"Second item up for bid this evening is the chance to coordinate Legacy Trivia Night. This isn't just some school dance; this isthefundraiser that keeps Ridgewood competitive. Alumni fly in from across the country for this. Win this bid, and you're planning an event that raises six figures, impressing people who actually have the power to change your future. This would be incredible for your college application and even better for bragging rights. Trust me, this one's worth fighting for. Bidding starts at five hundred dollars."
My feet are moving the second the words "Legacy Trivia Night" leave her mouth. That's all it takes to figure out what she's doing. The winter formal alone is one thing, but now this? One of the most time-consuming but biggest honors at Ridgewood. She's not just auctioning off time. She's auctioning offhertime. Time that would be spent with me.
I'm up the stage steps before I can think better of it, before Hollis can grab my arm, before anyone can stop me.
My hand reaches for the mic, covering the top. "What the hell are you doing?"
"Raising money," she says with a fake smile that doesn't reach her eyes.
"I didn't approve this,” I say through clenched teeth.
"Maybe if you'd shown up yesterday?—"
"What has gotten into you? Are you seriously that mad I asked you to help finish decorating?"
"We both know it's more than that," she says, as if her defiance should be obvious, as if I'm supposed to read her mind.
"Do we?"
Her jaw tightens. "I'm not doing this with you anymore. I should be president, not you."
The words hang between us for a moment. The crowd is starting to notice something's wrong, and whispers begin rippling through the room.
"Bidding starts at $500," she announces to the audience.
I lean into her ear. "You're right," I say.
"Excuse me?" She blinks, like I've just confessed to murder. "Twelve hundred. Do I hear thirteen?" She carries on like we aren't holding a very important conversation.
"I said you're right," I confirm it, watching her face.
She covers the mic. "So, you're admitting you cheated?" Then she removes her hand. "Do I hear fourteen hundred?"
"I didn't cheat."
"And now I'm bored. Get off the stage, Hale. We're done here."
I take the mic, ensuring I have her full attention. I cover it before saying, "You've been intent on making me the enemy since I arrived. Perhaps you should focus more on the company you keep. I'm a man of my word. If I say I didn't cheat, I didn't cheat."
Sure, I don’t hate being stuck with her, but I didn’t sabotage her. I did the opposite. When I was campaigning on her behalf, as she requested, I stumbled upon a conversation outside the library. Her so-called best friend and running mate was whispering with someone I couldn't see. Their voices were low, but I knew what I heard. ‘We have to make sure Asha doesn’t win this,’ followed by,‘The plan is already in motion.’That's part of why I went to Headmaster Trejo with a proposal to reseat the VPs running our tickets and automatically give the position to the losing candidate. I could have told her, but I knew she wouldn’t believe me, so I made my own moves and waited for her to discover what I already knew. However, she’s been too busy painting me as the villain to see the knife aimed at her back from someone she actually trusts.
"And it wasn't you who put sugar in Penn's tank either."
The accusation hits like a slap, and my eyes widen in surprise as a glaring fact I didn't notice until just now makes itself seen. She's here alone. That fucker went through all that trouble last night to make a scene in front of the entire school to ask her to homecoming, and now he's a no-show. Dick.
"That's what this is about? You think I fucked with your little boy toy?"
"I don't think. I know."
Her eyes hold mine, and someone in the crowd yells out, "Two thousand," reminding me we are in the middle of an auction.
"Two thousand, one hundred," I raise the bet into the mic before once again covering it to ask, "And how do you know that?"
"Someone saw you."
"Who?" My head tilts to one side, genuinely curious since I know exactly where I was last night.
I was tired and had amends to make with my feisty pen pal, so after the game, I went straight back to my room, flopped on the bed, and hit send.
