"I have so many ideas, Alli" Clare announced excitedly to her best friend, looking down at her notebook and holding it close to her chest.
She felt reinvigorated and ready to take this next step in her academic career. It was the first time in weeks that she felt excited about something and she was happy to have the support of her best friend especially since she didn't know whether Alli would be there with her next year.
Between Alli busy with her advanced coursework and her break up with Eli, Clare felt alone and heartbroken. Even though Alli and Adam helped her realize that Eli was right when he said they needed time apart, it didn't make it hurt any less. It didn't help that she would often see him smiling and laughing while working on his zombie movie in the halls with Imogen. Clare couldn't help the pangs of jealously and sadness she felt whenever she saw them together so she tried to make sure she would avoid them by any means. For her this meant spending most of her free time working on the newspaper. It proved to be the perfect distraction for her because she didn't have to think about what went wrong with her and Eli this time. It seemed like no matter what she did, she couldn't do anything right when it came to the guys in her life. With Asher, she tried to handle everything on her own and that yielded terrible results. She tried to be supportive of Eli but ended up pushing him away. She would just stick to her world, the school newspaper until the semester was over and she could put everything behind her.
When Alli suggested that she run for school president, she wasn't sure that she wanted to put herself out there but once Alli told her of all the improvements and changes she could make as president, she decided that it was worth it and was the perfect way of ending her time at Degrassi.
"After everything that's happened, I think this school could use a strong voice and someone with vision, you know?" Clare stated as her and Alli walked down the hall to their science class. "This is just what I needed, Alli."
"President Clare Edwards does have a nice ring to it" Alli mused moving her hand in front of her as if she were reading a banner. As the girls laughed, they didn't notice that two niners walking their way until they bumped into each other.
"Sorry" Maya and Tristan apologized simultaneously .
"It's fine. We weren't looking either" Clare smiled before she noticed the card in Tristan's hand.
"Oh, there's going to be this amazing party tonight. I think everyone's going to be there" he offered noticing Clare eyeing the flyer in his hand while exchanging smiles with Maya before passing Clare the invitation.
"Drew? Drew Torres?" Clare asked in disbelief as she and Alli looked at the party flyer informing people about Drew's campaign party happening later that night. "You have to be freaking kidding!" she exclaimed earning some confused looks from passing students.
"Uh yeah" Tristan replied awkwardly subtly taking the card back. "He's promising fun and good times and this school definitely needs it."
Clare shook her head in disbelief of what she was hearing. How could Drew be running for school president when he was barely even a student? Last thing she heard was he was a part time student and before that he had dropped out. Now, he was running against her and playing on his popularity by throwing a huge party to elicit votes.
"Well, we have to go and find the perfect outfits for tonight" Tristan said linking arms with Maya and walking off as Maya waved them off with her free hand.
"Can he do this?" Clare asked Alli in a softer tone, feeling more anxious about the sudden competition.
"I guess so. He will be a senior next year and will probably being taking a full class schedule if Bianca and Mrs. Torres have anything to say about it" Alli explained honestly. "It makes sense that they would want him to be president since it looks good to universities."
"He'll just have to find some other way of impressing them because there's no way I'm going to let him take this from me" Clare said confidently before turning and walking into the classroom as Alli shook her head in exasperation and followed her in.
"This is not a good idea, Clare" Alli said following behind her friend, denying a lei from one of the people at the party.
"I'm just going to talk to him and try to make him see reason. There's no way he will follow through with the race if he understands all the work and responsibility involved" Clare insisted as she made her way past the numerous party guests.
She hated to admit it but he really did know how to use his popularity to its fullest. In a matter of hours, he had gotten many of the key members of the student body to come to the party such as Dallas as well as the rest of the ice hounds, Fiona and Imogen, Dave, and many people she didn't recognize. Just when the thought crossed her mind whether Eli was there, she spotted Drew standing near a kiddie pool full of water and talking about what he would do once he was president.
Clare glared at the charming boy in front of her as she listened to his speech before pushing past the partying students until she was standing face to face with her latest rival. "So that is what you think it means to be president? Having parties and nonstop fun? What about important things like school violence or bullying or I don't know, failing test scores?" Clare asked getting increasingly annoyed seeing all the positive response to his campaign promises.
"High School is supposed to be the best years of our lives. I think we deserve to have more fun and if that means more parties, then why not?!" he yelled to the room earning cheers and encouragement from the crowd.
