am!â Hailey replied.
Then Allie saw me and said, âSam, can you go make popcorn and get us some drinks or something? Weâre running out of steam down here.â
âPlease?â added Anthony.
âPlease,â said Allie, with an eye roll.
âSure,â I said, smiling at Anthony.
âThe photoâs down!â Hailey called after me.
âPhew!â I replied.
I had to admit that I felt a little left out. I mean, I was the one whoâd set this whole thing up, and now I was fetching them snacks and stuff? It seemed a little lame, especially since Iâd briefly considered running for VP myself just two days ago. Easy come, easy go , I thought. But were politics really my thing? I wasnât sure they were Haileyâs, either, to be honest, but she seemed gung ho to try. They were certainly Anthonyâs thing. And John Scottâs, just in a very different way. After reviewing my notes and working on the articles, I could see that John Scott was really in it for the glory of the office, and maybe not because he really wanted to do the work, while Anthony was the opposite.
The popcorn finished popping, and I took it out carefully and poured it into a bowl. I got a pitcher of iced tea out of the fridge and three glasses; then I did two trips down to the office to bring it to them.
âWhat are you up to now?â asked Hailey as they took a snack break.
âWorking on my stories for the paper,â I said.
Hailey sighed. âYouâre so lucky you get to do what you love for school.â
âWell, you do too with soccer,â I said.
âItâs different, though. Soccerâs not really âschool,âââ said Hailey.
âIn Ancient Greece and Rome, athletics were considered a huge and important part of life at school. The athletes were the leaders, and they even called their schools âgymnasiums,âââ offered Anthony.
âHmm, that kind of sounds familiar from history class in fourth grade,â I said.
âSee, thatâs just the kind of comment thatâs going to not get you elected, Anthony,â said Allie wryly. âRein in the intellectualism and pump up the charmâremember, pal? Just until you get elected; then you can go all nerdy again, okay?â She smiled at him. I couldnât believe she could get away with the way she spoke to people, but they really listened to her.
Hailey was smiling at her adoringly, of course, and I wanted to puke.
âCanât wait to see the speech,â I said to Anthony.
âItâs this Friday!â he said with a nervous smile.
âDonât worry. Weâll be ready,â said Allie grimly.
âGo get âem, tiger!â I said to her.
âNow back to the spontaneous joke,â Allie said with a determined look on her face.
âGood luck,â I whispered to the candidates as I tiptoed back out of the room.
Impartial Journalist Fired from Paper.
Oh boy.
Chapter 9
POLITICS TOO DIRTY, JOURNO RETIRES TO SPORTS PAGES
Lunch on Monday with Michael was good. We were uneasy at first, but once we started talking about our articles, we found an easy rhythm and all the weirdness of the weekend evaporated, thank goodness.
We went over the drafts of our articles to see how we could best merge them, and we made notations all over the pages. Then he took the one on John Scott and I took the one on Anthony Wright, and we laid out our plans for the rewrites. They were due Thursday morning, so we still had a little time. The paper would come out Friday. The results of our Buddybook poll showed John Scott leading about 75 percentto Anthony Wrightâs 25 percent. I was worried but working hardâmaybe too hardâto keep my articles neutral.
The posters started appearing Tuesday:
JOHN SCOTT
the Peopleâs Choice
for
School President
SARA WELGAN
for
Vice President
Sara Welgan was a good choice on Johnâs part. She was