Promises, Promises

by Annie Bryant

  As everyone pushed out the door and headed to first period, Isabel thought how Monday had a particular feel to it…rushed and harried. Immediately, an image popped into her head. A robin on Monday morning. Something about the early Monday morning worm. Now that would make a great cartoon. Isabel smiled to herself, and then she shook the thought away. She was supposed to be contemplating the seventh-grade election. But nothing had popped into her head about that.

  Cartoons on demand…maybe she wasn’t ready to be Abigail Adams Junior High’s resident cartoonist just yet, Isabel thought nervously. She’d better ask the other BSG if they had any suggestions.

  Isabel was the last to arrive to the BSG lunch table. She pulled out the chair between Charlotte and Maeve. Katani and Avery were sitting on the other side of the table. Both of them watched her as she sat down. No one had started eating except Avery, who was well into her favorite turkey wrap that was stuffed with Craisins and carrots and cranberry sauce.

  Isabel thought everybody in the lunchroom seemed jittery today…even the Beacon Street Girls. As soon as Isabel sat down, Katani glanced over at Charlotte. Charlotte smiled at Katani and nodded to her as if encouraging her to go ahead. What was going on?

  “Guess what!” Katani and Avery said at the same time.

  “Go ahead,” Katani said, slumping back in her chair.

  “No…you go ahead,” Avery said, rolling her eyes.

  Katani and Avery looked at each other and motioned for the other one to go first. Exasperated, they both turned to face Isabel, Maeve, and Charlotte, and said at the same time, “I’m running for class president.”

  They turned to look at each other again.

  “What?” Katani asked. “What did you say?”

  “I said I’m running for class president!” Avery announced excitedly. “Coach G put off the fund-raiser until spring. So now I can run. Isn’t that great?”

  Avery glanced around the table. “Hey,” she said. “I expected whoops and cheers, but all I’m getting are goofy looks. What’s going on?”

  Avery turned to Katani, who looked like she had swallowed a canary. “I thought you said you didn’t want to run?” Katani said.

  “I NEVER said I DIDN’T want to run. I said I COULDN’T run because I had too much to do. My mom said if I cut one thing that I could run. Now because the fund-raiser thing was pushed back…I can run. Isn’t that great?”

  No one said anything. Isabel appeared confused, Maeve stared at the ceiling, and Charlotte looked nauseous.

  “Uhhh…what did YOU say, Katani?” Avery asked.

  Katani looked at her shoes.

  “What did you say?” Avery asked again.

  “I said the same thing you did. I’m running for class president too,” Katani said.

  “You’re running for class president? What’s up with that? I didn’t know you were even interested, Katani!”

  “Well, the more we talked about class president, the more important it seemed. We talked about it at the game yesterday, and Charlotte said she thought it would be a good idea.”

  Isabel and Maeve looked at Charlotte, who looked like a deer in headlights.

  “I thought you decided not to run, Avery…and Katani is a leader…like you,” Charlotte finally squeaked out.

  No one knew what to say. The Beacon Street Girls’ lunch table was an island of quiet in a lunchroom sea of chaos. Isabel looked to Maeve, usually so good at filling in the silence, then at Charlotte, who looked totally miserable.

  They all seemed frozen in that awkward moment and then Avery started eating again as if nothing had happened.

  “I’ll withdraw,” Katani said finally, picking at the food in front of her. Her eyes were down, as if she dared not look at anyone else in the group. Isabel thought it was the closest she had ever seen Katani to crying.

  How could Avery keep eating at a time like this? wondered Maeve.

  CHAPTER 4

  Two Too Many

  Avery took another bite from her wrap. “That’s crazy,” Avery said as she continued chewing. “We can both run.”

  Katani glanced over at Avery. “What?”

  Avery took another bite of her wrap. “Why not?”

  “How’s that going to work?” Isabel asked.

