The (Un)Popular Vote by Jasper Sanchez

Author:Jasper Sanchez
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2021-03-23T00:00:00+00:00

Twenty-One

CHRISTIAN CLUB HAS LEMON BARS. ON FRIDAY, Grace greets us with a Listerine smile and a tray of homemade confections dusted in powdered sugar. I don’t know if baked goods are a weekly tradition or a sign of goodwill, but I take a square and summon up a smile. “Thank you for this, and for inviting us here today.”

“Of course.” Grace, who looks ready to pluck wildflowers in a hayfield, with her blond hair and summer sundress, loses a bit of the skip in her step. “Our doors are open to everyone.”

I’m sure Grace believes that, but there’s a reason only Ralph and Benji are here with me right now, and neither of them looks particularly comfortable. Ralph’s posture is yearbook-portrait perfect. Benji’s still-split lip is set in a thin, defiant line. He came because he still goes to church every Sunday and might have joined a club like this if he’d thought he could find shelter in a crowd of kids who probably view abortion as a wedge issue. They’re both safest out of the line of fire, sitting up on the counters by the windows.

I stand on the front line while Grace introduces me to her acolytes. She was very clear with me that she’s their group leader, not their president, but she sounds more like a preacher. “‘For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.’ Romans, chapter three, verse one,” she recites with a smile. “Without further ado, here’s Mark!”

My smile isn’t as easy. Now I feel like I’m campaigning for God’s vote, too.

But it’s okay. I make it through my stump speech without stumbling; I’ve given it enough times now that I can say it with the alacrity of the Hail Mary. Then it’s over, and Grace is still smiling when she joins me to moderate the Q&A.

First up, she calls on a guy with a bowl cut who may or may not have been in my French class last year, but I wouldn’t testify to his identity under oath. “What’s your stance on religious expression in public schools? Prayer, for example.”

“I absolutely support the right of all students to express their religious beliefs however they see fit, including private prayer and groups like this.”

“Shouldn’t prayer be built into school hours?”

“The Supreme Court ruled mandatory prayer unconstitutional in 1962 in Engel v. Vitale. But I certainly believe the school is obligated under the First Amendment to make accommodations for prayer during school days—like the salah, for example.”

Bowl Cut’s eyes are glazed like marbles.

“My running mate’s Jewish.” I look to Ralph, praying he’ll chime in, because I know he practices the religion he was assigned at birth, but he blanches the moment I make eye contact. “The High Holy days are coming up, and he’ll miss a few days of class. No student should be penalized for that.”

“But what about you?” A guy sitting on a desk in the back sneers. In his polo and salmon shorts, he looks like a frat bro in training.

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