Hello, everyone! Wow, I finished this chapter much earlier than expected.
Okay, then, enjoy!
Chapter 7: The Posters
Dawn was lying on her back on her bed's pink bedspread with her head hanging slightly off the edge, her long, navy blue hair cascading to the floor like a gorgeous waterfall. Her arms were stretched out in front of her, her hands holding open a grey book. Her blue eyes were scanning its pages, filled with wonder and admiration for the artist who had created the many sketches within.
"Oh, look at this one, Serena!" she said excitedly to her friend, holding the book open in her friend's direction.
Serena was sitting at Dawn's desk, trying to make a red-beaded bracelet. The two of them were hanging out in Dawn's room, doing nothing in particular. Serena had gone to playing around with Dawn's bracelet-making kit while Dawn was flipping through a certain book she had ended up with by accident.
"Should you really be looking in that?" Serena asked. "It's not really yours, so it isn't right to look in it, you know."
Dawn sighed, lowering her arms and laying the book across her chest. "I know you're right, but it's just so tempting! I mean, imagine a famous celebrity or someone, and they drop their book. It's so tempting just to take a little peek. Besides, it's not like I'm reading his personal diary or anything. These are just rough sketches."
"Still. You should try returning it."
"That's the thing! No matter how much I look for him, I can never find him! I don't know, it's like he's hiding from me or something. And it doesn't really help that we're not in the same grade. Why can't I find him, though? It shouldn't be that hard to track him down. And what's worst, he still hasn't approached me yet. What if he decided not to give back my book?"
"You still don't know if he really has it."
"Yeah, but it's most likely he does. I checked the hallway, and it doesn't look like it's there anymore. It's not in the lost-and-found either. Oh, it was a special drawing book! I can't replace it, and I definitely don't want others looking in it!"
"Then shouldn't you try to refrain from peeking at this grey book? Don't you think its owner feels the same way?"
Dawn sighed. "Yeah, maybe. I just can't help it. But I'll try to return it tomorrow on Monday. If I even find him, that is." She got up and went to her bag, tucking the grey drawing book into it. She then walked over beside Serena, and began picking some beads to make a bracelet as well.
The next day...
"All right, people!" Misty said in a loud, clear voice. "Now, pay attention!"
"Yes Ma'am!" May and Ash said in unison, standing at alert as Misty stood in front of them.
"Now, as you know," she said, "today is Monday, and tomorrow is Tuesday, and Wednesday is elections day. So these last couple of days count! We need to secure victory once and for all!"
"Yes, Ma'am!"
"Now, don't think you two are the only ones working hard. I am super-thankful, but I don't want you guys to think we're alone in this. We're not. Gary has been helping out too, convincing everyone to vote for me as well, and I have recently made new allies, which is the reason I was in today's school newspaper as someone to be voted for. Although there are some who have decided to lend their support elsewhere"—she gave a cough that strangely sounded like 'Paul'—"I am confident it will not completely bring us down! You hear that? I am planning to win not just for me, but for you guys and the rest of the school as well. Understand?"
"Yes, Ma'am!"
"This is my last free lunch before the elections. Tomorrow, I need to do my speech, and the day after, lunchtime is election time. So make today count!"
"Yes Ma'am!"
"Well? Let's get going!"
"Vote for Misty as president!" May said loudly.
She was standing in a hallway, handing out posters to passing-by students like she'd been doing since Wednesday last week. Unlike her first day on the job, she was no longer going unnoticed. She was successfully attracting the attention of many, including some who were interested. Election day was close, and opposite of how she had felt when Misty had first asked her, she was completely submerged in her mission to get Misty as many votes as possible.
It was due to Drew that the flame had been sparked. That day when Drew had arrived, taunting her, making her doubt Misty, it had caused a fire to ignite. May had been adamant in her insistence that Misty was worth supporting since then. And she was going to make sure she made that clear. She felt so motivated!
"Vote for—" May started to call out, but stopped. Someone was standing in front of her, an arrogant smirk on his face, his arms folded.
