"Uh, hey Eli," Benji greeted with a small smile as he made his way to the couch and sat in between Emerson and Easton. Benji was used to the fights that my siblings and I had, but that never made it less awkward for him to be present during them.
"Hey," I mumbled. I was so angry at Easton and Emerson that I was not interested in talking to Benji.
Benji nodded. "Do you want to hang with us?"
"No, he does not," Emerson was quick to cut into the conversation. She glared at Benji, her look encouraging him to shut.
Benji had only been dating Emerson for a few months, but he had been friends with Easton for years. He knew about the stressful relationship I had with my siblings, so he always made sure to be kind to me.
Lately, though, he had been more persistent about being around me. He would start conversations with me, ask me if I was alright when he could see I was upset, and would even talk to me at school anytime he saw me. It was unusual, but I didn’t dwell on it.
"Are you spending the night?" I asked Benji.
He nodded. Because of the tense atmosphere that was always in our home, Benji did not stay over often. When he did, he would have to sleep on our bedroom floor. Our aunt would not allow him to share the bed with Emerson. Not because Aunt Macy cared, but because she liked control. Luckily, Benji did not mind the floor.
"Run along now, Elias," Easton mumbled as he flicked his hand toward me. He didn’t need to tell me twice.
I spent the rest of that night cursing my siblings' names and studying. I eventually fell asleep, but not before I had a couple of shots.
***
"Please do not drop them," I pleaded to my friends as we carried the boxes filled with donuts inside of the school.
"Don't you meandonutdrop them?" Ricky asked playfully. I cringed at the awful joke.
Kailey sighed, looking tired from carrying the boxes from the parking lot all the way to the cafeteria of our school. "Sometimes I wonder why you're my boyfriend."
Bella scoffed. “I've been asking you that forever."
We continued walking through the building. It was a far walk, and holding five donut boxes stacked on top of each other did not make it any easier. When we finally made it to the cafeteria, we put the boxes on the table and began to sort them. We had two glaze, three chocolate, two blueberry, and one sprinkle. There was a dozen in each box.
After sorting through the donuts, I turned to my friends with a smile. "Guys, I really couldn't have done this without you all. I promise I will pay you all back as soon as I get the money."
I had no clue how I was going to pay them back. I could have used the money Easton would give me, but that money usually did not last very long.
No, my friends bought those donuts for me so that I could have a better chance at winning this election. It would make me a terrible friend to choose alcohol over my friends. I was going to pay them back.
"No rush," Bella said softly.
Ricky wrapped his arm around his girlfriend. "Yeah, Eli. We've got you covered."
I mumbled a 'thank you' once again. Quickly, students began flooding our donut-filled table. They were acting like animals, trampling over each other and yelling. I wasn't surprised, our school was filled with kids who didn't know how to act. Not that I could blame them, who wouldn’t go crazy for free donuts?
We handed out each donut accompanied by a little slip of paper that read, 'Vote for Eli' on it. I watched as some people read the slip and then threw it on the ground. Others didn't even take the time to read it and instead just threw it away. I tried not to let it bother me because there were some people who did acknowledge it.
I noticed some of the lunch ladies side-eyeing us. Whatever, Linda. It was not our fault that the food you served tasted like shit.
Sooner rather than later we ran out of donuts while there were still at least thirty students standing in front of us. Ricky shrugged at the crowd. "We're all out guys, sorry."
The crowd broke into disappointed chatter filled with groans, curses, and eye rolls. Some students were more upset than others, but all disappointed, nonetheless. It seemed we should have splurged for more donuts.
"Think it'll win me the election?" I asked my friend group.
"Of course!" Bella exclaimed.
Kailey nodded in agreement. "If not, then it's rigged. I mean, you literally skipped a grade. That has to mean you're more worthy of the president title than Javier."
I didn't think that they had anything to do with whether or not I was fit to be class president, but I appreciated Kailey's optimism.
