Free Life Unaware (Entangled Teen) by Cole Gibsen Page B

how much they hated me by plastering posters of my smiling face all over the school. Mustaches, devil horns, and penises—it didn’t take a genius to figure out the vandalism that would befall them.
    Mrs. Weber stopped smiling. “Really? Are you sure about that? Politics runs in your blood.”
    I fought the urge to roll my eyes. I was used to people expecting me to look and act like a younger version of the congresswoman. Instead of seeing me as a unique individual, it was like they thought I was a clone manufactured in a lab. If my mother wasn’t so right-wing, I wouldn’t have put it past her to have considered it.
    But the fact was, I wasn’t my mother. Sure, she was going to be pissed when she found out I dropped out of the election, but I also knew a weight lifted from my shoulders the moment I’d spoken the words. Lying low felt like the right course of action for now. Remaining a candidate would only bring me more humiliation and ridicule. Not to mention if I handed out Vote for Regan buttons, the other students would probably use them to stab me.
    I leaned across the counter. “I don’t know if you’ve heard, but I’ve been…under a lot of stress.” Of course my mother didn’t want people to know her daughter suffered from an anxiety disorder—someone might think there was something wrong with her parenting. So instead, I’d been instructed to tell people I suffered from stress—a much more socially acceptable answer. After all, who wasn’t under stress?
    “Oh, honey.” Mrs. Weber reached forward and patted my hand. Her skin felt like cold leather. “That’s completely understandable. With your mother up for reelection, of course you’d be stressed.”
    It took nearly all of my strength to fight off the frown pulling at my lips. God forbid I had problems of my own, stress of my own that didn’t revolve around my mother. “Yeah.” I withdrew my hand from her grasp. “So you can see why I can’t run for student council. I have too much on my plate. I need to focus my attention…elsewhere.”
    “Regan.” Even though we were the only two people in the office, Mrs. Weber lowered her voice to a whisper. “Does this have anything to do with the graffiti on your locker?”
    I jerked back, and my cheeks flushed hot. “You know about that?”
    She gave me a sympathetic look. “Of course. But don’t worry, so does the principal. She’s going to launch an investigation to make sure the culprit is found.”
    My throat tightened. What if the investigation uncovered the messages taped to the lockers with my private messages and the awful things I said? “An investigation isn’t really necessary. I’m sure it was just a random, onetime thing.”
    Mrs. Weber frowned. “Now, honey, you know we have a strict anti-bullying policy at this school. That includes name-calling.”
    My stomach dropped, and I thought I was going to be sick.
    “We’re going to find this person,” she continued. “And he or she is going to get in a lot of trouble. So don’t you worry. You’re a good girl, Regan. I’m sure whoever did this is just a Democrat causing trouble.” She made a face, as if the word “Democrat” left a bad taste on her tongue.
    Right. Because once again, everything that happened in my life somehow related to my mother. I pushed off the counter and moved back toward the door. “So you’ll take care of the ballot for me, Mrs. Weber?”
    She sighed and tapped her manicured nails against her desk. “I sure wish you’d reconsider. But if that’s what you really want, I’ll do it.”
    I nodded. “That’s what I want. Thanks.”
    She pursed her lips as if she wasn’t quite through arguing with me. Before she could say more, I backed out of the office. I was in such a hurry to get away that I didn’t notice the person standing outside the door until I slammed into his chest.
    Just what I needed—another person to yell at me. “Look, I’m really sorry—” Before I could finish the