Free Libby and the Class Election by Ahmet Zappa Page A

Libby nodded, smiling to herself as she realized that she had traded the world’s most talkative roommate for the world’s least talkative seatmate.
    The bus came to a stop at a red light.
Red for stop,
thought Libby. She was really getting familiar with the way things worked on Wishworld. A young female Wishling appeared at
Libby’s side. “Switch seats?” she asked.
    “Sure!” said Libby gratefully. She crossed the aisle and sat in the empty seat next to a young female Wishling with long blond hair and bright blue nail polish. The Wishling grinned
at Libby.
    “Hi, Libby Liverspots,” she said. “I’m Gabby.”
    Libby didn’t correct her, although if there was one name that was less pleasant-sounding than Libby Liverwurst, that had to be it. “Hey, Gabby,” she said. She looked down
expectantly. Her Wish Pendant was still dark.
Sigh.
    Libby shifted in her seat. It was pretty uncomfortable. She realized that vehicle seats, like those in the classroom, didn’t automatically adjust on Wishworld. But surely there was a
button or something to push to get a little more comfortable. This was ridiculous. She started to examine her side of the seat.
    The young male Wishling across the aisle from her was giving her an odd look.
    “What are you looking for, new girl?” he asked. “You lose something?”
    “No, I’m just looking for the seat adjuster,” Libby said.
    He looked blank.
    “To fix the seat for my height and weight,” Libby explained. “You know, so I’ll be more comfortable.”
    He laughed. “Comfortable? On a school bus? What kind of buses have you been riding?” He elbowed his seatmate and pointed to Libby. “Hey, Aidan, the new girl is used to
adjustable school bus seats!”
    Aidan nodded. “I’ve heard about those,” he said knowingly. “Private school, right?”
    “Um, sure,” said Libby, completely confused. She turned back to her seatmate. At least she seemed a little more talkative than the last one. Libby figured she could probably get some
helpful information out of her. “So tell me about our class,” she said. “Anything interesting I should know about?”
    Gabby thought for a moment. “Well, we’re all working on our term papers. So you’re going to have to come up with a subject to write about.”
    Libby thought about that for a moment. Didn’t seem promising. “Anything else?”
    “We’re learning how to square-dance in gym,” she offered.
    Aidan groaned. “She wants to know what’s interesting, not what’s the most hideous thing about school,” he said. “Square dancing is the worst. We all have to hold
hands and do-si-do. It is so painful.”
    Libby nodded sympathetically. She was getting good at pretending she wasn’t completely confused by what everyone was saying to her. “So what’s going on at school that
is
interesting?” she asked him.
    He thought for a moment. “I guess I’d have to say it’s the election,” he said finally. “Two best friends are running against each other. It’s pretty
weird.”
    A wave of electricity ran up Libby’s spine. She sat up straight in her seat. Could that be the energy surge that Lady Stella had mentioned? She wasn’t sure, but it was a definite
possibility. Maybe she was on to something here!
    “That seems tough,” Libby said, her voice higher than usual in her excitement. She thought back to the posters in the hallway. “So is either Ava or…or…um, Kristie
in our class?”
    “Ava is,” said Gabby.
    “So which one is A—” Libby started. But then the bus shuddered to a stop with a loud squealing sound. The kids all immediately jumped to their feet and began pushing in a mad
rush to get off the bus.
    Libby struggled to keep her balance as she was swept down the aisle. “No pushing each other! No shoving!” said Ms. Blackstone, to no avail. “Do you want me to turn this bus
around and go back right now?”
    Once everyone was off the bus and had listened to a lecture about bus-exiting