"You still on your campaigning quest?" he said, looking amused.
"What do you want, Drew?" May said rudely. "I'm pretty sure your locker isn't anywhere in sight right now. Unless you switched or something, which is unlikely."
"No," Drew said, shrugging and leaning against the wall beside her. "Just find it funny that you're still trying to get that red-head in as president."
"And what's so funny about that, huh?"
"Nothing." He chuckled. "So tell me, why do you say I should vote for Misty?"
"If you're here to mock me, I suggest you get lost."
"I'm just asking. Isn't that what you should do when you campaign? Tell people why they should vote for someone?"
"Hah! Like you're actually planning to listen to me."
"Who knows? I've actually been thinking about it, and the only reason Rudy was first on my list was because he's first on everyone's list. But you're saying I should consider Misty. But why should I consider her if I know nothing about her? So I decided to ask you. Why do you think I should vote for Misty?"
May narrowed her eyes suspiciously. He was just mocking her, right? But what if he were serious? If that were the case, she couldn't deny him an explanation.
"Okay," she said. "Well, Misty will be a better president than Rudy because she's someone who'll do the job properly and carry out with her promises. She has ideas and plans, and everything she wants to do, it's for the school, not for popularity or reputation. She's just not a lying, lazy type of person. I mean, I know she has a scary repute, but when she first told me who she was, I couldn't believe it. She just seemed so nice. Sure, if you get her angry, she has a temper, but she's not a bad person, and she's trying her best to improve the school for everyone."
"So do you want me to just vote for her out of pity or something? Tell me the kind of things she has planned."
May boldly handed him one of the posters she had in her hands. "I think this will be informative in that regard."
The posters Misty had brought today were different from her previous ones. They were nothing like those bland, 'Vote for Misty' posters. These were a lot more colourful, and had plenty of points on them, including what she had in mind, such as school events and bake sales. May suspected someone else must have helped her out with them, since the style had changed so dramatically.
"Hm. This is different from the one you… gave me last time," Drew commented, his eyes scanning the sheet May had handed to him.
"Yeah, it is," May said, unsure of what else to say.
Drew looked thoughtful for a moment. "Hey, were you there when Gary was making that announcement about Misty last week?" he asked suddenly.
May cocked her head confusedly. "What announcement?"
Drew chuckled. "I'll take that as a no, then. Anyways, I wasn't there either, but according to some people, he gave some pretty good points about Misty, and putting what I heard he said together with what she says she'll do on this poster, well, it seems… realistic. Her as president might not be a bad thing."
May blinked. Was Drew, the arrogant Drew Hayden, sincerely considering giving Misty his vote?
Drew shrugged. "You know, Rudy's fine and all, but I do wonder what Misty has planned. I mean, if it's completely disastrous, I'm pretty sure everyone could convince the teachers to switch presidents or something. But I'm curious."
"So you'll vote for her?" May said hesitantly.
"I'll see. But you know, there should be more people than just you handing out posters."
"There are. There's also Misty's friend, Ash, and Gary's doing something too, and, of course, Misty herself is on the job."
"Still doesn't seem like enough. Maybe one more person would do?" To her surprise, Drew suddenly and unexpectedly took a small stack of posters from her hand. "I'll get started in another hall," he said, smirking at her stunned expression. He flipped his hair and walked off, May goggling after him.
Wait… what just happened?
"Hey, everyone! Vote for Misty, 'kay? You know, Misty Waterflower? The one who's gonna take this school to the top? Yeah, her! So make sure you give her your vote this Wednesday!"
There was Ash, standing in the middle of the hallway, cheering like an idiot as he forced poster after poster at passing-by students with a goofy grin on his face, clueless to the fact that almost everyone he was 'convincing' was only taking posters to get away from him as soon as possible. Leaf rolled her eyes. Ash never changed, did he?
She was watching him from the corner of the hallway, leaning against the wall, a few books in her arms. Finally, the chance she was waiting for came. All the posters had now been given away, and Ash, looking proud of his accomplishment, was starting to leave his position. As smoothly as a Persian, she strode over to him and tapped his shoulder.
