How to Convince a Boy to Kiss You

by Tara Eglington

  I hadn’t wanted to know about any messages after the one from Mum. What had I missed? I felt really guilty about not being there for Jelena when she’d needed me.

  Sara yanked me along with her as she ran backstage. Jelena was standing there with Chloe, Jeffrey and Johannes, who was still using crutches.

  ‘You guys! This is nerve-racking enough without having to stress over your whereabouts,’ Jelena said.

  She was wearing a red dress and, despite the agitation in her voice, looked the picture of confidence and composure — a stark contrast to the girl she’d been on Saturday night.

  Mr Quinten walked past us and headed out onto the stage to announce the start of assembly.

  ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t get your messages,’ I said. ‘What’s going on?’

  I didn’t know whether I was supposed to play a part in what was about to happen. Obviously we were going onstage, but for what exactly?

  Jelena sighed. ‘Aurora, I don’t have the time to explain it all again. We’re due on any second. I’ll be doing the talking, so all you need to do is stand there and look supportive, like these guys.’ She gestured to Chloe, Jeffrey, Sara and Johannes.

  ‘Is this to do with the program or the election?’ I asked.

  ‘As far as Alex knows, I’m announcing my withdrawal from the election. He was able to get the better of me because he knows my weakness — which is vanity. Well, I know his too — arrogance. He thinks he’s won this. But we all know pride comes before a fall.’

  Mr Quinten announced her name and Jelena marched onto the stage, gesturing for us to follow her. Jeffrey took Chloe’s hand as we walked out. It seemed like he was still in comforting mode. She smiled at him.

  ‘Good morning,’ Jelena said to the rows of students who still looked half-asleep. ‘What I have to tell you may come as a shock.’ She took a deep breath and people sat up straighter in their seats, curious. ‘I’m here onstage to announce my withdrawal from the election.’

  There were gasps around the auditorium. I saw Alex was looking smug.

  ‘That is, I’m withdrawing from the election as Alex’s teammate,’ Jelena went on.

  There were murmurs as people tried to make sense of her statement.

  ‘I’ve decided to run alone, like I originally intended to.’

  Cassie and Lindsay, sitting down in the crowd, let out a cheer. I wanted to join them. I was so proud of Jelena for stepping back into the ring. Many other people would have given up after going through such a traumatic experience, especially knowing they’d be fighting against the popular vote.

  ‘I realise this is quite confusing,’ she said, ‘especially as the election vote will take place between twelve and one today. However, certain circumstances over the weekend showed me that Alex West and I do not share the same values. A joint campaign would mean a captaincy that goes against my beliefs in a particularly repugnant way.’

  Some of the audience gasped in reaction to her comments. Alex just shrugged his shoulders. He obviously wasn’t worried.

  ‘I realise I’m taking a huge risk by running on my own,’ Jelena continued, ‘since Alex has a particularly compelling campaign with One Hour Later.’

  There were cheers from some sections of the audience.

  ‘But from the start, I’ve been committed to running a campaign with heart. As you will remember from my speech at my launch party, I see teenage love as a battlefield, a place where dignity and self-confidence can be blown apart. Well, that metaphor goes beyond dating. High school is also a battleground. A place where good and evil hang in the balance, where the strong attempt to bully the weak through both physical and non-physical tactics. To be honest, until recently I’d been lucky enough never to have experienced this. I’d never been a victim of bullying. I’d never felt ridiculed, or embarrassed, or sick to my stomach about coming to school.’

  The auditorium was deathly silent now. To hear Jelena, queen bee of Jefferson, discuss bullying was a historic moment.

  ‘I knew this happened to other people, of course. I’d heard girls using gossip like a weapon against other girls they didn’t like; I’d heard guys talking about beating up or humiliating “losers”, as they put it. I knew, of course, that Hayden Paris and the school council have been trying to implement effective anti-bullying tactics for years, and struggling without sufficient funds. But none of that really hit home until this weekend, when I found myself completely vulnerable after being bullied by another person here at Jefferson High. What I’m about to show you demonstrates just how devastating an impact bullying can have on our lives.’