  Avery looked across the table at Isabel, Maeve, and Charlotte, who were staring at her like she was an exhibit in Ripley’s Believe It or Not! “Why is everyone making such a big deal about this?” Avery asked. “Coach says that good competition brings out the best in everyone. The better your competitors, the more inspired the play. It’ll be like that, Katani. I can’t think of a better competitor.”

  “This isn’t a soccer game, Ave,” Katani protested.

  “Duh!” Avery said, slapping her forehead with the heel of her hand.

  “You’re really running…like for real?” Maeve asked.

  “Yes, Maeve, for real!” Avery shouted. “Is there any way to FAKE run for class president?”

  “I mean, you’re not just TALKING about it…you’ve told Ms. R and everything?”

  “I HAVE,” Avery said. “I don’t know about Katani!”

  “I SAID I was running. What did you think that meant?” Katani responded somewhat angrily.

  Avery shrugged. “I don’t know. I didn’t know you were even interested in running for class president.”

  Katani opened her mouth, but before she could say more, Betsy Fitzgerald stopped by their table. She leaned low so the people at the tables on either side couldn’t hear and said, “Did you hear? Henry Yurt is running for class president.”

  “Yeah, we know.” Avery answered. Betsy Fitzgerald always had an annoying way of stating the obvious.

  “I’m running for treasurer….”

  “We thought you were going to run for president, too,” Isabel blurted. “Why did you switch?”

  “When I found out that no one was running for treasurer, I couldn’t believe it! The treasurer position is very important.”

  Avery noticed how Betsy looked each one of the Beacon Street Girls in the face as if she had to convince them of this. “I checked in with Ms. Rodriguez this morning before class to make sure she’d found the note I left for her on Friday. When she pointed out that no one was running for treasurer, I decided to go for it. Laura Doyle and Sammy Andropovitch are going to help with my campaign.”

  “Campaign?” Katani queried, sounding annoyed. “But no one is running against you!”

  “Well, yes…that’s true, but I promised Laura and Sammy they could be my staff after the election.” Avery thought she made it sound as if they would be horribly, horribly disappointed if she didn’t make them earn this honor. “I know I’m running unopposed—so the election is only a formality—but it doesn’t hurt to emphasize the importance of the office to the class in general.”

  Betsy paused as if waiting for someone to agree with her. When no one did, she went on to another topic. “So with Dillon and Henry running, it looks like we’ll have a guy for class president.”

  “Not necessarily,” Isabel said, looking at Avery and Katani.

  “I’m running,” Katani said.

  “And I’m running,” Avery said.

  “You’re BOTH running?”

  Avery thought Betsy’s eyeballs might pop out and roll across the lunchroom floor. She almost laughed out loud.

  “Let me get this straight. You’re both running?”

  Katani and Avery nodded.

  “Against each other?”

  “Well, I wouldn’t exactly put it that way,” Katani huffed.

  “What other way is there?”

  Avery continued to eat. Katani stared up at Betsy. Everyone else was quiet.

  “I suppose either one of you would be better than the…”—Betsy scanned the lunchroom so she could see exactly where Dillon and Henry were before she continued—“the alternatives. But really…Katani, Avery…one of you should think about dropping out. Otherwise, you’ll be dividing the vote and…well, we coul
d end up with a less-qualified choice.” She gave them both knowing looks before she moved on.

  The silence was deafening. Betsy’s logic had got them all thinking. Maeve couldn’t stand it anymore. “Avery’s right! Of course it can work. I remember a movie about two friends who ran for office…”

  “Maeve, this is real life,” Katani said sharply.

  “I know that,” Maeve said quickly, miffed by Katani’s tone. “But I find movies inspirational. Anyway, hmmm…I can’t remember the title…”

  “Does it have a happy ending?” Isabel asked hopefully.

  Maeve tilted her head to one side and chewed on her lip. “I can’t remember that either.”

  Katani sighed in annoyance.

  Uh-oh, thought Charlotte. This election could get a little kludgy.

  As Maeve was probing her movie memory, Dillon dropped by, leaned on the table, and said with a dazzling smile, “Good afternoon, dudettes. I’m Dillon Johnson, and I’d like to be your class president.”