"Yeah?" Ash said, whirling around to face the one who had contacted him. When his eyes met Leaf's though, he froze and blinked in surprise before beaming brightly. "Leaf! Hey, long time no see! I mean, I did see you a while back, but not for at least a week!"
"Yeah," Leaf said, rolling her eyes. "Ash, could I talk to you?"
"Well, that's what you're doing right now, aren't you?"
"I mean in private."
"Huh? Sure thing!"
"Fine. Then follow me."
She began walking towards a classroom with Ash following behind, and once they reached it, she pulled out a key from her pocket to unlock the door.
"Hey, where'd you get that key? I don't think students are allowed to have classroom keys."
"Ash, just go with it."
The two of them slipped inside, and Leaf closed the door behind them.
"So, what did you want to tell me?" Ash asked curiously.
"You're helping with Misty's campaigning, right?"
"Yeah! You vote for her too, okay?"
"Sure, Ash, sure. So from what I've been told, you're her lab partner in chemistry, right? And you have the same homeroom as her, so I'm sure I'm right to presume that's how you two got acquainted."
"Well, actually, we met when I sorta ruined her bike."
"So are you helping her because you have to pay for that?"
Ash looked at her strangely. "No, it's because we're friends."
"Hm." Leaf studied his face with her sharp eyes. "Right, then. So were you the one who asked Gary to help as well?"
"Yeah, I was. How did you know?"
"Never mind that. So Ash, you probably know about that deal Gary and Misty made, right?"
"Yeah. Hey, how did you know they made a deal?"
"Just answer my questions, okay? So let me ask you: did you make a deal with Gary as well?"
"Huh? Why would we make a deal?"
"Because Gary wouldn't just listen to what you say without wanting something from you in return. He wouldn't just agree to going to talk to Misty unless he could get you to do something for him as well. But judging from your reaction, you two didn't make any deals, correct?"
"Of course not!" Ash held himself up proudly. "I know Gary used to use me a lot like that when we were little, but now, I don't let him trick me anymore! I mean, we did make a deal—that I would get his confiscated phone for him so he would meet up with Misty—but I wasn't doing that to benefit him. It was for Misty's sake."
Leaf felt like face-palming. "Ash, when Gary makes you do things like that for him, it's called taking advantage of you. I'm guessing he gets you to help out with some things, like when he had you hold the posters for him for that announcement thing he did last week, because he says they're to help Misty out, correct?"
"But those don't count! Those actually are to help Misty!"
Leaf sighed. There was no way she'd been able to get through his thick head. But at least she now knew Gary hadn't put him up to the same task as Misty. That would have been a bit problematic, seeing as the more people Gary had doing the search-for-Leaf job, the harder it would be for her to go unnoticed. She would have to rethink her strategy for their little game if that were to happen, but she was still confident she could win it no matter what.
"Fine. Whatever," she said, starting to head to the door. "Later, then."
"Okay, bye!" Ash followed her out and began heading down a separate hallway. "And don't forget to vote for Misty!"
Leaf gave a lazy wave and went on her way.
"Aw, lunch is nearly over!" Dawn said, pouting playfully. She turned to the group of girls she had been hanging out with. "I need to get my things for class, 'kay? So I'm going to go to my locker to get my things. Later!"
"Sure, Dawn!"
"See you later, Dawn!"
"Bye bye!"
Dawn waved after them as they left to retrieve their own belongings. "Bye, Duplica! Bye, Angie! Bye Mira! Bye Macy! Bye Zoey! Bye everyone!"
All the girls surrounding her soon left, with the only one remaining being Serena.
"Well," Dawn said to Serena. "Guess we should go to our lockers and get our stuff. Lunchtime should end in a bit."
"Yeah," Serena said.
The two headed to their respective lockers, which were only a few lockers apart. As she began taking out her stuff, Dawn's hand landed on the grey book. Paul's book. She still needed to return it to him.