  Suddenly the photo Alex had taken of Jelena appeared on the giant media screen behind us. Her chest had been pixelated so you couldn’t see the details, but it was obvious that she was topless. The room became chaos as people gasped, pointed and commented.

  ‘This photo was taken while I was defenceless, without my permission and in my own home,’ Jelena said. There was a slight tremor in her voice. ‘The person who took it threatened to make the image public if I didn’t do exactly as they said, which was to drop out of the race for school captain.’

  The chatter grew louder. Even though Jelena hadn’t named anyone, most people were looking at Alex.

  Jelena’s voice grew more confident. ‘I was completely devastated, and actually contemplated giving in to this bullying because I felt like I had no other option. I wanted you to see the picture so you can understand just how horrendous the situation was. This person wanted to take my power from me. Well, unfortunately for him, I decided to do what had seemed unthinkable on Saturday — to let you all see it. If I have to suffer, to stand naked and vulnerable in front of you, then I want it to be for a purpose. I want you to ask yourselves this: how would you feel if this was your photo, or a photo of one of your best friends? Imagine your reaction; imagine how isolated and powerless you would feel. And I ask you to support me in a new campaign strategy: a comprehensive anti-bullying program for Jefferson High, which will provide students with resources to deal with both physical and online bullying. A program that will identify the bullies and stop them from crushing those they choose as victims.’

  ‘Smoke them out!’ someone in the crowd shouted.

  ‘Stop the oppression!’

  Jelena smiled. ‘Thank you for your support. At the start of this election my slogan was “Think with your heart — vote Jelena Cantrill”.’ She pointed at the photograph of herself, which was now emblazoned with the slogan in gold letters. ‘Today, I’m urging you to do that again. Sure, you can vote for One Hour Later — that’s the popular option, I know. But is a little more sleep really going to help you when most of the hours you spend at school make you feel like a victim? If this school becomes a more positive place for us all, those hours are going to go by pretty quickly anyway. So I ask you again: think with your heart and vote for the candidate with heart — Jelena Cantrill.’

  Jelena gave a bow. One by one, the rows of students stood up and clapped and cheered, until the entire room was on its feet applauding. Except for Alex. He’d stood too, so not to draw attention to himself, but his face was stony.

  ‘To end this on a wholly positive note, I now give you the triumphant results of the Find a Prince/Princess Program™,’ Jelena said, and gestured towards Sara, Johannes, Jeffrey and Chloe.

  At her cue, Johannes grabbed Sara by the waist and pulled her to him. His crutches fell to the floor with a crash, but he paid no attention as he kissed Sara in front of everyone. Jeffrey raised his hand, which was still holding Chloe’s, into the air like a fist punch, then brought it down and placed a tender kiss on the back of her hand.

  Hugging was the theme of the day. As we filed offstage, Sara and I swept Jelena into one of our own.

  ‘I’m so proud of you!’ I cried. ‘I felt close to tears a couple of times there.’

  ‘Totally inspiring,’ Sara enthused. ‘Talk about kick-butt girl power. And, Johannes, again, you are the most amazing guy ever for swiping that pho
ne.’

  She pulled away from Jelena and threw her arms round Johannes’s neck. He leant down and Sara kissed him again and again.

  Jelena was smiling as she watched. ‘You guys don’t have to pretend any more, you know.’

  ‘Don’t be silly, Jelena.’ Sara turned to us, her cheeks flushed. ‘Like I was ever going to resist Johannes. I was just trying to give you an extra challenge during your campaign — I know you thrive on them.’

  Jelena raised an eyebrow, but her mouth was amused.

  ‘Oh, really now?’ Johannes pretended to be put out. ‘So all my sweating over winning your heart was sport to you? My ankle, a casualty —’

  ‘Hey, you’re from Sweden,’ Sara said. ‘I knew you were all for women’s rights and supporting my career, so less complaining, more kissing.’ And she pulled him to her again.

  ‘Babes, I really think that’s our cue,’ Jeffrey suggested cheekily to Chloe.