  “Well, I’d like to be YOUR class president and so would Katani,” Avery said as she wadded up her lunch bag.

  “Too bad you aren’t running.”

  “Too bad we are running,” Avery retorted.

  Dillon shot a puzzled look first at Katani and then at Avery. When it sunk in that they were serious, he laughed. “Yeah, that’ll work. Two of the BSG running. Good luck!” he called over his shoulder as he headed off to the next table.

  Dillon’s departure left the Beacon Street Girls’ table in silence…again.

  “Look, Avery…,” Katani said, staring at the table. “I’m not sure this is a good idea. What if one of us wins?”

  “I don’t know why everyone is making a big deal out of nothing. I’ve competed against friends on the field and on the court and it’s never been a problem. How is this any different?”

  No one said anything.

  “You mean what Dillon said?” Avery asked.

  “Well, Betsy also said…,” Isabel started.

  “Whoa! I can’t believe it! You guys are going to listen to Betsy and Dillon? The other night all you could talk about was how they didn’t represent how you thought.”

  Avery looked across the table at Isabel, Charlotte, and Maeve, then turned to face Katani. “Come on, Katani. You of all people aren’t going to let Dillon Johnson talk you out of running for president, are you? Of course he’d like to see one or both of us drop out. That would mean more votes for him! Trust me. It’ll be all right.”

  With that, Avery compressed her lunch bag into a more compact ball shape and got up from the table. “Avery for three!” she shouted as she launched the lunch bag ball toward the garbage can in the corner.

  It was a perfect shot.

  Take Me to Your Leader

  Maeve was trying to follow Mr. Moore’s lecture on bugs, but it was B-O-R-I-N-G with a capital B. He was drawing bug parts on the board and naming them. Maeve was trying to figure out when in her life it would be important for her to know that the middle part of a bug is called the thorax. Just talking about bugs made her feel like there was something crawling up her leg. She had to stop typing notes on her laptop now and then to brush off her leg just in case.

  Finally, Mr. Moore stopped talking. Maeve heaved a sigh of relief. All that bug talk had made her head buzz, Maeve smiled to herself. Bugs and buzz—good joke.

  They were supposed to spend the rest of the hour reading Chapter 5 in their science textbooks, but Maeve couldn’t concentrate. She kept thinking about the scene in the lunchroom today. Katani and Avery were both running for class president! How could that possibly work? she wondered.

  As her mind wandered, Maeve wracked her brain. Okay, what was that movie? She knew it was an older movie, but not black and white. The two main characters had been guys—friends—who were running against each other in an election. She couldn’t even remember the actors’ names.

  At lunch, Isabel had asked if it had had a happy ending, and honestly, Maeve couldn’t remember. But it must’ve had a happy ending. She loved happy endings. At this point, Maeve was starting to wonder if she really had seen such a movie. If there wasn’t a movie like that, there should be! And, if she had anything to say about it, it would have a happy ending. Suddenly, Maeve agreed with Avery. Why couldn’t this work out?

  By the looks on their faces as they left the lunchroom, Isabel, Charlotte, and Katani weren’t so sure. They all looked kind of shell-shocked.

  It would be hard, almost impossible really, to decide which BSG to vote for, Maeve reasoned. Avery and Katani were both qualified. How could she choose between her best friends like that? Maybe this was going to be a difficult election after all.

  To make matters worse, after lunch when she was on her way to her locker, she ran into Dillon.

  “Yo, Maeve, got a minute?”

  Maeve almost laughed out loud. Dillon thought he was so cool sometimes.

  “What’s up, D?” she asked.

  “I need a favor. Can you come over to my house and help me make posters for my campaign? I can’t even draw a straight line,” he said sheepishly.

  Maeve was flattered. After all, Dillon was one of the most popular boys in the seventh grade and she did like him. He was so cute and he never got mad at her about the whole Celtics game date thing when she lied to her parents about where she was.

