Page 69 of It's in the Contract
Well. That was embarrassing. What is going on with Callie lately?
Text message from Shannon Moore to Hana Hayashi.
I sitat the cafeteria table, chowing down on my chicken salad sandwich. Stress eating, if I’m being honest. Brielle is up to four hundred and twenty votes, and I’m down even more—two hundred and eighty.
Suzy is at my left, then Dana, then Troy whispering something to her that makes her laugh. He asked Dana to Homecoming last night after the party, and she was bouncing up and down with joy when she told me this morning.
Our table has become less crowded ever since I invited Zeke to sit with us. Kayla and Arjun started sitting with Tom Sheppard and his crew. I glance around the lunchroom for Chelsea, but I don’t see her.
It's very telling.
I catch Emma’s eye at a table to our left, and she smiles before turning away, so at least there’s that. And Nicole stillsits with us and frequently chats with Zeke about Vulcans and Klingons.
Zeke sits next to Troy and sets his bagged lunch on the table. I catch Zeke’s eye and we share a tiny smile. He helped me with something huge over the weekend, something I never thought I’d be able to do.
And I had the realization that never should’ve crossed my brain.
I like Zeke.
I blush and hurry to return to my sandwich.
“Did Callie tell you we got the filming done for her campaign video?” Suzy asks Zeke, high ponytail swinging. Her hair is tied back with a lavender ribbon today, and it matches her adorable sandals and lacy cream top.
Zeke grins. “You got it done? Is it going to play on the school news today?”
“We finished.” I let out a relieved breath. We worked late into the night on Saturday after the party to finalize the script and then filmed all day Sunday. “We, of course, did it to Dynamite by BTS, and the lyrics Suzy came up with are super creative. We were able to tweak them to showcase all the reasons people should vote for me. Suzy’s a genius.”
Suzy grins. “It’s not going to play today, though. Dana’s going to do some editing on it and then we can submit it to the school news.”
Dana lifts her head from her conversation with Troy at the mention of her name, her eyes shining.
“That’s awesome, Dana,” Zeke says. “I can’t wait to see how it turns out after all the hard work you guys have done.”
Suzy beams. “We’ll get Callie back on top, easy.”
Suddenly, the lunchroom goes quiet, and the background noise of the news casters grows louder. Everyone’s heads turn to the screens on the wall.
“Today we have a special treat for you,” Brian says from the screen. “It is so slap.” His hair is wild as usual, thick glasses slightly askew and his electric yellow bowtie crooked.
“We are so excited about this,” Cassidy chimes in, her posture perfect and her manicured nails clasped together in front of her. The gold bangles on her forearms sparkle.
Brian grins. “One of our candidates for Homecoming Queen has prepared something to help you get on board with voting for her. It be bussin’.”
Cassidy elbows him but keeps her smile pasted to her face. “This candidate is an incredible force for good in our school.”
“And she’s come up with something that slays,” Brian adds.
I turn to Dana, confused. “Did you already finish the video?”
Dana’s eyes go wide as she slowly shakes her head. Suzy’s gaze is glued to Cassidy and Brian.
I swivel my head back to the screen, feeling a sinking dread in my stomach. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Zeke stare at me, worry in his eyes.
“Let’s take a look at what she’s come up with,” Brian says, and the shot pops from them to Brielle.
Brielle beams on the screen, a bright yellow background behind her, and the opening chords to Dynamite by BTS start to play. Brielle sings along, but she’s changed the words slightly so that now the lyrics promote her campaign. She backs away from the camera, dancing, and Katrina and Angela slide on screen. They start dancing and singing, and it makes me slightly sick how good they look. The glint in Brielle’s eyes is pure evil, like she knows exactly what she’s doing.
“The song,” Suzy says. “It’s the song we used.”
