The Implosion of Aggie Winchester by Lara Zielin

Author:Lara Zielin [Zielin, Lara]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Penguin Group USA, Inc.
Published: 2011-05-12T22:00:00+00:00

The hallways were quiet as I made my way to chemistry, which is why I heard the shouting so clearly when I passed the administration offices.

“She can’t be eligible. That’s what I’m saying. She should be disqualified.” I froze.

“Amy, I understand where you’re coming from,” a male voice replied. I figured it for Mr. Monroe, our vice principal. “But there are no rules for this. Next year, if you want to petition to put them in place, that’s fine. But this year, if she gets enough votes, she gets the crown.”

Amy. I was nearly certain that was Mrs. Wagner’s first name.

“Her pregnancy sends the wrong message,” Mrs. Wagner said, her volume rising. Pregnancy. She had to be talking about Sylvia. And from the sounds of it, Mrs. Wagner was trying to block Sylvia from being queen.

I crept closer to try and hear more. “I’m telling you, this is a mistake,” she said. “A very dreadful mistake.”

My mind spun. By now, Mrs. Wagner should know that the ballots had been tampered with. Jefferson should have told her about my run-in with Sylvia—that is, if he had been telling me the truth. The bogus ballots, if she was aware of them, should have been her biggest concern, I thought, not the fact that Sylvia was knocked up.

“Just go firm up your counts,” Mr. Monroe said. “Stop stalling. The school needs to know one way or the other.”

Hearing Mrs. Wagner’s heels click toward the door, I pulled a 180 and started speed walking in the other direction. I took the long way to get to class and, when I finally did, I was out of breath.

I handed my late note to Mr. Plower, my chem teacher, and took my seat. With my book spread out before me, I tried to follow along on a problem about molar mass, but all I could think about was what I’d just overheard.

Suddenly, the loudspeaker came to life. The whole class quieted down immediately. You could have heard an electron vibrating.

“Thanks for your patience while we counted this year’s vote!” Mrs. Wagner said. “I’m happy to announce Marissa Mendez is this year’s prom queen . . . and Ryan Rollings is the king. Congratulations to both our winners, and we’ll see you all at the Hofbräu Haus!”

I shook my head, trying to make sense of all my jumbled thoughts and emotions. I couldn’t tell if I was happy or disappointed, or if anything I’d seen and heard today still mattered.

I was trying to get a grip when Alex Hansen, one of the better students in the class, pushed his thick chem book off his desk. It landed on the floor with a sound like a gunshot. “No way!” he said. “I don’t believe this for a second.”

Mr. Plower stood up immediately. “That’s not appropriate,” he said sharply. “Pick your textbook back up now.”

Alex glowered and was reaching toward the floor when Andy Lowry pushed his chem book off his desk, too. “Alex is right. This is crap. Sylvia should be queen.

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