  She laughed and gave him a big kiss on the cheek. They both turned and gave me a thumbs-up.

  ‘You know, Aurora, you could have saved yourself a lot of effort if you’d just set us up from the start,’ Jeffrey joked.

  I motioned for Chloe to come to one side with me. ‘You and Jeffrey?’ I asked.

  The kiss Chloe had given him had looked promising, but I wasn’t sure whether Jeffrey’s joke was an accurate evaluation of their situation.

  ‘Well, at first he made me laugh when all I wanted to do was cry,’ Chloe said. ‘Then over the last few days, I realised that I wanted to hang out and be silly with him. I’d kind of always thought dates had to be D&Ms, but I’ve never felt so at ease with someone. Plus, he’s kind of a cutie.’

  I looked over at Jeffrey as he grinned at Chloe again. His blue eyes were twinkling with fun.

  ‘I’m going to see how it goes, take it lightly at first. No launching in,’ Chloe said with a laugh and skipped back over to Jeffrey.

  Who would have thought? Opposites did attract, after all.

  As Jelena and I left the auditorium, I realised I hadn’t asked her something that had been pressing on my mind since Saturday night.

  ‘You’re not going to let Alex get away with the photo in a larger sense, are you?’

  ‘Of course not,’ she said. ‘You guys were right — what he did was serious stuff. Whether I win or not, I’m going to Mr Quinten to report it. After all, the image is still on his phone — indisputable evidence. The only reason I didn’t take it to Mr Quinten first thing today was because I don’t want Alex to be able to claim that I won — if I win — because I blacklisted him. I want to win on my own terms.’

  The positive feedback following Jelena’s emotional speech was overwhelming, and not just for Jelena. People kept coming up to me and asking when the next round of the Find a Prince/Princess Program™ would take place. Apparently they were hanging out to be matched by yours truly, after seeing the happy endings of Jeffrey, Chloe and Sara. I told them they needed to vote for Jelena to ensure that the program kept running.

  ‘I knew choosing those three would pay off,’ Jelena said as we watched another group of girls heading to the voting booths, determined to vote with their hearts.

  ‘Choosing them?’ I stared at her. She didn’t mean …

  ‘Blast. I never meant to tell you that,’ she said quickly. ‘I’m still overexcited and buzzing after that speech. Okay, to be frank, I looked through the list of people who’d put down their names to be matched up. I knew that if voters were going to believe that our campaign could work miracles, we needed three people who seemed like lost causes in terms of love. So come announcement day, I ensured there were only three names in the hat. Jeffrey, the class clown no-one takes seriously; Chloe, who made every guy nervous to even be in the same room as her; and Sara, who’d pretty much blasted her vow of singledom all over Facebook and round the entire school.’

  ‘That’s a little sneaky, Jelena,’ I said with a disapproving look.

  ‘Hey, I sensed you were lacking in the confidence department yourself,’ she said pointedly. ‘I knew that if you managed to pull the matches off, you’d be totally reconvinced of your love-guru powers.’ She gave me a charming smile. ‘Because you are a love guru. You know I don’t give praise where it’s undeserved, so I hope you take that on board and become your own biggest fan. Especially if we get elected.’

  It was true that my creaky bridge strategy and my other theories and advice had lent the matchmakees a hand, even if the results had been a little skewed. Hopefully I would get a chance to do it again so that next time I could iron out some of the procedures.

  I gave Jelena a big hug. ‘When, not if we get elected. There’s a good vibe in the air right now and I think it’s because people are voting with their hearts.’

  They were. Three hours later the votes were in and Jelena was officially next year’s school captain.

  When Mr Quinten announced the result, Cass, Scott, Lindsay, Tyler, Sara, Johannes, Jeffrey, Chloe and I, along with dozens and dozens of other supporters, all started screaming and shouting. Lindsay threw her arms around me, seconds after Tyler had done that very thing to her.

  ‘You guys are okay then?’ I asked her in a low voice.

