Free Cast Your Ballot! by Rachel Wise

Campaign Bug Bites.
    I lined up my person-on-the-street interviewquotes for each boy, as well as the articles I’d printed out from the school archives. Then I pulled out my transcripts from the interviews themselves.
    I felt like I’d started the process being very for John Scott but ended up being for Anthony Wright instead. I knew a lot of people would feel the same way, if they could just get the opportunity to know Anthony better. I hoped Allie’s strategy for him would include a Buddybook page where they could list all his achievements and link the article on the mugging.
    Suddenly there was a shriek from my mom’s office. Allie.
    â€œWhat’s wrong?” I called down the stairs.
    â€œSamantha Martone! Come see this right now!” she yelled. Uh-oh. This didn’t sound good.
    Hailey and I bolted down the stairs two at a time and found them in front of a Buddybook page. They’d done a search for photos tagged with Anthony’s name, and the photo filling the screen was the first to come up.
    It was the photo Jeff Perry had taken of me and Anthony during our interview at the Java Stop onFriday night. But it didn’t look like an interview. It looked like a date. Our heads were so close together across the table, it looked like we were about to kiss, and I had an ecstatic look on my face and Anthony was smiling expectantly. It was actually a great shot, if only what it implied were true.
    â€œWow,” I said.
    â€œWhat the heck?” asked Hailey, looking at me and then Anthony in confusion.
    Anthony laughed awkwardly. “Did they Photoshop that?” he asked in an embarrassed voice.
    Allie just glared at me.
    The caption under the photo said, “Is romance blooming on the campaign trail?”
    I turned on my heel and stormed up the stairs to get the phone book.
    I flipped to the Perrys’ number and punched it into the phone so hard my fingertip hurt. Then I stood, tapping my foot impatiently until someone picked up.
    â€œHi, is Jeff there, please?” I said firmly.
    â€œNo, I’m sorry, he’s not. May I take a message?” I think it was his mom.
    I gave an annoyed sigh. “Yes. Please tell him Samantha Martone called and that I am not amused. He needs to take the photo down immediately.”
    â€œOkay. Will he know what this is in reference to?” asked his mom with a long-suffering sigh. She was pretty used to these calls, I’m sure. Jeff has a real thing for posting all kinds of trouble-causing photos online.
    â€œYes!” I snarled. “And thank you,” I added in a nicer tone of voice, and I hung up the phone hard.
    I stood in the kitchen and fumed for a minute. I could imagine how it felt to be a real politician, or a celebrity, when misleading pictures of you are printed all the time. I wouldn’t be able to stand it. It was the injustice of it all that got to me.
    Back downstairs, Allie had untagged the photo, so at least it wouldn’t come up in a search. Then Hailey had instructed them to contact Buddybook to have the photo taken down in the meantime, which I didn’t know you could do, and things were well on their way to being resolved. At leastHailey had had a moment to shine in a crisis.
    I stared at the photo. “That’s right when I had the idea for Anthony to work with you, Allie,” I said, thinking out loud.
    â€œYeah, right,” said Allie, rolling her eyes.
    â€œIt’s true, actually,” agreed Anthony, and Allie softened.
    â€œWell, at least you two look excited about it, so I guess I’m flattered,” she said.
    â€œCompliments come in the strangest ways,” said Hailey knowingly. “Trust me.”
    I smiled.
    Hailey swallowed hard, screwing up her courage, I could see; then she began asking Anthony pointed questions about his campaign platform. Allie joined in, and I left the three of them brainstorming, knowing that when I came back, there’d probably