"Maybe if you weren't so uptight, people would vote for you"
"You're making a mockery of this whole election and frankly, you're just not responsible or smart enough to be president" Clare stated in a matter of fact tone. "Just stick to sports or whatever it is you do and leave the important things to the people who can handle it" she added before turning to leave.
Clare stopped and turned to look at him when she heard him say "better than only running because I got dumped. The choice is clear. Vote Drew!" Clare felt all eyes on her and her face flushed red. She couldn't help the rush of emotions she felt and she wasn't sure whether she was more embarrassed or mad but when she saw that smug look on Drew's face, all she wanted to do was wipe the smile off of it.
"Vote this!" Clare exclaimed pushing him into the kiddie pool before she realized what she was doing. After looking at the shocked crowd and back at her wet opponent, she straightened her jacket before turning and walking toward the exit. She tried to ignore the surprised gasps, soft murmurs, and subtle laughter. Once she made it outside, she stopped when she heard the clicking of heels behind her.
"I can't believe you did that!" Alli laughed in amazement. "Everyone was in total shock, Clare. I think you might've earned some voters in there" Alli said looking between the house and Clare. When Clare didn't respond, Alli walked closer to her friend and put her hand on her shoulder. "What's wrong?"
"I just can't believe I stooped to his level. It's just when he brought up what happened with Eli… I just lost it but it was wrong. That's not how I want to get voters. I want to win because I deserve it, not because I pushed Drew into a kiddie pool" Clare confessed. Alli nodded her head in understanding and sighed before speaking.
"I think if you want to beat Drew fair and square, you'll have to make people care about the issues and not just the fun times Drew's promising. I think a late night of Bhandari style pizza and debate practice is in store" Alli quipped, earning a smile from Clare.
"I can't believe I lost. I had so many ideas to make next year great and to improve the school" Clare softly said, sitting down on the foyer stairs. "Eli's as good as gone. Alli's leaving and now this. Everything's falling apart"
"If it makes you feel any better, I think I might've gotten pity votes since everyone saw me fall into a kiddie pool, with my feet in the air like a fat guy trying to get up" Drew replied earning a soft laugh from Clare.
"Look, I'm sorry about that crack about you running because you were dumped. It wasn't cool of me and trust me, Adam hasn't let me hear the end of it. You really did have some good ideas" Drew said taking a seat next to Clare.
"I'm sorry too. Sometimes when I set my mind on something, I forget about how to treat other people. I shouldn't have called you stupid" Clare stated glancing at Drew.
Drew extended his hand in response. "I guess we're officially declaring a truce?" he asked as Clare shook his hand and nodded in agreement.
"So, now that we're on the same side, I was thinking maybe we could talk about some of those plans of yours" Drew smiled, raising an eyebrow.
"I would like that" Clare replied with a smile before noticing a figure coming toward her. Drew looked between the two and decided it would be best to give them some privacy. He stood up, patting Clare on the back as he did and went off to celebrate his win with Bianca.
Clare stood up and cast her eyes down to the ground. It had been weeks since they last spoke and she still didn't feel ready to talk to him. Her heart started beat faster as she raised her head and locked eyes with the green eyes that she loved to look at. She saw his adam's apple bob as he licked his lips before he began talking.
"I'm sorry about the election. I voted for you" Eli stated, clutching the strap of his bag tighter.
"Thanks. I appreciate that" she answered, the tension between them reminding her of when they had lunch before the frostival. She hated that he was one of the closest and most important people in her life and she felt like she couldn't even talk to him anymore. Miscommunication had always been one of their biggest problems.
"Clare, I'm sorry" he said bringing her out of her thoughts. "I'm sorry about how I acted and what I said. I just want us to go back to how we were. Before everything happened and start over" he told her, hoping that he didn't ruin things between them permanently.
"We can't start over. We're not a fairytale, Eli" Clare replied sadly. "Maybe we really aren't meant to be together." Eli shook his head and licked his lips.
"I don't believe that. You've been there for me through everything and no matter what happens in the future, I want you to know how important you are to me. We started in a good place and we had something really great. I just think we deserve to finish this year on a high note. I just… I want a happy ending, Clare" Eli replied hopefully.
Clare thought back to day they first met and all the events that led them to this moment. She knew Eli was leaving soon and despite everything that had happened in recent weeks, if she was honest with herself she wanted to go back to how things were too. She wanted to spend hours on the phone talking about books and catching up. She missed movie nights in his arms. Clare smiled and nodded her head, looking forward to spending the rest of the time they had at Degrassi together.