  ‘We’re working through a lot of stuff,’ she said. ‘Some of it’s far from nice, but at least we’re letting out the truth – and laying bare our positive feelings as well. We really love each other, and I’m hoping that’ll pull us through.’

  Hayden emerged from the school-council office and came over to give Jelena a hug. He high-fived Johannes, Scott and Tyler, and looked like he wanted to come over to Lindsay and me. But he didn’t. I wondered if what Lindsay had said could be true: that love, if it was strong enough, could pull you through anything.

  When I got home that afternoon I wandered up to my room and sat down on my bed, trying to sort through my feelings from the day. There was a tap on my door, which was open. I looked up and saw Ms DeForest standing there.

  ‘Your father wanted me to check on you,’ she said awkwardly. ‘Also, I wanted to speak to you myself.’

  Oh god. Was she still upset with me after the commitment ceremony?

  She came in and perched tentatively on the end of my bed. ‘You wouldn’t know this, as it’s something I keep pretty close to my chest, but I’ve had a similar experience to you. A soul challenge, as we call it in group sessions. Don’t worry, I’m not going to make this a sharing circle. I just wanted to tell you that a fundamental person in my life also left me at a very young age.’

  She paused. I opened my mouth, wanting to ask a question, but then she continued.

  ‘Not my mother. My father. He was very much like what I know of your mother from your father’s descriptions — charming, charismatic, handsome. But also controlling and very cold at times. He left my mother and me when I was nine. Unlike your mum, he didn’t go overseas, just to the other side of the city, although it felt like he was continents away because I saw him so infrequently.’ She sighed. ‘It was only as I got older that we managed to develop a relationship, but to be frank, it worked best when I did what he wanted me to. Including a master’s in business, graduating with first-class honours.’

  I looked at Ms DeForest’s wild curly hair and the amethyst crystals draped over her flowing bohemian dress. She’d been a business major?

  ‘I even unconsciously chose a fiancé who was just like him. The type of man other women were jealous over. The type of man who broke off the engagement when my mother died from breast cancer.’

  Ms DeForest paused again. I was beginning to understand why she seemed distant and cold at times. I felt broken from losing one parent; if I’d lost both, I’d probably be kind of stand-offish too. It was a protection mechanism.

  ‘I’m not telling you this because I’m hoping a sob story will make you like me better or bring us closer,’ she said. ‘Whether that happens is yet to be seen, and essentially it comes down to you and me and how we reconfigure this dynamic in the future. I’m te
lling you this because I want you to know why I was concerned about you spending more time with your mother. In my experience, more time with my father never actually made me feel better about myself. It usually left me stripped of energy and often feeling pretty badly wounded when he chose to pull away, which he did frequently.’

  I nodded, my eyes meeting hers. It was true for me too. Thanks to this most recent blow, I actually felt like I’d gone backwards in terms of my self-confidence and strength. The second betrayal had hurt worse than the one I’d experienced at twelve. Maybe it was because it had torn at existing scar tissue.

  ‘There’s another thing,’ Ms DeForest said. ‘Your experience of love within your family can make you believe that you need to earn love.’ She nodded at me, emphasising her statement. ‘That’s not true. You are worthy of love and you need to hang on to that. You may always be a little wary. I know I am. And I realised on the day of the ceremony that you might be concerned about my intentions towards your father because of our former break-up.’

  ‘Why did you end it with him?’ I asked. I still felt protective of the NAD after he’d been hurt by her.

  ‘Self-preservation,’ she said. ‘I was also concerned that he might still be wounded from his marriage. That ceremony the other day was about two rather terrified but determined people trying to show that they’re moving forward.’ She shrugged. ‘Which you need to do in life to keep growing.’

  ‘How do you know that it won’t happen again?’ By ‘it’, I meant abandonment, pain, loss. Everything that currently held me in suspended terror.

  ‘It might. There are no guarantees. But as someone who’s lived with the same hurt and fear you’re experiencing, let me assure you that not everyone who loves you is going to leave you. It’s easy to fall into the trap of believing that, but if you do, you’re going to miss out on some pretty special people.’

  She smiled and got up and headed for the door.