"Hey, Serena," Dawn said. "Do you think there's time for me to take a quick look around and see if I can find Paul anywhere? I still haven't returned his book. And I really want mine back too."
"Hm, there are still five minutes till the lunch-ending bell rings," Serena said. And then after that, you'll only have five minutes to get to class, so we'll really have to really hurry up."
"Hey, no need to worry, I'll be quick!" Dawn said, grinning. "You go ahead to class, and if I'm not there by the time class starts, you can tell the teacher that I'll be there in a few minutes. Just hope I find him!"
"Are you sure? I can come along and help."
"No, I'm sure. I don't want to make you late too, though I don't plan on being late myself. I'll catch up. Bye!"
Before Serena could respond, the blunette was already hurrying down the hallway, hands full of her things for next class and, of course, Paul's grey drawing book.
Misty sighed as she walked down the hallway, sticking another one of the posters in her arms onto the wall. It wasn't a sigh of unhappiness or even relief. Just… tiredness.
She was tired. She had been working hard all weekend. Yes, she had told Leaf to make sure they didn't do all the work, but it seemed that the work they were giving her was much more exhausting than what she'd been doing up until now.
The 'nerd club' (as Misty called it) used a certain email that all the members had access to for when they wanted to send something to everyone in the club or see what messages the club as a whole received. It was a clever and convenient method, as, instead of having to send every member something, all Misty had to do was send one email to 'The Watchers' (that was what the email said their name was) and know that everyone from the club could go onto the account and get the message.
Unfortunately, it was more The Watchers who were sending emails to her. Since Friday after school, Misty had been receiving email after email from them, and she knew it wasn't the same person messaging her every time. They were all working together to instruct her on what to do. And not all of them specified who was the one sending the email. For instance, Leaf would sign her message off as 'Leaf' after everything she sent, but most of the email-senders were unknown. Though she could tell when Trip was the one sending something to her from his manner of writing and constant use of the word 'basic'.
They had started off by pestering her into sending them an essay about what her hopes and plans were after becoming president. Not necessarily a formal or well-polished one (thankfully) but one that made her intentions clear. Misty had to write out and send them at least three, because they kept insisting she wasn't giving them enough information. And, for some unknown reason, they kept nagging her to send them a decent picture of herself, the most recent she could get. Misty gave up questioning them when they didn't explain, and with much difficulty, managed to find a satisfactory picture.
Misty soon discovered the purpose for their doing so. They used what she had sent them to make better posters that presented the looker with details about her plans in such a way that made her appear to be a favourable candidate.
Then, as promised, they sent her an amazingly written speech on Saturday based on what she had told them.
The purpose for her picture was discovered as well when Misty came to school after the weekend to find that she was on the front cover of the school newspaper with an article written about her which included much of what she had mentioned in her essays.
And Misty was thankful. There was no way she could have come this far over the course of one weekend without their help. The one thing that was bothering her, though, was the speech. It sounded like what would win everyone over, but… somehow, it just didn't feel like her. The speech was supposed to be what she wanted to tell everyone, but the fact that someone else had written it somehow made it feel… empty.
It was one of the things that was keeping Misty up until late at night. Homework, studying, worrying about her campaigning, and the speech. She had to practise it, which was what she was desperately trying to do, but she just couldn't feel connected to the words she spoke no matter how much she tried.
And now, she was so close to the election day. She had to make her speech tomorrow, but she felt so unprepared. And if she didn't communicate her views and thoughts properly, everything would have been for nothing. Everything. Everything she was doing, everything her friends and allies were doing. Everything.
She was beyond stressed. In fact, she wasn't even sure she could call her condition stress anymore. It was more of a hopelessness that she didn't even have the strength to fight. How she felt on the inside, it was contrary to the enthusiasm she expressed to Ash and May on the outside. Maybe she felt that there was a lot more to lose now. Maybe that was why she felt so overwhelmed. And, ironically, it was everyone's help that was meant to ensure her victory that was creating the pressure that could lead to her downfall.
