That’s too bad, I think to myself, she’s just going to have to get over it.
Friday comes, and the whole school is buzzing about the vote. I’ve done what I could to influence people to vote for my idea, but so has Victoria. In the end, it all comes down to the students and what they really want.
I’m fidgety during breakfast and Dana gives me a smile.
“Hey, just remember, even if you don’t win the theme, you’re still going to kick her ass at the auction and get the crown. There’s no way she can beat you.”
I laugh with a little irony. “Did I tell you that my aunt secured several more prizes without me? I think she didn’t want my uncle to show me up.”
Blair leans close and kisses my cheek. “I’m so proud of you. You’re a natural.”
Wills looks at the group sitting at our table. “Did you know she sold out the entire dinner? They had to get a bigger place to hold it because this dining hall isn’t big enough! That’s never happened before. I bet Victoria’s pissed about that.”
“Thanks, guys.” I look at them all appreciatively. “The main point is that the school is going to make a lot of money.”
“And Victoria’s ass is going to be handed to her in an old shoe box.” Dana laughs wickedly.
I can’t help laughing as well. “And that, too.”
Though I try to keep my mind off the vote until later, it’s impossible to do. It’s all anyone is talking about.
At three on Friday afternoon, the voting is done and Dr. Baxter makes an announcement over the intercom of the school.
“Hawthorne Academy, we’d like to thank you all for your votes for the theme of the Valentine’s Week auction, dinner, and dance. The votes have been tallied and we have the results for you.” The intercom crackles.
I’m in my last class of the day, surrounded by friends, with Blair beside me. Wills is in his math class, but I know he’s listening.
Blair reaches for my hand and holds it, and I look across the room and lock eyes with Victoria, who’s sitting in her chair like she’s already the queen. She’s so smug, so sure that she’s going to win, and for one sickening moment, I wonder if she is. It would be just like her to have some sort of trick up her sleeve at the last second. Blair squeezes my hand.
“With over half of the votes tipping the scale, the winning theme of Valentine’s week is Venus and Cupid.”
Dr. Baxter signs off, but no one can hear anything else he says, because deafening cheers fill the room. There’s a sudden swarm of people around me, patting my back, hugging me, and pulling me up from my chair. I didn’t know it was this big of a deal. This was between Victoria and me, or so I thought.
I should have known from the way everyone was acting that this was so, so much more.
Another crack in the current reigning monarchy.
I crane my head to see past them all and get a good look at Victoria. Her face is red, and she’s seething, glaring straight down at the desk in front of her. Everyone around me is chanting my name, and it feels great. Blair cries out for a speech, and I face the class.
“Everyone spoke up and voted for what they wanted, and I’m glad to have given everyone a theme that they feel so strongly about. I’m going to dedicate the entire Valentine’s week and all three events to the memories of Chris Hardy, Drake Gordon, Alisha Kane. Oh, and my father Paul White, all of whom were lost in the tragic explosion and fire here at the school. Our love will be with them always.” I’m drowned out from saying anything else because there’s another thunderous applause all throughout the classroom. Except for Victoria, of course, whose arms are crossed over her chest as she stares holes into the top of her desk.
I’ve soundly served her an entrée of defeat with a healthy side helping of shame, right in front of everyone. I can barely wait for the auction and the dinner, to savor more of the win that I know is coming.
As we leave the classroom, Wills runs down the hall to me, sweeps me up into his arms, and spins me around. “You did it! You won!! Baby, I’m so proud of you!” He kisses me a long moment and then sets me back on my feet.
“I know, I still can’t believe it,” I exclaim, just a little surprised still.
“I knew you would,” he says just as Victoria pushes past us on her way out of the classroom.
She turns and looks at me with a piercing, icy glare. “You might have won the theme, but that’s all you’re going to win. Astor is mine, and I told you already; he’s the king of this school, and I am his queen. You can’t beat us. You can try, but it will never happen. You’re just not from this world, and you’re never going to fit into it.”
“The world’s changing; maybe you’re the one who no longer fits in,” Blair fires back at her, just as Astor walks up from behind.
Astor gives Blair a strange look, as if he’s torn, and Blair looks back at him the same way. I turn my face up to Wills, and see that his eyes are locked on the floor. He won’t look at Astor.
But I do look at Astor, and his eyes turn cold.
He wraps an arm around Victoria as he stares at me, and then they turn and walk away together. It’s horrible for me. As much as I try to hate him, I miss him so much. The real Astor. Or, at least, the one I thought I knew for a short while back.