callie. You can do this.