Misty barely saw the poster she was sticking to the wall. She looked behind her to see she had reached the end of the hallway and had made sure to stick plenty of posters on the walls behind her. There was still some time before the bell would ring. Probably about a minute or two. But she could probably stick a few more before then. Who knew? Maybe even one poster could make a difference.
She walked around the corner, into the next hall. To her dismay, though, when she tried to find an empty spot, she found there wasn't much space. It looked like someone else had taken the liberty of sticking posters everywhere in this hallway.
Huffing, Misty scanned the area. The walls were all adorned with similar posters, probably for the same person. They all had a picture of a girl—
Wait.
What.
Misty slowly walked up to one of the posters to take a proper look. Her breath got caught in her throat.
No way. Who...?
The posters were of her. They were hand sketches that seemed to be photocopied, each depicting a magnificently done detailed sketch of Misty herself in side view. Then, either horizontally along the bottom or vertically along one side, there were words. Or rather, a name. Misty Waterflower. Just Misty Waterflower. No telling anyone to vote for her or anything like that. Just her name. It was as if saying, 'This is who Misty is,' rather than demanding that she be voted for.
And the way she was drawn, Misty couldn't think of it looking any more like her. And there was a look on her face. A look that cast a positive light upon her. What was that look? Stubbornness? No…
Determination.
At first, Misty thought someone from Leaf's club must have made these posters. But she felt like she had seen this style of drawing before. And then she saw it. The little telltale signature at the very bottom corner of the posters, made so small it almost seemed like the artist didn't want it to be noticed.
The signature initial P. S.
Paul Shinji.
Paul? Why had Paul made posters of her? Hadn't he been acting as if he didn't care, as if he were betting she would lose? Misty felt a memory flash back to her from Friday. The picture Paul had been sketching, the one he hadn't wanted her to see. She had glimpsed it. It had been of a girl.
It had been of her.
Misty stared at the posters, stupefied. She didn't know how to react. She had never expected this, not in a million years. Paul had been supporting her from the start. And he drew her with a kind of glow Misty wanted to reflect. Paul had drawn her determined because, no matter how he had mocked her, that was how he truly viewed her. This was how he saw her, not as someone who was campaigning in vain, but someone unwavering. The artist could lie but his art could not.
"Wow," someone breathed. Misty turned to where the voice had come from. Someone was standing not far from where she was, staring at one of the posters Paul had made.
Someone who was unmistakably Dawn Berlitz.
She was standing there, rooted in place, transfixed to the drawing.
"Do you know who made these?" she asked quietly, her eyes still glued to the picture. Misty knew she was talking to her. There was no one else there.
"Yeah. My friend, Paul," Misty answered hesitantly.
Dawn slowly turned toward Misty, then back at the poster. "Paul made these," she murmured. "He draws so well. It looks just like you." She seemed both amazed and confused. It was as if the positive light Paul had made her in was at war with the negative view Dawn had held so far.
"Yeah," Misty said, unsure of what else to say. Somehow, all that contempt Dawn had felt towards her had vanished. The atmosphere didn't hold the same kind of tenseness Misty felt whenever Dawn was within sight. Normally, whenever they passed each other in the hallway these days, they avoided looking each other in the face, and Dawn would march right past her with a kind of indignant aura about her. But right now, all of those feelings had melted away.
"Listen," Misty found herself saying suddenly. "I want to talk to you about something."
What am I saying? Misty tried to figure out. What did she want to talk to Dawn about?
"Yeah?" Dawn said quietly, turning back towards her.
"It's about Tuesday last week. Remember, when Gary was with his microphone, announcing to everyone that they should vote for me."
Oh, right, Misty realized. She wanted to apologize for what Gary had claimed. The guilt of it had been eating away at her mind for so long. She wasn't a bad person; she hadn't meant for any of that to happen.
Dawn listened silently.
