Free Cast Your Ballot! by Rachel Wise Page B

am!” Hailey replied.
    Then Allie saw me and said, “Sam, can you go make popcorn and get us some drinks or something? We’re running out of steam down here.”
    â€œPlease?” added Anthony.
    â€œPlease,” said Allie, with an eye roll.
    â€œSure,” I said, smiling at Anthony.
    â€œThe photo’s down!” Hailey called after me.
    â€œPhew!” I replied.
    I had to admit that I felt a little left out. I mean, I was the one who’d set this whole thing up, and now I was fetching them snacks and stuff? It seemed a little lame, especially since I’d briefly considered running for VP myself just two days ago. Easy come, easy go , I thought. But were politics really my thing? I wasn’t sure they were Hailey’s, either, to be honest, but she seemed gung ho to try. They were certainly Anthony’s thing. And John Scott’s, 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.
    â€œWhat are you up to now?” asked Hailey as they took a snack break.
    â€œWorking on my stories for the paper,” I said.
    Hailey sighed. “You’re so lucky you get to do what you love for school.”
    â€œWell, you do too with soccer,” I said.
    â€œIt’s different, though. Soccer’s not really ‘school,’ ” said Hailey.
    â€œIn 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 ‘gymnasiums,’ ” offered Anthony.
    â€œHmm, that kind of sounds familiar from history class in fourth grade,” I said.
    â€œSee, that’s just the kind of comment that’s going to not get you elected, Anthony,” said Allie wryly. “Rein in the intellectualism and pump up the charm—remember, pal? Just until you get elected; then you can go all nerdy again, okay?” She smiled at him. I couldn’t 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.
    â€œCan’t wait to see the speech,” I said to Anthony.
    â€œIt’s this Friday!” he said with a nervous smile.
    â€œDon’t worry. We’ll be ready,” said Allie grimly.
    â€œGo get ’em, tiger!” I said to her.
    â€œNow back to the spontaneous joke,” Allie said with a determined look on her face.
    â€œGood luck,” 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 Wright’s 25 percent. I was worried but working hard—maybe too hard—to keep my articles neutral.
    The posters started appearing Tuesday:
    JOHN SCOTT
    the People’s Choice
    for
    School President
    SARA WELGAN
    for
    Vice President
    Sara Welgan was a good choice on John’s part. She was