  She was about to say yes, until he mentioned that Pete Wexler would be there, too. Maeve groaned inwardly. Pete Wexler was such a tease. He always made fun of her red hair. Once, in kindergarten, he had said that her hair looked like Bozo the Clown’s. She had never really forgiven him for that.

  So she said to Dillon, “Oh, I’m sorry, I can’t…math tutoring.”

  She was surprised when Dillon’s face fell.

  “Okay…I guess I’ll see you later then,” he said, and took off.

  Maeve hoped he wasn’t annoyed with her.

  The BSG had made such a big deal the other night about Dillon not being a leader. She didn’t think of Dillon “that way” any more, but he was still good-looking and fun to be around. Kids really liked him; weren’t those the signs of a leader, too? she wondered.

  Anyway, Maeve was thankful she was meeting with her tutor this afternoon. That way, she could say no to Dillon without feeling guilty…and she could avoid Pete Wexler.

  Maeve looked up at the clock. She had five minutes left of science class. Just enough time to type a note to herself.

  * * *

  Maeve’s Note to Self:

  Look on my favorite movie sites for a movie about friends who run for office.

  Stop by Irving’s and pick up some Swedish Fish.

  Go window shopping at Think Pink! It’s not just a store—it’s a state of mind!

  Race home and meet tutor (so cute).

  * * *

  It’s Official

  The bell rang as Isabel pushed into the halls with all the other students. She gathered her books at her locker and put on her coat. But instead of going out the door at the end of the seventh-grade hall, she seemed pulled the other way, toward the office. There was already a crowd gathered as Ms. Rodriguez and Mr. Danson came out with a large sheet of paper and pinned it to the main bulletin board outside the front office. Everyone craned their necks trying to get a peek.

  When Ms. R and Mr. Danson finally retreated, the crowd pushed forward and it was impossible to see anything. As Isabel waited for the crowd to sift out, Jennifer came up behind her. “That’s what I like to see!”

  “What?”

  “The Sentinel staff on top of current affairs.”

  “Is that why you’re here?” Isabel asked.

  “Yeah. I was going to ask Charlotte to cover the seventh-grade election, but the truth is I really love political stuff. I covered the eighth-and ninth-grade elections last month. It’ll be interesting to see if the seventh-grade elections will be different this year. The class advisors—Ms. Rodriguez and who’s the other one?”

  “Mr. Danson.
”

  “Oh, okay, the social studies teacher. Anyway, they decided to have the elections a month later to give the seventh-grade class time to adjust to junior high, and to get to know each other first.”

  By then, the students in front of them had drifted away and Isabel and Jennifer found themselves staring at the board. Immediately, Jennifer pulled a notebook from her backpack and began writing down names.

  Slate of Candidates for the Seventh-Grade Class Election

  Presidential Candidates

  Secretary Candidates

  Dillon Johnson

  Trisha Alvarini

  Avery Madden

  Yuko Osawa

  Katani Summers

  Henry Yurt

  Vice-Presidential Candidates

  Treasurer Candidate

  Jessica Bentley

  Betsy Fitzgerald

  Robert Worley

  Isabel copied down the names of the students running for each office. She wouldn’t have been surprised to find only three names under presidential candidate. Isabel had hoped that Katani or maybe even Avery would have hunted down Ms. Rodriguez before the end of school and asked to drop out of the election. Now that their names were posted for the entire school to see, Isabel knew neither girl would drop out. Katani and Avery were both proud. And both competitive. Yup, she sighed to herself, it was going to be an interesting election…maybe even a scary one.

  “Hmmm. Henry Yurt. That’s Haley Yurt’s little brother, right?” Jennifer asked.

  “I don’t know. I’m just getting to know the seventh graders. I don’t know many of the older kids.”

  “Haley’s an eighth grader. It’s kind of funny that her brother is running for president after the stink his sister made after last year’s elections.”

  “What happened?”

  “She made a big fuss about how class elections are really stupid and nothing more than a popularity contest.”