"I never asked Gary to do that. Gary said he would help me out with my campaigning, but that announcing thing was out of the blue. And you can be sure I gave him a good earful afterwards about not dissing Rudy anymore. I'm not asking you to vote for me; I just want to explain that I never wanted him to do that. I don't think Rudy's a bad person, and I don't want to paint him as such either. So, yeah. I just wanted to apologize for what he said. It's been bothering me, so… yeah."
The two girls faced each other wordlessly, their eyes connected. The silence between them seemed to last a thousand years, but even without words, something was being communicated. Misty just wasn't sure what. Maybe it was… understanding.
The silence was abruptly broken when the bell rang, signalling the end of lunch break.
"Well, that's the bell," Misty said finally, finding an excuse to turn around and start walking off. "Guess I should head to class now."
"Wait," Dawn spoke up. Misty stopped mid-step and turned to face her. Dawn let out a sigh.
"I guess… I should say sorry too. I was just angry and judged you too quickly. Rudy's my friend, and… well, after hearing what Gary said, I don't know, I just felt like you were to blame. It doesn't make sense and isn't really fair, but… I don't know."
"So… we're good?"
"Yeah, I guess." Dawn glanced at the poster, and then turned back to Misty, smiling. "Paul sure is a great artist, huh? My art teacher's always showing us his artwork."
"Yeah, he is." Misty felt herself starting to become lighter. Something was making her feel so… released….
"You know, I do see the posters you put up. The new ones you've been putting up today too. And you do have some pretty good ideas. Truth is, I do think Rudy is the best candidate, but sometimes I wonder: am I voting for him just because he's a friend? What if someone else has just as much potential?"
"So are you saying you'll vote for me?" Misty said before she could stop herself. She felt like hitting herself right after. She wasn't supposed to ask that right after they had formed a truce!
"I don't know. I'll see." She turned back to the posters, and Misty felt compelled to as well.
"Oh yeah!" Misty remembered something suddenly. "You lost something last week, didn't you? A pink book?"
"Yeah!" Dawn turned to Misty hurriedly. "My book! I thought I switched with Paul by accident, but from what you're saying…"
"No, you did switch with Paul. That guy's just too antisocial to come give it to you himself, so he gave it to me to return it for him. Wasn't sure how I would do any better than him, though."
"You guys didn't look in it, did you?"
"Not me. I'm not into diaries and gossip and stuff. And I doubt Paul did either, since he's not the kind of guy to get into other people's business. Plus, it was like he didn't want to even touch something so pink!" She chuckled when she remembered how Paul had been regarding the book with pure abhorrence.
Dawn laughed. "Well, that's a relief, though it isn't really a diary. Still private, though. Oh, and I have his drawing book too. We switched by accident or something. And I might have sort of peeked in it, but I don't think there was anything embarrassing or overly private in it, so hopefully he wouldn't get mad. But just in case, don't tell him, though."
"I don't have your book with me just now," Misty said. "But I can give it back to you later. Maybe when we run into each other next time. Or at lunch in the cafeteria, though I won't be there tomorrow because I have to give my speech."
"Oh, no need to worry. At least I know it's with you, so you'll be much easier to find than Paul. I can never figure out where he is." Dawn looked thoughtful for a moment. "You know, I think I want to give Paul's book back to him in person. You know anywhere I would be able to find him?"
"Well, he's sometimes in the cafeteria at lunch. Or else, I only run into him when we're heading to the same class or something. Or when I go to his house, but I don't think you'll be going all the way to his house to return a book."
"Oh, okay. I'll see if I can't catch him in the cafeteria some time. WAIT! I totally forgot! Class should be about to start!"
Misty's eyes widened. "Oh right! I don't even have my things with me! Later, gotta rush!"
"Bye!"
The two began hurrying in their separate ways. But as Misty hastened, her mind reflected back on the posters Paul had made. A new wave of willpower washed through her, flooding her mind and clearing away the pressure she had been feeling earlier.
I can do this. I can do this!
And she knew exactly what to do about her speech.
Ce chapitre est fini maintenant. Merci beaucoup pour le lire! (This chapter is finished now. Thank you very much for reading!)
Bye bye for now! Have a great day and smile all the way! :)
